We want a solar panel fitted to our caravan however due to my disability I cannot do it myself. We will have all the goodies including the Sikasil 252 glue and need someone to do the job.
Can any one recommend someone in the West Midlands who is experience in fitting solar panels to caravans and doesn't charge a fortune? Thanks.
We used Detroit solar to fit ours
The panel(100 watt) controller,read out fully fitted £436 They do various shows or will travel, we just went and stayed at a campsite near to them....
I have a 60W panel, put foam pipe lagging on each end stand on our caravan step & slide it on the roof. The cable comes down the side of the van & I have a connection in the battery box, works a treat, When not required slide it off put it back into the box, off we go.
Quote: Originally posted by iank01 on 29/7/2014
Still no joy for us finding a fitter. probably wait until the Western Motorhome show and see if any one can fit a solar panel to the caravan.
I suspect most fitters will want to supply and fit
Do you have any friends who could do it? It really is a simple job.
I understand the convenience factor - but in almost every other respect it's an inferior solution to a free-standing installation.
It will add a considerable amount of weight to the caravan roof. The routing of a cable through the roof will immediately invalidate any remaining warranty (and if not done with care, will probably lead to water ingress)
The efficiency of the panel is necessarily limited to the placement of the van - if you happen to be in shade, there's not much you can do about it.
You will be prevented from swapping the panel if you decide that a 60 watt version is insufficient - firstly, it will be a pig to release the sikaflexed mountings and, secondly, the larger panel will be adding even more weight to the roof (the very worst possible place carry a load when it comes to caravan stability)
A free-standing installation, once the initial installation of the controller and wiring is done, is extremely quick and easy to set up - and you can always do as suggested in this thread, and temporarily put the panel on the roof anyway.
Your choice, obviously - but I think that having a 'fitted' panel is more of a status symbol than a practical addition.
The way around the weight problem would be to use a flexible panel, of course - but the cost might well preclude that option for you (and all the other disadvantages would still apply)
------------- I glanced in the mirror, and it was love at first sight...
Well in my case it means that in the winter sitting in storage the battery is being recharged between weekends away. Also a roof mounted panel is more secure.
I have no argument that a free standing panel is watt for watt more efficient. But for me the convenience of permanent fixture out weighs the advantages of a free standing panel.
I fitted my own panel and worried about drilling a hole in the roof. But then as my caravan already had 3 roof lights, a heater vent, extractor fan, and a TV aerial I figured that one more hole carefully sealed wasn't going to make much difference.
Good point about keeping the battery charged in storage - you'd need it on the roof for that, certainly.
I just keep our battery topped up via the mains, but I do appreciate that not everyone is able to do that.
I'm afraid that Bailey wouldn't look kindly on any holes, though - it's got a 6 year damp warranty (extendible to 10) so I dare not give them the perfect excuse to disclaim it.
Incidentally, I see you have a Hymer - I've only ever seen one damp Hymer, and that was a Swing with damp in the front end. The owners had previously had a Dometic air-con unit retro-fitted, and I'd bet both my arms that the source of the ingress was a sloppy fitting job performed by a dealer who knew it would take a while to show.
Post last edited on 29/07/2014 23:10:45
------------- I glanced in the mirror, and it was love at first sight...
Quote: Originally posted by Watt Tyler on 29/7/2014
Why mount the panel on the van???
I understand the convenience factor - but in almost every other respect it's an inferior solution to a free-standing installation.
It will add a considerable amount of weight to the caravan roof. The routing of a cable through the roof will immediately invalidate any remaining warranty (and if not done with care, will probably lead to water ingress)
The efficiency of the panel is necessarily limited to the placement of the van - if you happen to be in shade, there's not much you can do about it.
You will be prevented from swapping the panel if you decide that a 60 watt version is insufficient - firstly, it will be a pig to release the sikaflexed mountings and, secondly, the larger panel will be adding even more weight to the roof (the very worst possible place carry a load when it comes to caravan stability)
A free-standing installation, once the initial installation of the controller and wiring is done, is extremely quick and easy to set up - and you can always do as suggested in this thread, and temporarily put the panel on the roof anyway.
Your choice, obviously - but I think that having a 'fitted' panel is more of a status symbol than a practical addition.
The way around the weight problem would be to use a flexible panel, of course - but the cost might well preclude that option for you (and all the other disadvantages would still apply)
Thanks, but fitting the solar panel to the roof will not invalidate the warranty and I have this in writing from Lunar. However if damp does appear around the hole for the cable, that will not be covered under warranty but the rest of the caravan is still covered.
The weight is only about 9kgs and we have that to spare. Either one of us would have a bit of difficulty carrying that sort of weight in and out of the caravan plus it cannot be carried in the vehicle. No chance of being able to fit it on the roof.
We are looking for either 100w or 120w panel which would not require any upgrading at some point in the future. Due to our age highly unlikely we will invest in another caravan.
The flexible panel is definitely an option but the maximum rating is 100w and those are difficult to source at the moment.
However thanks for the input as it was interesting to read.
i have thought about fitting a panel to my van.. 120 watts and on the roof.. fit and forget.. i would fit mine myself just to save money so far i havnt fitted one but there is time yet.. he he
people seem to love making simple things complicated i think its a forum thing.. :)
My 100w panel is on the roof. This is far from ideal so far as efficiency is concerned, but I ran some comparative tests between freestanding and flat on the roof beforehand and was satisfied with roof mounted performance.
This works very well for us all year round (a lot of "off grid" use), albeit we aren't power hungry users. Battery maintained, TV/radio use, all LED lighting etc., and an efficient MTTP charge controller with remote display (controller mounted out of the way).
Inevitably I was somewhat nervous to drill the roof, but with proper care and attention and the right hardware for the job, no problems with ingress (not long upgraded the Status 315 to 560 too, so a small cable hole not much of a concern having cut a 50mm hole through the roof already).
It's convenient for the reasons of storage as mentioned and suits our needs. Approx 7kgs with four corner fixings.
For medium to long term storage, I remove the battery for maintaining on a C-Tek smart charger.
Quote: Originally posted by trog100 on 30/7/2014
i have thought about fitting a panel to my van.. 120 watts and on the roof.. fit and forget.. i would fit mine myself just to save money so far i havnt fitted one but there is time yet.. he he
people seem to love making simple things complicated i think its a forum thing.. :)
trog
Makes me smile as well. Got a no name panel mounted on the roof very bad. I can't even remember whether it is mono or polycrystalline, whatever this one is my first one was the other. All connected to PVM controller. A total no no if posts here are to believed. And I fitted myself so obviously a recipe for disaster.
Sorry to disappoint you all it just works. It worked at new year. It worked the weekend before last, it worked last weekend, and I'm sure it will work this weekend.
Sometimes there is to much theory. Something either works or it doesn't and mine works for us.
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Topic: Fitting a solar panel
- it's got a 6 year damp warranty (extendible to 10) so I dare not give them the perfect excuse to disclaim it.
