I have spent hours reading and learning about solar systems, but I can't seem to find a scenario quite like mine. I'm an IT consultant and I work remotely for various customers. I rarely visit an actual office (yeah I love my job) and therefore it doesn't really matter where I'm working from. I'm single and have no kids so I bought an Excursion and 30' travel trailer and I plan to explore the country for the next couple of years. My RV has a front bunkhouse, and I tore out half of it and built myself a working area with a desk. I have four devices, all of which use DC power.
Two laptops at 19.5v each (~30w each on AC power)
An LCD monitor at 12v (30w AC)
A desk lamp at 12v (7w AC)
I can get car laptop chargers from amazon and I can easily wire a 12v plug onto the end of the lamp and monitor power cords. I would like to keep this system separate from the rest of the RV for now. Basically, it will be solar panels, a charge controller, batteries, and a 12v DC "power strip" to run all my devices. I don't need an inverter. There's also the possibility of adding a third laptop (security requirement for big government contractor known for building airplanes whose model numbers start with a 7) so I'd like to oversize the system to start with.
My usage in a 24-hour period is roughly 70 DC amp-hours right now (that's with 2 laptops). Another laptop will use about 20 DC amp-hours per day.
The equipment I've picked out so far:
2 x 300W solar panels
Morningstar TS-MPPT-30 charge controller
2 x Lifeline 12v 105 AH Deep Cycle Sealed AGM Battery (GPL-31T)
According to various solar calculators, I should be able to make almost 100 Kwh per month in the winter (in southern CA, AZ, NM or FL). I also plan on having a small generator to charge all the batteries and run the RV (except the AC and hot water heater) when I'm off ground power.
Is this going to be sufficient for my needs? Any glaring holes or obvious omissions?
Two laptops at 19.5v each (~30w each on AC power)
An LCD monitor at 12v (30w AC)
A desk lamp at 12v (7w AC)
I can get car laptop chargers from amazon and I can easily wire a 12v plug onto the end of the lamp and monitor power cords. I would like to keep this system separate from the rest of the RV for now. Basically, it will be solar panels, a charge controller, batteries, and a 12v DC "power strip" to run all my devices. I don't need an inverter. There's also the possibility of adding a third laptop (security requirement for big government contractor known for building airplanes whose model numbers start with a 7) so I'd like to oversize the system to start with.
My usage in a 24-hour period is roughly 70 DC amp-hours right now (that's with 2 laptops). Another laptop will use about 20 DC amp-hours per day.
The equipment I've picked out so far:
2 x 300W solar panels
Morningstar TS-MPPT-30 charge controller
2 x Lifeline 12v 105 AH Deep Cycle Sealed AGM Battery (GPL-31T)
According to various solar calculators, I should be able to make almost 100 Kwh per month in the winter (in southern CA, AZ, NM or FL). I also plan on having a small generator to charge all the batteries and run the RV (except the AC and hot water heater) when I'm off ground power.
Is this going to be sufficient for my needs? Any glaring holes or obvious omissions?
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