Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

newbie on solar

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • newbie on solar

    I currently have a large tent trailer that I am interested in using solar to keep my battery charged for parks that don't offer hydro. The battery is an AGM deep cycle sealed 12 volt. The only items I would need are lights in the trailer for a few hours at night which are not currently LED but I would consider changing too based on what I know so far. I do have a water pump that only runs a total of a few minutes total per day. There is a propane furnace where the fan would have to run in the event of colder weather but I don't expect to be using it. The only other thing would be maybe to charge a cell phone or two. What would I need for a panel and controller without breaking the bank?

  • #2
    Hello coach4419 and welcome to Solar Panel Talk.

    To help you size a solar/battery system we will need a little more info concerning your battery specs and electrical load in daily watt hours.

    Comment


    • #3
      Hello SunEagle, thank you for your response. The battery specs are:
      Group size-24
      Reserve capacity-135
      Amp hours-79
      Cranking Amps 800

      As for the specs for the items that need to run off the battery I will have to do some searching as my trailer is currently in storage. I do know the bulb in the one light is a C912 bulb and I believe the other lights are the same. I would definetly replace them with LED since they are more efficient. I usually only run one light at night for a few hours.

      Comment


      • #4
        Ok. The only data that is usable is the Amp hour rating. So based on that 12v battery being rated 79Ah it has about 950 watt hour capacity but you really only have about 25% of that because you will shorten the lifespan by using more than that a day.

        So lets say the daily usage is between 190 and 230 watt hours. So when you determine what wattage your loads use and how long they run that will get you a rough estimate of your daily watt hour usage.

        To keep the battery happy and to over come losses you have to put back more than you take out of that battery. So if you use 25% or ~ 230 watt hours you need to put back 300 watt hours. That will require a 100 to 150watt panel and 2 to 3 hours of usable sunlight with the panel pointed directly at the sun. Since you have an AGM battery is can handle a higher charge rate than a standard FLA battery. So you could pump in 10 to 12 amps into that 79Ah battery. Which would be around 200 watts of solar panels.

        Unless you find a way to reduce the wattage of your loads then you run the chance of over discharging that 79Ah battery. So swapping out the lights to LED type may be your first step. Or look into getting a bigger battery.

        Comment


        • #5
          Thank you so much SunEagle! You have taught me a few things and have been very helpful! The only other question I have Is what do I look for in a controller?

          Comment


          • #6
            You are welcome. If you haven't read then yet go check out the sticky posts in the off grid area as well as the 12volt section. You should get some good info there to help you refine your system.

            Comment

            Working...
            X