How much solar power do we really get? “RV Off Grid solar power test”

[@junkerzn7312]

I would recommend changing the solar panel configuration. Basically, use multiple charge controllers instead of paralleling. 2 x Victron Smart Solar 150/45's (for example). If you want to go whole-hog on improving performance with partial shading conditions, even consider a third charge controller and go with a 3s, 3s, 4s topology with 3 x Victron Smart Solar 150/35's (for example). Paralleling does help with shading but it doesn't help nearly as much as having a dedicated charge controller for each string. Particularly when you are running more than 2 panels per string. The reason is that if one of the panels in a string is partially shaded that panel's voltage will drop out, leaving only the voltage of the remaining panels. When you parallel the two strings their voltages are now mismatched. The unshaded string will force the paralleled combination to the higher voltage and that will massively reduce the current contribution of the partially shaded string in that situation. Having a dedicated charge controller for each string solves the problem. It means back-hauling more cables from the roof into the bay, but it is well worth doing. -Matt

[@saltytrips]

Running out of space very quickly, I’m happy with the performance so far, it’s about what I expected. More curious to see how it performs in full sun.

[@junkerzn7312]

@@saltytrips In full sun I'm gonna put in my guess... around 12 kWh/day, maybe a bit more. A regular fixed array of that size, properly angled and facing the right way would get around 18 kWh/day in full sun. Very roughly. Shade always does a number of panels. Better than nothing, though. Solar gives you lots of options.

[@spitfire155k2]

That’s great info!

[@ianrodriguez9734]

We run a 12v, 2640 watt, 4s x 3p with 1000 Ah of batteries and just a single 3000 watt inverter. We can run the AC overnight and fully recharge during the day. In full sun, we are pulling right around 2k watts for 4 hours daily and when we get more than 12 hours of sun, we can pull in 10-12 kwh daily.

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Nice

[@glaflamme]

Awesome video! Addictive yes.. My experience is similar. I have a 3000 W 24v MPP inverter and 280Ah @ 24 V with 1000 W of solar. I experimented with the air conditioner and water heater running together (I don't have two ACs so that was the best I could do for maximum draw) I maxed out my MPP inverter for 45 minutes, until the water heater reached temperature. I pulled 933 W of solar and 2021w from the batteries. I haven't seen 1000 W yet, but temps have been in the 80s and the panels just don't run as efficiently in warm weather. I am considering an additional 400 W of solar that I can break out of the bed of the truck and plug-in, rather than permanently mounting on my roof. I also thought to purchase 1000 W coil for my water heater. Just to have a back up in case my propane dwindles. Fun stuff

[@saltytrips]

Right on, sounds like a great setup 👍

[@glaflamme]

@@saltytrips Thanks, it's an inexpensive little system for our 30 amp travel trailer. If I had a nice fifth wheel like yours, I would have gone to larger panels and done something closer to what you have. When chins batteries came down in price to ($1050 for a pair of 12.8 x 280 amp hour batteries) when that happened I decided to step up to a 24 V system. I am about $3600 in and having a great time learning how to understanding how solar works. Alternator charging is going to be my next thing.

[@SuperSushidog]

Thanks for the update. Maybe you should consider that solar awning we saw at Quartzsite last winter. Or you could use a side mounted array like we have to augment your roof array. If you often encounter shady conditions, you might consider a deployable ground mount array that you can move around to keep it in the sun.

[@saltytrips]

We have a video coming out soon addressing a lot of that, stay tuned 👍

[@blackandwhitesportstoo]

Really darn good video. Real world real numbers. We're putting solar at our land as we're moving into a 50x16 cabin. I've seen some videos of people starting to put mini splits on RVs. So much power as you talked about is freaking ACs. EG4 has these mini splits that run off solar alone during the meat part of the day. Something to consider. We're putting one in the living room of the cabin. It should put about 3KW-5KW a day back in our pocket at least. Thanks for the content.. .

[@saltytrips]

Thank you, good luck with your build 👍

[@EnjoybotLiFePO4Battery]

Great video as usual. It's very informative for beginners.

[@robertrios9982]

Another great video. This solar stuff makes my head spin. lol.

[@saltytrips]

Gets easier with time 👍

[@2hotscottpro]

Figure your numbers out or wasting money was what I was told .Like a 6k inverter 240v I bought only puts out 3k watts @ 120v lol

[@TRAVISGOLDIE]

Good to see a no nonsense honest video. Sustaindoes take some getting used to

[@saltytrips]

Appreciate the kudos 👍

[@johnsenesi9095]

Great video & information about your solar system 👍

[@CampsiteCruising]

Nice video! We don’t rely on solar right now since we only make it out maybe once or twice a month. Great information though. I like learning about it all.

[@saltytrips]

We have a a playlist of our while Victron build on our channel page 👍

[@CampsiteCruising]

@@saltytrips I’ll check it out

[@davesauerzopf6980]

I have no plans to go anywhere that does not have electric but, I did try to run a small 74 watt dehumidifier in the camper and only use the inverter to power it. I have 2 solar panels, 2 lead acid batteries, 2K inverter, and the batteries could not power it overnight. I know it is 74 watts because I attached a meter to track usage to the dehumidifier? Are lead acid batteries that crappy or are they shot? Love your videos and how you DIY everything.

[@saltytrips]

Depends on your batteries capacity, lithium is definitely a better option, take your batteries to Auto parts store to have them checked but if you have an inverter and plan to run any AC power for any length of time I would consider upgrading 👍

[@2hotscottpro]

One 100ah Li battery same as 2 100ah wet bats.Yup that 1/2 power from wet vs Li bats.Two wets cost 400 bucks so Li way cheaper now.Only 1/2 power from wet.Fact!

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

​@@2hotscottpro great point

[@jeffmorse8706]

Great information! I didn't hear you mention if you had installed your panels with angled adapters? If you didn't just want to say that the solar intake is very good for being flat. I have 800 watt's flat on my motorhome with 460 watt's that I can deploy on the ground. Flexible and foldable for those very situations you talked about.

[@saltytrips]

Thanks for the input, we have a video coming out soon of things we might have done differently 👍

[@solarcabin]

You need to use blocking diodes between the panels to reduce shading effects or park in direct sunlight. Solar panels in shade will pull down the rest of the panels.

[@saltytrips]

Thats what i said 🤦‍♂️

[@richardwolf6269]

Don’t most panels come with diodes?

[@solarcabin]

@@richardwolf6269 Typical solar panels have bypass diodes but a blocking diode functions to basically turn off panels that are in shade so they do not drag down those that are in sunlight. Another option is to use multiple controllers.

[@donaldhoudek2889]

Just a few possibilities for increasing your SOLAR power. 1)Wasted space is the top of your slide-outs. You could get the flexible Solar (light weight also) that could be glued to the tops of your slide-outs. I checked mine and there is plenty of room between the top of the slide and the frame of the box. As for any scraping the only contact would be the flexible rubber gasket hanging down from the box opening. Not an issue. 2) Another area for the flexible Solar is down the center of your roof. You can walk on the flexible solar, provided you take your shoes off. Finally, if you feel that the best of Solar generation would be like Series in the early morning and late afternoon and parallel during the mid-day, there is an option. If you are an ElectronicsNut like me you would create a Solar matrix. Each of your Solar panels would be run to an electrical junction box where their output terminations would be controlled by a cross-point type switch and low power relays to connect them in either series or parallel and out to a Solar Charge controller. The program could even automatically test different connection possibilities and select the one that has the best output. A Raspberry Pi micro-computer could handle this project with ease. It could even disconnect non producing panels so as not to affect the output of the other panels and redo the series/parallel configuration based on each panels output. I am not sure that re configuring between Series and Parallel would be worth it, but it would be an interesting project. It may be time for you to take on a new hobby, Electronics, with easy programming. AI (ChatGPT) will write just about all your code, trouble shoot it, and modify it for you. I have become a lazy programmer now. Give it a try! Great Video!

[@Mike-01234]

Flexible solar panels short out melted RV roof kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJeTXqeOopKCp8Usi=ULeQEQYEL8MDZF4v

[@junkerzn7312]

I strongly DISrecommend flexible panels, at least not unless you can get an air gap under the panel. Putting flexible panels directly on the roof without an air gap massively heat-stresses those panels and a lot of people have wound up with burned up roofs and fires due to that. You always want an air gap under the panel, the panel will run a lot cooler (and perform better because of that), and is unlikely to overheat.

[@lotechgreg]

Don't do flexibles, I did, spent big bucks on them, they de-laminate, I'm still slowly removing them from my pop-out so as not to ruin the membrane top.

[@saltytrips]

@@lotechgreg we have a couple ideas rolling around about more solar, non- include flex panels on the roof. That video will be coming soon.

[@donaldhoudek2889]

@@junkerzn7312 good point

[@thomdukesherer2744]

How are you setting up inverters to utilize solar over shore power?

[@saltytrips]

We discuss “Sustain mode and input limits” in up coming video 👍

[@2hotscottpro]

I have 2100 watts of Bifacial panels.Have seen 2400 watts.Have 230ah @48 volt battery.But only get 3k watts out of a 6k inverter running 120 volt.Yah only half power vs 6k @ 240 volt.What sucks is I can only run 1 AC @120v. Thus the 3k watt 120v limit.Still figuring out what to do? Maybe a 4k watt 120v inverter? Gona get 4 more 525 watt panels for the 3rd charge controller.Possibly another battery bank down the road but gotta hit CAT scale now.

[@2hotscottpro]

Parked in full sun watts climb after 10 to 4 is full power.At about 7pm I’ve used 35ah of battery running 1 ac.Yah it’s hot now 93* in full sun but not much sun on rv sides.

[@2hotscottpro]

I see about 10-15k ah of charge per sunny day running 1 ac.

[@saltytrips]

CAT scale definitely is a big factor when adding more, we discuss that in an upcoming video 👍

[@heroesandzeros7802]

We need awnings that are solar panels.

[@saltytrips]

I discuss that in an upcoming video 👍

[@danny_the_K]

So why didn’t you use the 400watt panels to maximize your energy output into the batteries? Was it cost or efficiency per dollar that the 250watt panels were used? 10 panels at 400watts each would put you at 4K generation max instead of the 2.6K with no additional space on the roof. Would that benefit you or am I just not thinking it through well enough? Looks like you have plenty of battery storage and converter capacity. Just think out loud.

[@saltytrips]

A lot of factors, space, weight, additional hardware to mount, payload capacity, etc, I address all these in an upcoming video 👍

[@jesserevilla992]

Still waiting on Godzilla towing, mpg’s, at what avg Hwy Speed? I would had purchased a Diesel truck.. with what you spent on batteries lol. A first time watching your Vid that I came across on your truck. So was trying to find the follow up video you said you were going to do ? So if you did please send me link. As for solar I would never spend that much $ on something stationary. I would had gone with portable E-Gen system like a Delta Pro Ecoflow products. I guess you plan to boondock allot. I live in South FLA and that still won’t cut it… Need shore-power. Winter months up north understand. Your inverter needs to be Hybrid for partial Batteries and gas gen. Florida is rough to boondock May through the first half of December. And hopefully you’re North of central FLA. Anyway great Vid …

[@saltytrips]

Batteries cost me about $2,800 a Diesel truck cost $80,000.

[@2hotscottpro]

Nice Bob Cat..Cougar lol😂

[@saltytrips]

Are you okay?

[@2hotscottpro]

@@saltytrips haha I called yer cougar a bob cat .Was a joke. 😆

[@CampsiteCruising]

Nice video! We don’t rely on solar right now since we only make it out maybe once or twice a month. Great information though. I like learning about it all.