Need 110V 8A from solar got parts & pieces...

[apostman]

In Texas if you dont have air conditioning you're not the poacher, you're the poachee!

Not kidding I have seen air conditioners in tents.

[Sunking]

So what are you asking?

[apostman]

Thanks for replying Sunking. I have a old motorhome and I am researching using Solar PV. I stated my electricity need. I already have a 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter in the generator bay. I was wondering if it can be powered by solar panels / over batteries? I can get a good deal on 4 group 27 160 amp hours.

[Sunking]

I stated my electricity need..

What thread did you state your needs? Certainly not this one.

[jflorey2]

Thanks for replying Sunking. I have a old motorhome and I am researching using Solar PV. I stated my electricity need. I already have a 3600 watt pure sine wave inverter in the generator bay. I was wondering if it can be powered by solar panels / over batteries? I can get a good deal on 4 group 27 160 amp hours.

OK so let's assume that's a 24 hour need. That's 21kwhr a day. So that's at least 126kwhr of batteries (3 day run time to 50%.) A T105 golf cart battery gives you about 1.3kwhr, so you are looking at 96 T105's to store that much energy. That's about three tons of batteries, so I hope you have a big RV.

Now let's look at solar. You are going to need a lot. I'll assume you want to go with the minimum possible (C/13 rate) which means you'll need about 12 kilowatts of solar. In most locations you'll need a lot more to keep up with your load.

[JSchnee21]

Time for a built (e.g. Onan) in diesel generator or a quiet portable from Honda or Yamaha. I've not seen an RV yet with enough surface area to make solar practical for any appreciable load -- let alone an air conditioner. Coupled with the fact that most RV'ers prefer shaded campsites, solar seems completely pointless. I guess if you live in your RV, in a single remote location, you might build a ground mount solar array, in a field, proximal to your campsite.

[apostman]

Ty jflorey2, wow all that for the smallest portable air conditioner. 110 V 6,000 btu 6 amp + 2 amp for peak wattage and charger, about 8 hours.

[apostman]

Time for a built (e.g. Onan) in diesel generator or a quiet portable from Honda or Yamaha. I've not seen an RV yet with enough surface area to make solar practical for any appreciable load -- let alone an air conditioner. Coupled with the fact that most RV'ers prefer shaded campsites, solar seems completely pointless. I guess if you live in your RV, in a single remote location, you might build a ground mount solar array, in a field, proximal to your campsite.

I see your point. At least I wont be falling for the scams for house solar, for the house I am selling.

[Sunking]

Ty jflorey2, wow all that for the smallest portable air conditioner. 110 V 6,000 btu 6 amp + 2 amp for peak wattage and charger, about 8 hours.

A 6000 BTU window shaker will have an SEER of 10 and use 800 watts x 8 hours = 6400 Watt Hours. That requires a 32 Kwh battery or roughly 32 of those cheap batteries you have access too that will be lucky to last one year. In TX 6400 watt hours cost less than 60-cents per day to buy.

To charge those 32 cheap batteries will take 3250 watt solar panels and a 65 amp MPPT charge controller operating into a 48 volt battery. If you are dumb enough to operate at 12 volts will require 3 very expensive 80 amp MPPT charge controllers and a hundred pounds of copper.

Assuming those cheap batteries cost $100 each the system to run the window shaker will cost you roughly $9000 to generate 60-cents/day. $4.20/week, $17.00/month, $200/year. Assuming the batteries could last 2 years which they have no chance of doing so, battery cost alone is $3200 / 4600 Kwh brings your Kwh cost to $0.70/Kwh. In TX a Kwh sells for 7 to 8-cents per Kwh so you wil be in battery cost alone paying 10 times more than necessary.

So IMO go for it. Reality bites.

[apostman]

So IMO go for it. Reality bites.

The only bite so far is for those batteries. The MH had a panel roof flat mount for charging (4) batteries when I bought it. It was installed by a solar dealer in California. It did charge the chassis battery really well, but havent put the four batteries in yet. I am remodeling inside. The idea of solar came up when a friend in McAllen gave me two new Trini <sp> panels free. He is a generac dealer and his customer changed his mind on configuration (gate opener). The customer told him to take them.

We (texas) have a grid management company called ercot. Last month there was a very low key announcement about the number of outages last summer. 3 times the grid almost failed. At least I did research and kept my money in my pocket.

[Guest]

OK so let's assume that's a 24 hour need. That's 21kwhr a day. So that's at least 126kwhr of batteries (3 day run time to 50%.) A T105 golf cart battery gives you about 1.3kwhr, so you are looking at 96 T105's to store that much energy. That's about three tons of batteries, so I hope you have a big RV.

Now let's look at solar. You are going to need a lot. I'll assume you want to go with the minimum possible (C/13 rate) which means you'll need about 12 kilowatts of solar. In most locations you'll need a lot more to keep up with your load.

If use the LiFePO4 battery, it do not need three tons of batteries.

[jflorey2]

If use the LiFePO4 battery, it do not need three tons of batteries.

True. A LiFePO4 battery will be lighter. 126kwhr of such batteries (say, the SimpliPhi battery, which is a good one) will weigh about one and a half tons and cost $122,000.

[Mike90250]

If use the LiFePO4 battery, it do not need three tons of batteries.

But you need 2 tons of money to buy it.