Many RV players have come to a conclusion through long-term experience: the electricity on the RV is less and less sufficient. It’s true that today, with the development of science and technology, when we travel, we will carry a lot of electronic equipment in the car, which leads to more and more places using electricity. Lack of electricity has become a pain point for many RV players. In order to solve this problem, more and more RV manufacturers begin to incorporate the solar charging system into the selection column of car purchases, which also attracts many potential buyers of RV. How to choose solar panels? How much power is suitable to install? Today, let’s talk about the solar panel of RV.
The power supply in the RV basically comes from four aspects, namely battery, driving generator, external 220 V power supply, and solar charging system. Solar charging system plays an important role in RV. Many RV players will install a set of solar panels after they buy a new car. Although it seems not difficult to install the solar charging system, many riders don’t know how high-power solar panels to install on their RV? Is the more power installed, the better?
Does RV need to install solar panels？
At present, most players will install solar panels. From a practical point of view, it is a good choice to install a set of solar panels on the RV. Clean solar energy is used to generate electricity to supply the RV. If you use the RV for a long time and travel outside frequently, solar energy becomes more important.
What kind of solar panels does the RV need？
Many riders don’t know how much power they should install solar panels. In fact, this problem completely depends on the actual situation of their own electricity.
The more electrical appliances you have in your RV, the higher the power consumption will be, and more solar panels will be needed. So you need to calculate the daily power required by all electrical appliances in your RV, and then configure the corresponding number of solar panels.
How does the solar panel system work?
The use of solar energy in RV is mainly through the solar panels laid on the roof to absorb solar energy and then through the inverter into the daily use of AC. The direct output voltage of solar panels is generally 12V, 24V, 48V. In order to provide power for appliances with voltage of 220V, it is necessary to convert the DC power generated by the solar power generation system into AC power through the inverter. In some cases, when a variety of voltage loads are needed, DC-DC inverter is also used, such as converting 24 V power into 5 V power. The transformed electric energy can be used directly or stored in a battery for emergency use.
How much electricity can solar panels generate in a day？
“If the rated power of the solar panel is 400W, under the condition of standard light intensity and battery power shortage, theoretically, the power storage in one hour is 400W △ 18V × 12V × 1H = 0.267kw · h, which is commonly known as 0.267kwh. If it is calculated according to the average of 6 hours per day. So 0.267kw · H × 6 = 1.602kw · h, about 1.6 kwh. ”
After calculation, we can see that in theory, a set of 400W solar panels can generate 1.6 kilowatt hours of electricity a day. If the light intensity and intermediate loss of electric energy are included, the charging efficiency is calculated as 70%, and the actual charging amount is 1.6 kilowatt hours a day × 0.7 = 1.12 kilowatt hour, which electrical appliances can the 1.12 kilowatt hour bear the normal operation? For a self-propelled C-type RV within 6 meters, the total lighting equipment of the RV is calculated as 100W temporarily. The combined power of 80W refrigerator, 80W LCD TV, 30W laptop, and mobile phone is about 300W, that is to say, these electrical equipment can work together for 1.6 △ 0.3 = 5.3 hours. Now you should understand, so many professional players will recommend that you choose 300-400w solar panels.
Composition of solar panel system
Solar panel system applied to RV is not only a charging system, but also a small energy storage system. This system is composed of solar panels, solar charging controller and the battery you need.
Solar panels. The most common length of solar panels is about 1.2 meters, with power ranging from 100W to 400W. This solar module is used to receive sunlight and is usually placed on the roof of the car.
The solar charging controller is actually a charging device, and now it is basically MPPT (MPPT controller’s full name is “maximum power point tracking”) Power Point Tracking solar controller is an upgrade of traditional solar charging and discharging controller. Efficiency is much higher, generally more than 95%. At present, the output end of the small charging controller that can be used in the car is automatically identified. Only the battery is 12V / 24V / 48V. If the battery voltage is 96V, 110V, 220V, etc., the corresponding charging controller needs to be selected. As long as the voltage of the solar cell module at the input end is not greater than the rated input voltage of the charging controller, it is OK. It is also important to note that the terminal voltage of the component must be 3-5v higher than the battery voltage to ensure normal operation. For example, if you use a 12V battery, the voltage of your component must be 17V or higher to ensure normal operation. It doesn’t matter if the voltage of the solar module is higher, as long as it meets the input voltage of the charging controller.
Battery. Generally, the size of the battery is selected according to personal needs. It is suggested that 400W solar panels and 200ah batteries should be installed on the RV. Under the premise of sufficient light, the best state can charge 60% – 65% for the battery. Lead acid battery discharge generally can discharge to 25% – 30%. What you may be more concerned about is whether it will be effective when the solar panel is charging while the equipment is consuming power? Theoretically, there is no problem, but it should be noted that the load power and loss power should match. For example, if the load power is 100W and the solar panel power is 200W, there will be 40% – 50% loss (mismatched loss) normally, which can basically ensure the normal operation. If the load power is 100W, and the power of the solar panel is 100W, then with the normal loss, it can not be guaranteed, and it needs to be balanced by the battery.
Matters needing attention in installing solar panels
① Different China solar panel manufacturers produce different solar panels. Some solar panels are equipped with metal frames, while others are directly laid on the roof of the RV and fixed. It is recommended that you choose the solar panels with metal frames.
② Install the base. Can play the role of backflow air, but also drainage. Due to the speed is too fast in the process of driving, solar panels and air pressure, resulting in solar panels lifted by the wind, causing danger.
Maintenance of solar panels
① If you often drive an RV to areas with severe haze or frequent dust, remember to clean the surface of solar panels frequently to prevent long-term dust accumulation, resulting in poor power generation efficiency.
② Maintenance of wiring harness. Regularly check the harness to prevent aging, and generally replace the harness once every 3-5 years.
