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Van solar panels

Phildeeney

Active member
Messages
185
Location
Rugeley
I've been looking into campervans lately and a lot of them are using solar panels and an mppt controller to charge leisure battery's. Has anyone done this on their window cleaning van? If so how's it going in terms of maintaining charge. Is it worth the outlay? 

 
Most motorhomes are used in summer so nice sunny days. Say a 100watt panel would give about 8 amps for say 8 hrs (64Ah) on a very sunny day. Problem is in winter you would be lucky to get 0.5amp for a couple of hrs so maybe 2Ah. So probably not worth it unless you cant get power to your van that is.

I have seen a couple on youtube that have fitted solar panels, can't remember the channel name.

 
My son installed a solar panel 140w with a pwm controller not an mppt to my old campervan that used to run a small 12v for a couple of hours all the lights and a 12v compressor-fridge, that would keep the battery topped up during the summer 

If I done enough mileage in my working van I would install this below with a 150w panel, Unfortunately I only do approx 4000 miles a year so not worth in my case.

https://www.simplysplitcharge.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1277

 
I've been looking into campervans lately and a lot of them are using solar panels and an mppt controller to charge leisure battery's. Has anyone done this on their window cleaning van? If so how's it going in terms of maintaining charge. Is it worth the outlay? 
I have two 100w monocrystalline solar panels mounted on my garage roof linked into a victron smart energy MPPT charge controller within my garage with a SAE panel connector fitted to a enclosure box outside on the garage wall. I plug my van into it and that is linked directly via a fuse to my leisure battery.

When the leisure battery is full my Durite split charge system then tops up my vans starter battery. 

It's a case of never forgetting to unplug the van but me being me I have a laminated warning tag that I religiously clip onto my steering wheel when connected. Very much like an aviation remove before flight pre check tags 

 

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