Can anyone tell me anything about Solar Panels. What watts you need, how much charge will be put into the battery, how you connect them etc. We have been looking at this one -
FWIW I like the look of the suitcase panel but I'm put off by them saying that it's not waterproof, I don't really want to faff around putting up and taking down a panel over a trip.
I know several people who have tried them and they are mainly now lying in their sheds. You will only get the maximum of a 1A charge, for a few hours a day, if the panel is aimed directly at the sun on a sunny day - otherwise the output is much lower. If you actually intend using your leisure battery, you will need a much bigger panel at considerably more cost, but the 13W one will keep an unused battery topped up whilst it's not being used.
I use a 50 watt panel which I brought off eBay some years back & never had any issues with it. Although you now can get 100 watt panels for about the same price on there. I brought a voltage regulator & made up a wooden stand so I can prop it up outside the caravan all for around £225. The same sort of thing from a caravan & camping store would cost nearly 3 times as much.
We have just been away for 7 nights and we use a battery to keep phones and cameras charged as well as run a flourescent night light and pump/top up our air bed.
On similar trips in the past our battery has gone flat but this 13W briefcase panel kept it charged.
If you are demanding more from your battery then it might not keep up but in our case it worked nicely.
Same here the 13w solar briefcase kept leisure battery topped up. Used for 12v fluorescent lights, shower pump, charging phones etc. Now on it's 3rd season left out in the rain at times.
Just did a week in the caravan and it still managed to keep the battery in the green. Did have my doubts that it would not manage as we obviously had more lights and a water pump which we did not have in the tent.
So the question is how much power do you intend to use, as that is what dictates the size of solar panel you need.
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Topic: Solar panels
