Solar Power For RV's For Beginners |
| Written by Tim Fearey | |
| Sunday, 25 January 2009 | |
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As ever more campers wander away from the city in their own recreational vehicle, they discover that all of their modern conveniences take a lot of electricity. This is no problem if you are plugged in at a campground, or if you move frequently and the batteries charge while you drive. For other times when you park in an out of the way locale for days, the castle lights can really grow dim as the batteries slowly wear down. Two solutions suggest themselves. The first is to bring a gas powered generator, and run it for a few hours at a time to replace the energy used up. This will cost a lot of money for fuel and will create noise pollution. If fuel consumption and noise is a concern, then you won't want to use a traditional generator. Other than only camping where there is access to plugins, there is another option, using solar energy with rv solar panels to charge your batteries. The solar panels in a camper solar setup come in different sizes, like two feet by three feet or two feet by four feet. They will have a rating, such as 80 or 120 watts, which you can use to calculate how many panels you will need. These arrays of photo-voltaic cells can be wired together in series to match whatever charging requirements you have. Many rv solar panels are permanently mounted on the roof, or are placed beside the camper. While the roof mounted panels are more secure in winds and don't need packing and unpacking, the panels on portable stands can be oriented to face the sun as it moves during the day. Deep cycle batteries can be overcharged and ruined, which is why every rv solar power system needs a charge controller to keep an 'eye' on things. As electricity flows into the batteries, the charge controller detects when they are full and stops the current before damage is caused. The batteries need to be deep cycle rv batteries, which typically are what most motorhomes, campers and trailer already have. You may need to add more batteries for extra storage capacity, depending on how much electricity you will be using. If you don't plan on running any 110V household appliances, then you won't need an inverter. Otherwise, if You want to be able to use ordinary devices such as your microwave or DVD player, you will need an inverter in your system to convert 12 V DC to 110V AC. There are several sizes of inverters, to match your specific needs. If you are buying a new RV, you can pick a model with these parts included, or have the dealership order them and get them installed professionally. If you are the handy man type, you can find all of your components yourself and do it yourself. A trip to the RV dealership might still be a good idea, since you can ask them questions and they will help you decide how big of a system to install.
The Article Author:
Solar energy is more environmentally friendly and responsible than carbon based energy. Follow this link to find out more about RV Solar Panels For Beginners. You can also learn more about many handy Residential Solar Products.
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