I was watching the caravan channel and they were at the NCC show. They had a flexible solar panel that looked to be 4' x 1' and rolled up for storage. There was no indication of price but you could either put it on the roof or on the ground as far as I could tell. Then take it down and roll it up when you were leaving.
I was watching the caravan channel and they were at the NCC show. They had a flexible solar panel that looked to be 5' x 2' and rolled up for storage. There was no indication of price but you could either put one on the roof or on the ground as far as I could tell. It is 100 watts and very durable, they say you can walk on it.
Quote: Originally posted by oldham on 24/10/2011
Just got to argue with solars for tourers, ours not seen an EHU all summer. With the right gear self sufficiency is easy. Also judging by how many other vans were on the THS, Rallies we are not alone.
Somehow I doubt if your solar panels are over a square meter in size. LOL!
In an ideal world, all tourers would be covered in solar panels, enabling all the mod cons that we use on EHU to work. In practice, we are restricted by the amount of useable space on the roof because of all the other stuff that gets mounted on there (roof vents, aerials, satellite dishes, air con units, flues etc...)
I have now bought the 50 watt one I mentioned on eBay, waiting for it to be delivered. I also have a 13 watt Maplin briefcase and have bought a 10 amp regulator so I am able to fix the 50 amp panel to the roof and connect the 13 watt one in parallel. I have room to fit another 50 watt further back too and the regulator should be big enough to handle the three.
I have always carried two leisure batteries in the past when on a rally, but on my last trip my spare let me down and my second battery also let me down a few months earlier, so I have gone from having three batteries down to just one in a period of a few months.
If I can get a solar panel for around the same price as a spare leisure battery, it seemed to make more sense to ensure my main battery does not go flat than to carry a spare.
Quote: Originally posted by Surfer01 on 24/10/2011Bill, you say you get free electric during the day. Somehow experience has taught me that this is generally not the case. If it was true why are companies touting that you will save £60 - £100 off your annual not monthly bill? Not my words, theirs.
If it was so good why don't all houses in sunny countries have solar panels fitted. generally panels produce only just enough to heat your hot water every day with a little to spare.
Solar panels are okay as a means of topping up but you certainly could not run a household on solar panels unless you had a field of them outside.
[/QUOTE
Think I had better get on to my supplier, my meter has hardly moved, as regarding free electric, I don't mean throw everything on at the same time, the wife use's the washing machine every day, so now she use's it when the panels are generating, lights,tv, freezer, all being used at the same time. Kettles aren't being used all the time, the panels cope with ease, I have been monitoring the panels on the pc, and on the iPhone when not at home, this week alone I have put 50 kwh into the grid, and the weather has been awful,plus the sun is low down this time of year. this system is the first one up and running in the NW. There is more to this system then just panels & an inverter. Trust me, this system is well worth investing in.
Post last edited on 24/10/2011 22:27:30
------------- Roughing it in style at Calloose caravan and camping holiday park nr St Ives.(seasonal pitch)
Its not a hangover, its wine flu!
This is the company I dealt with,
Solectric uk ltd. Based in Bolton.
In my post the panels make is wrong,( spell checker) they are Sanyo.
There are panels and there are panels, different makes perform differently, Sanyo are the best on the Market , the company name I have posted will show how they work, & FAQ ,
------------- Roughing it in style at Calloose caravan and camping holiday park nr St Ives.(seasonal pitch)
Its not a hangover, its wine flu!
Although I find it hard to believe, as long as you are happy with what you have that is all that counts! BTW how is the electric generated stored to enable you to run a washing machine off the panels unless you are using cold water?
I found an 80 watt portable solar panel on ebay and it serves me well, However, improvements for caravaners would be:
2nd battery fitting service,invertor fitting to match battery AH,quick release PV security,optional ground tilting brackets and roof suction support pads. quality quick release connectors for power lines. universal rugged 10 amp regulator with easy to use terminals, spares kit (like spare bulb kit) to include easy fit blocking diodes.
I have had to deal with all above DIY and found the caravan industry lacking in finer detail information. I suspect the merits of PV power to caravans (including wind power) will not gather monentum until gas and electric prices are hiked up further.Then we will see led lights,compressor fridges,PVs as the norm,invertors wired into the caravan as standard,lower wattage kettles and microwaves to mention a few. The other development to force change are sites using PVs and Turbines to provide EHC.There are not many of these around and if there were it would enhance knowledge.
Quote: Originally posted by Bill Terry on 25/10/2011I give up. I'll say no more on the subject .
I thought your answers to be quite informative and I was looking for further info as that helps me build a picture to make more informed answers. Thanks for your input anyway.
I think that the future is fuel cells and not solar panels. Already some motor homes are being fitted with fuel cells and a fuel cell does away with the need for a battery or EHU.
All that fuel cells need is to be cheaper by a factor of 10 and have the fuel safety aspect sorted.
My own feeling is that those that want to be off ehu will in the future have hydrogen fuel cells and solar with the fuel cells generating as required and the pv panels storing surplus electricity in batteries that will be designed to fit into the chassis and use a technology such as LiFe04 or better. The days of hunking great lead acid cells taking up storage space and payload are numbered - maybe.....
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
i have been looking at the solar pv systems for caravans .. a 2 panel system with about 0.5 kw is possible with battery storage so you would never need to be hooked up again.
details of full spec and cost i will have shortly if any one is interested ..
Quote: Originally posted by geukdirect on 21/11/2011
even one panel is posible but not sure how much you will actually used in one full day. so i thought 2 will be a safer bet.
So how would you store this electricity generated at 0.5kW per hour considering that it will be generated in the main when the occupiers of the caravan are out for the day.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
I'm interested in buying a solar panel to stick in window and attach to battery to top it up while in storage for the alarm, anyone know what size I need or any recommendations
For a house system you don't store the energy produced, you use it. For a caravan it's usually used to charge the battery, and it's stored in the battery cells. My house system is 3.04KW and today it was reasonably sunny and thw wife was using the tumble drier for some unknown reason. The panels were producing enough for this and exporting some to the grid.
------------- 74,going on 25
Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder
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Topic: SOLAR PANELS FOR CARAVANS ???
