Need help, solar powrr and camping

[robertweir]

I am new to all of this, so I need as much help as possible. I just bought some land near a lake. I put my house trailer there. Now I need power. I would love to run my trailer of solar power. What do I do, and what do I need... Thank you all for your time. I rust want to run, lights, radio and maybe a TV and DVD for the kids at night.

[inetdog]

I am new to all of this, so I need as much help as possible. I just bought some land near a lake. I put my house trailer there. Now I need power. I would love to run my trailer of solar power. What do I do, and what do I need... Thank you all for your time. I rust want to run, lights, radio and maybe a TV and DVD for the kids at night.

Hello Robert, and welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

The very first step would be to get an accurate idea of the loads you want to run, the power they consume, and how long you will use each one in a 24 hour period.
Once you have that, and we can help you estimate and calculate, you should go to one or more of the off-grid design and planning tools that are in sticky threads in Off Grid.

The very first part of the first step would be to decide what kind of low power lights you will use. LED fixtures designed for RV use are very efficient and run directly off 12VDC. But you can get more variety and flexibility, including using the existing AC wiring, by using 120V AC LED or CFL lighting.
Most TV and DVD players use a surprising amount of power when "turned off", so you will probably want to plug them into a switched power strip or two.
Your second decision will be whether to use a 12V or a 24V system. For really low power requirements and to use 12V DC accessories you can justify 12V. If you plan on eventually expanding the system to include a pump, washing machine, etc. you should start out at 24V.

[noviasolar]

Solar Solution

I am new to all of this, so I need as much help as possible. I just bought some land near a lake. I put my house trailer there. Now I need power. I would love to run my trailer of solar power. What do I do, and what do I need... Thank you all for your time. I rust want to run, lights, radio and maybe a TV and DVD for the kids at night.

hi robert,

we are interested to see the location of your land near the lake, suitable for a relaxing weekend with your family. And of course everyone wanted to be like you.
We have a suggestion to power your trailers by using off-grid solar Rv kit. but it depends on how many watts you need to run it all. Perhaps as a suggestion, you require 300-400 watts to run it all. so that quasi goes well. and you do not need to add another to it, unless there are other needs that you need. and you can comfortably enjoy your evening with the family without having to worry about lack of power for your trailer.

if you would wonder, please. perhaps we could provide another solution.

Solar greetings

[robertweir]

12 v system like the one in the trailer allready.

12v system since the house trailer already runs on it. I need ony 3 to 4 hours of run time. Mostly being lights, and maybe a small TV with DVD.

Hello Robert, and welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

The very first step would be to get an accurate idea of the loads you want to run, the power they consume, and how long you will use each one in a 24 hour period.
Once you have that, and we can help you estimate and calculate, you should go to one or more of the off-grid design and planning tools that are in sticky threads in Off Grid.

The very first part of the first step would be to decide what kind of low power lights you will use. LED fixtures designed for RV use are very efficient and run directly off 12VDC. But you can get more variety and flexibility, including using the existing AC wiring, by using 120V AC LED or CFL lighting.
Most TV and DVD players use a surprising amount of power when "turned off", so you will probably want to plug them into a switched power strip or two.
Your second decision will be whether to use a 12V or a 24V system. For really low power requirements and to use 12V DC accessories you can justify 12V. If you plan on eventually expanding the system to include a pump, washing machine, etc. you should start out at 24V.

[noviasolar]

12v system since the house trailer already runs on it. I need ony 3 to 4 hours of run time. Mostly being lights, and maybe a small TV with DVD.

you may require some additional power again. or maybe an extra in the use of batteries and power storage. so you dapet maximize all electronic performance you use.
may 1800W 24V

[SunEagle]

12v system since the house trailer already runs on it. I need ony 3 to 4 hours of run time. Mostly being lights, and maybe a small TV with DVD.

robert

Based on the limited info you have given us we would still be guessing on the panel wattage and battery size. If our guess is off by even 100 watt hours your battery system can die an early death by being too small.

You really need to determine what your daily "watt hour" load is before you purchase anything. So try to determine the "wattage" for each load and a rough estimate (3 to 4 hours) like you did above. That will give you a rough idea of the "watt hours" each load uses in a day. Add them all up and you get a better idea of how to size the battery system.

[Naptown]

Read the off grid battery design stickie.
Location is important to get a feel for how much power can be produced
Also is this weekends only during summer or weeks long into the fall and winter.
Lots of things to consider
There is a link to the stickie in my sig line

[Sundetective]

Don't forget fans.
It can get real ugly without them.
I used to figure one fan 'per head' when we roughed it
in a non-motorhome trailer.
12 volt works very nice - indeedie.

Even in cold weather fans are nice for a temperature exhaust
safety feature when using kerosene heaters.
We hooked one or two fans up to simple hobby greenhouse
thermostat off / on switches.

This avoids waking up to 95 degrees in the morning some days.
Little cheap AC powered stuff using little inverters is easier to come by
for that trick.

Bill Blake