Thinking of going Solar

[hozer]

I assume you mean from the grid.

.5 Kw x 8 hours x $0.15 = 60 cents vs $6 to $12 for solar all paid up front in cash. That is the choice you have.

What would you do if this happened too you. You need to fill up with gasoline. On one corner a station sell s gas of $3/gal, and th eone next door sells for $30/gal. Which station do you buy from? The choice is that easy.

Thanks for the heads up

[SunEagle]

Kinda sucks huh? Maybe running a 500 Watt A/C unit on the grid would be cheaper than going solar lol. Maybe it would be better to just get a Solar generator just in case the power goes out. Other than that I would see no reason to run solar on my RV according to you guys.

Thanks for the heads up guys. Sniff.....Sniff

There are a number of people that use solar while living in an RV. Most of them are doing this when they go dry camping where there aren't any utility hookups.

Again it is a little costly as compared to running their gen sets or alternator to charge the batteries but it is their choice and saving money is not high on their list. They just want to be quiet and still have power. It can be fun and enjoyable. But will really not save them money.

[hozer]

I assume you mean from the grid.

.5 Kw x 8 hours x $0.15 = 60 cents vs $6 to $12 for solar all paid up front in cash. That is the choice you have.

What would you do if this happened too you. You need to fill up with gasoline. On one corner a station sell s gas of $3/gal, and th eone next door sells for $30/gal. Which station do you buy from? The choice is that easy.

Kinda sucks huh? Maybe running a 500 Watt A/C unit on the grid would be cheaper than going solar lol. Maybe it would be better to just get a Solar generator just in case the power goes out. Other than that I would see no reason to run solar on my RV according to you guys.

Thanks for the heads up guys. Sniff.....Sniff

[SunEagle]

So what your saying it not worth the money to have a solar setup just to run a 500 Watt A/C unit correct?

Unless your electric rates are much higher than Hawaii (~ $0.55/kWh) using Utility power or even a generator will cost less than running the same load from a solar battery system.

[Sunking]

I want to say thanks to you guys for your input. I have some serious thinking to do. Just one last question. If I ran a 500 Watt A/C on 110 volts and the cost of 0.15 cents per KWH how much would it cost me for running it 8 hours per day to run that A/C unit???

Thanks guy

I assume you mean from the grid.

.5 Kw x 8 hours x $0.15 = 60 cents vs $6 to $12 for solar all paid up front in cash. That is the choice you have.

What would you do if this happened too you. You need to fill up with gasoline. On one corner a station sell s gas of $3/gal, and th eone next door sells for $30/gal. Which station do you buy from? The choice is that easy.

[hozer]

Not if there were much less expensive sources of power. Sure you can run a 500 watt window shaker off solar, but you had better have a good reason to justify the expense of paying 10 times more for the electricity for the rest of your life. Used in this manner more like 20 times more.

Utility electricity is so cheap you don't have to suffer only running an hour and can run it a lot longer cheaper than you can suffer on solar. It is really easy math, all you got to do is do the math.

Last question to ask is how much extra fuel burn will it take to carry 1100 pounds of batteries and panels? His batteries on solar can give him a possible 3.5 Kwh per day which his panels may or may not replace with 5.2 Kwh. Not likely panel wattage is capable of that much. If driving every day, vehicle alternator at 120 amps can replace 3.5 Kwh in 3 hours engine run time or about 2 hours on a 2 KA genny.

Or just pay 50-cent a day to the mean ole power company.

Now here is the funny part. The OP has 1830 watts @ 24 volt battery using a 60 amp controller when he needs a minimum of 75 amps limiting his panel wattage to 1440.

I want to say thanks to you guys for your input. I have some serious thinking to do. Just one last question. If I ran a 500 Watt A/C on 110 volts and the cost of 0.15 cents per KWH how much would it cost me for running it 8 hours per day to run that A/C unit???

Thanks guy

[Sunking]

So what your saying it not worth the money to have a solar setup just to run a 500 Watt A/C unit correct?

Not if there were much less expensive sources of power. Sure you can run a 500 watt window shaker off solar, but you had better have a good reason to justify the expense of paying 10 times more for the electricity for the rest of your life. Used in this manner more like 20 times more.

Utility electricity is so cheap you don't have to suffer only running an hour and can run it a lot longer cheaper than you can suffer on solar. It is really easy math, all you got to do is do the math.

Last question to ask is how much extra fuel burn will it take to carry 1100 pounds of batteries and panels? His batteries on solar can give him a possible 3.5 Kwh per day which his panels may or may not replace with 5.2 Kwh. Not likely panel wattage is capable of that much. If driving every day, vehicle alternator at 120 amps can replace 3.5 Kwh in 3 hours engine run time or about 2 hours on a 2 KA genny.

Or just pay 50-cent a day to the mean ole power company.

Now here is the funny part. The OP has 1830 watts @ 24 volt battery using a 60 amp controller when he needs a minimum of 75 amps limiting his panel wattage to 1440.

[hozer]

That set up may work for a while but I do not feel those batteries will last long.

He was using 2 charge controllers charging one battery bank and while they were the same make there is always a chance of not getting a balanced charge to the batteries.

I can show you all types of YouTube videos where people have rigged up some panels, charger and batteries and are able to run a pool pump or AC or refrigerator but in the end their system is either not built correctly and the batteries fail after a short time.

The other side of doing all that work and spending all that money for a solar battery system will still cost that guy in the video much more than running the AC unit from his house power. Sure it can be done for a short time but it is not saving any money and will not last long.

So what your saying it not worth the money to have a solar setup just to run a 500 Watt A/C unit correct?

[SunEagle]

Some of these guys are running a window AC unit around 500 watts. The A/C unit does not need to run all day. You can have from what I have seen run a solar unit 1 hour on 1 hour off.

Here is a example............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcqjIMHV45E

thanks

That set up may work for a while but I do not feel those batteries will last long.

He was using 2 charge controllers charging one battery bank and while they were the same make there is always a chance of not getting a balanced charge to the batteries.

I can show you all types of YouTube videos where people have rigged up some panels, charger and batteries and are able to run a pool pump or AC or refrigerator but in the end their system is either not built correctly and the batteries fail after a short time.

The other side of doing all that work and spending all that money for a solar battery system will still cost that guy in the video much more than running the AC unit from his house power. Sure it can be done for a short time but it is not saving any money and will not last long.

[hozer]

Please don't take anything you see on youtube for real unless you either know the topic well or know the presenter - about 99% of youtube presenters are simply BSers that like to act as if they have some idea.

What counts is how many watt hours you consume at the end of the day.

I agree with you. I do must of the time and take it with a grain of salt but it can't hurt to try

So with that in mine I'll try just to run the Window A/C unit and set it up for 1 hour on and 1 our off and see what it pulls for a 4 hour total runing time.

[russ]

Some of these guys are running a window AC unit around 500 watts. The A/C unit does not need to run all day. You can have from what I have seen run a solar unit 1 hour on 1 hour off.

Here is a example............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcqjIMHV45E

thanks

Please don't take anything you see on youtube for real unless you either know the topic well or know the presenter - about 99% of youtube presenters are simply BSers that like to act as if they have some idea.

What counts is how many watt hours you consume at the end of the day.

[hozer]

You can do everything except what is highlighted in RED. They all have to go. A solar system on your RV with what you propose might generate 1.5 Kwh/day leaving you 15 Kwh/day short.

Some of these guys are running a window AC unit around 500 watts. The A/C unit does not need to run all day. You can have from what I have seen run a solar unit 1 hour on 1 hour off.

Here is a example............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcqjIMHV45E

thanks

[SunEagle]

forget about the utility costs, this is a solar forum. Yes its expensive but you can get alot done with 6x305 watt solar panels.
Yes AC is out of the question but maybe swamp cooler might work, a normal fridge is also too power hungry but they sell 12 volt fridges, and definitely the 12 amp heater is out of the question, I went that route in my van but not realistic. Eventually I just got a mr.heater and a small 1 pound propane canister last me 2 weeks since I only used it in the morning for a few minutes.
Increase the insulation in your trailer and it will help out with the temperatures.
Its good to be off-grid and would recommend to everyone.
In my system I already bought 3 different agm battery's in the past 2 years, not because they wore out but because I want to upgrade, the money I save in not paying for electricity I use to buy the batteries.
Some people never think about worst case scenario (because it will never happen) but at least with solar you can be ready. Like a fire extinguisher, how often you use one? But smart people have one just in case.
My system is small, 240 watt solar panel (because its all that will fit on my roof) and recently downgraded from a 145 ah battery to a better quality 102 ah battery. this small system makes me 100 percent off grid. I learned how live with this system.
In my opinion if you change some of your appliances to more energy efficient you will have no problem being totally off grid with the 6 panels. But going solar is a learning experience you start counting how much power your using and little by little you learn to live with what you got. Like you said, use only the appliance you need as needed, no wasted energy.
One more thing the amp ratings on AC is very different then on DC, for these measurements its better to rely on watts.
for instance a 12 volt fridge uses 5 amps but only about 60 watts, a 120 volt AC fridge might also use 5 amps but use 600 watts.

A 102Ah 12volt battery will generate a maximum of 1200 watt hours and can safely give you 300 watt hours a day. How can you say you live off of 300 watt hours in a 24 hour period. That is total BS unless you have nothing more than a 6 watt LED light and maybe a cell phone charger.

You may want to live without using electricity but the majority of the people out there can go a day without their TV, AC and Microwave. As for the pennies you save by not being connected to the grid you end up spending dollars for new batteries.

I'm sorry but your math is wrong or you really don't have a grasp on reality.

Oh final thought about the "worst case scenario". If that every happens forget about finding any batteries after 6 months because they will either all be taken or have gone dead due to lack of charging. Then you solar panel will be your only source of power during a short period of the day time. You may like to live like that but anyone with a family unfortunately uses much more electricity.

[russ]

Comments in italics - jony101 - you are spreading BS

Its good to be off-grid and would recommend to everyone. Total BS

Some people never think about worst case scenario (because it will never happen) but at least with solar you can be ready. Like a fire extinguisher, how often you use one? But smart people have one just in case. Your 240 watt panel will be useless in that case

My system is small, 240 watt solar panel

240 watts can run a cell phone - for which there will be no system.

[jony101]

forget about the utility costs, this is a solar forum. Yes its expensive but you can get alot done with 6x305 watt solar panels.
Yes AC is out of the question but maybe swamp cooler might work, a normal fridge is also too power hungry but they sell 12 volt fridges, and definitely the 12 amp heater is out of the question, I went that route in my van but not realistic. Eventually I just got a mr.heater and a small 1 pound propane canister last me 2 weeks since I only used it in the morning for a few minutes.
Increase the insulation in your trailer and it will help out with the temperatures.
Its good to be off-grid and would recommend to everyone.
In my system I already bought 3 different agm battery's in the past 2 years, not because they wore out but because I want to upgrade, the money I save in not paying for electricity I use to buy the batteries.
Some people never think about worst case scenario (because it will never happen) but at least with solar you can be ready. Like a fire extinguisher, how often you use one? But smart people have one just in case.
My system is small, 240 watt solar panel (because its all that will fit on my roof) and recently downgraded from a 145 ah battery to a better quality 102 ah battery. this small system makes me 100 percent off grid. I learned how live with this system.
In my opinion if you change some of your appliances to more energy efficient you will have no problem being totally off grid with the 6 panels. But going solar is a learning experience you start counting how much power your using and little by little you learn to live with what you got. Like you said, use only the appliance you need as needed, no wasted energy.
One more thing the amp ratings on AC is very different then on DC, for these measurements its better to rely on watts.
for instance a 12 volt fridge uses 5 amps but only about 60 watts, a 120 volt AC fridge might also use 5 amps but use 600 watts.