Installing solar panels on my Van. Looking for some advice.

spikeck2 wrote: »

I'm quite concerned that the solar panels are too much for the charge controller. Any advice you guys can give me is much appreciated.

-Spike

Spike,
Its probably going to be a long thread with lots of toing and froing but you should be working backwards from what you use now and add a bit on.
It really depends on what you want to run in your van, so put that list together first and then have a look at the peak usage. So if you run a microwave, tv etc they will be big draws and then you work out how long so watching 3 hours of tv at night in the winter will be different to half hour in summer when you have the solar energy.


Depends on the size of the van, Ive a swb transit so will probably only have 2 100w panels. One probably fixed to the roof and one on a tilting/removable mechanism to maximise benefit when parked up. Ill be redoing the van over the winter (been saying that for 2 years) so my plans are fluid but one flexible panel is sitting there and will go in anyway. Ive been running a few 5W and 10W panels as a temporary measure for years, they sit on the garage roof during winter keeping the various leisure batteries trickle charged off the van/boat.

It depends how stealthy you want to be, Ive a campervan but if you want to be stealthy then flexible panels glued on the roof is the way to go.


I only have the one leisure battery but everything majorly is run off gas (which Im thinking of moving to an lpg tank system, but I havent met anyone in person who has done the same, will visit a place in england soon to have a look) heater, cooking, hot water so apart from the dvd player and screen in the dash along with changed to internal led lights its not much of a draw.
That will affect the size of your inverter, currently I have a 300w one but cant really see myself using more than 1000w total with 1600w peak but its a small van cos I wanted one to fit into a regular parking space for city/village parking here in Ireland.


Theoretically you can have each panel going into a microcontroller going into a battery and then wire them up independently for redundancy but thats perhaps overkill but depends on your usage.


Also have a look at how you connect to the mains. My zig controller is ok for slow charging and supplying mains directly to the plug sockets (when I run a 400w infra red heater during winter) but unless its plugged in for a while wont charge both batteries (although I carry a separate smart charger and plug that into the mains source at the same time and charge the starting battery with it).
A mate did a full stealth build and put his mains connector next to the spare wheel underneath so you wouldnt know it was a camper (except when running a cable of course). A great idea except in winter when you have to get on your hands and knees in the rain/snow/wind to plug it in.
It also depends on where you go, I used my van a lot in the uk in winter to visit relatives and so needed the mains hookup at night to power the heater etc. Running a cable when you arent parked on the drive is a complete pain in the hole, stiff cable, fear of people tripping over, unplugging (thanks nephew), it being nicked and believe it or not animals peeing on it! No alternative here on these islands in the winter because even with full tilting panels (if you have the room I recommend putting one on gas struts) wont be enough to charge for a couple of days stay.
Ive a silent suitcase generator for wild camping/working away but its usually at the end of a 20m cable in a field somewhere and not exactly eco friendly.



Its very much how long is a piece of string question and no one solution will fit all but have a look at what you want to power and what your usage will be (winter/summer etc) and then work backwards and then allow some expansion.