Adding Solar Panel

[stamati]

Amazon sells a 100w flexible solar panel by HQST. It fits flush on it's mounting surface, can be attached with high strength velcro and weighs only four pounds.

[KennethW]

Amazon sells a 100w flexible solar panel by HQST. It fits flush on it's mounting surface, can be attached with high strength velcro and weighs only four pounds.

I think I read some where that solar panels heat up without air to cool them. Don't want to melt roof on her foamie.

[GPW]

We believe somewhere was written that Heat causes a loss of efficiency in solar panels too ... A small frame of some type , to let air circulate behind it may help ..... a “chimney” sort of thing would be even better ... creating a steady FLOW of air , cooling the panel ...

Just looking around Amazon , looks like Solar prices have dropped to a much more reasonable level ... < $1.50 a watt ...
Move over Big Oil, there’s a Big Hydrogen fire in the sky willing to feed us power for Billions of years ... All we have to do is capture it ....

[kudzu]

We believe somewhere was written that Heat causes a loss of efficiency in solar panels too ... A small frame of some type , to let air circulate behind it may help ..... a “chimney” sort of thing would be even better ... creating a steady FLOW of air , cooling the panel ...

Just looking around Amazon , looks like Solar prices have dropped to a much more reasonable level ... < $1.50 a watt ...
Move over Big Oil, there’s a Big Hydrogen fire in the sky willing to feed us power for Billions of years ... All we have to do is capture it ....

And it works so very well with a 12v system. Lots of handy camping items running on 12v. Am pleased so far with my 100w Renogy suitcase, portable panels. On my camper the battery is in a vented box in a dinette bench. We added a 12v outlet in the side of the camper. I just put the panel set outside, aim in the general direction of sun & plug it in. Easy, peasy. Now that I have a way to recharge the battery without 110v power, we're adding the Fantastic fan. It's going to be so cool, literally.

[GPW]

[stamati]

a small frame could work- I'd imagine it wouldn't need to be very tall to facilitate cooling. That being said, I've seen numerous examples of the flexible panels being mounted directly to their surface, and it's recommended by the manufacturer I believe. They're made to be super low profile. I also have a hard time imagining that the heat from the panel would be high enough to melt your roof. Am I wrong there?

[GPW]

JMHO, I doubt it would melt a foam roof .... not in the Sun anyway ... Even with black painted canvas over foam , it never even got hot enough to soften the foam ... That’s been tested !!!

[tony.latham]

I like to park in the shade. If it looks like I'm going to be short on power, I can put my two 30 watt (DIY) folding panels in the sun.



The problem with not mounting them on the roof is the storage challenge. I built this tongue box after I made up the folding panels so they'd fit.



But there's always solutions.

Tony

[bonnie]

I popped for the ABS mounts. I have a 30w folding panel which I may use until I can get the other one mounted. I'm going to use both construction adhesive and bolts through the foam. With fender washers strong glue and the added airdam I think I'll be good. The panel is 40 x 42, so almost a square, so it would be tough to cart it around. Still figuring. The retirement camping trip probably won't be with the new panel. My goal is by the first of July.

I'm down to buying cables and batteries. If I have things figured correctly, I need about 38ah per day. Do battery banks need to be pairs, i.e. 2 or 4 or 6?

[GPW]

Tony , I like your setup .... Simple , no holes in the roof ... Less temptation for the two footed Predators ...
Bonnie , with 12 Volt Deep discharge batteries (Not regular car batteries) you can just keep adding them in parallel +to+ , - to - , as much as you want to increase the CAPACITY , the storage ... One good battery for your needs should be Plenty ... Keep it Simple ... Good Luck !!!

[bonnie]

JMHO, I doubt it would melt a foam roof .... not in the Sun anyway ... Even with black painted canvas over foam , it never even got hot enough to soften the foam ... That’s been tested !!!

So glad you said this. I had wondered.

[GuitarPhotog]

Bonnie , with 12 Volt Deep discharge batteries (Not regular car batteries) you can just keep adding them in parallel +to+ , - to - , as much as you want to increase the CAPACITY , the storage ...

Well, it's not quite as simple as that. If you are going to use 12VDC batteries in parallel, they should be matched for capacity and age. An older or weaker battery can pull down the entire bank, consume too much power during the charge cycle, and otherwise compromise your system. If you really need more capacity it's actually easier to replace your original with a larger capacity single battery.

But, that said, most teardrop users don't really need that much power. I have all LED lights, a computer fan for ventilation, and a couple of USB charge ports and can go five days between charging my 65 AH deep-cycle AGM battery. I never run the battery down below 45-50%, and used the same battery for over 5 years before an accidental total discharge killed it.

<Chas>

[GPW]

Correction .... One must ASSUME the batteries are well Matched , standard procedure with any battery system , and not mentioned because we ASSUMED that was understood .... Thanks for the reminder GP !!!
We too have a single DD battery that we’ve been nursing along for years now ... Still fine ... just a float charge now and then ...

[ghcoe]

Lots of good info here. Listen to the podcast too. http://solar1234.com/

[bonnie]

Lots of good info here. Listen to the podcast too. http://solar1234.com/

Great site. Thanks