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  1. #1
    Seasoned Camper chemist308's Avatar
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    Solar and Battery System Sizing?

    I'm looking to add solar panels and a battery bank to my Reflection 337. So far I'm getting on well enough with mooch docking on 2 20 amp breakers. This runs BOTH of my ACs as needed, a residential fridge, a 5 CF freezer, my water heater on propane, a desktop gaming computer, and the TV--all at the same time. Also, if I turn an AC on the corresponding leg off, I can run my dishwasher or water pot, my water heater on AC, or even my induction burner.

    So I figure I can get by fine on 40 amps (1 - 20 amp breaker on each leg). Question is, what size solar and lithium ion battery set-up would I need to emulate this?
    2018 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS
    2020 Ram 3500 SRW
    https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7803/4...56f2161a_m.jpg

  2. #2
    Seasoned Camper larry0071's Avatar
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    Are you saying running at the near 40 amp draw all day and all night, powered/maintained/charged only from solar?

    Something similar to this

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails BabcockRanch_solarfarm.jpg  
    2020.5 Reflection 311BHS Dual AC, 2019 Ram 2500 Bighorn Level 2, 3.73 / 392 Hemi 14,404.34 lb towing and 3,004.34 payload, 2019 F-150 King Ranch 3.5EB CC/LB, 2016 Cherokee Trailhawk, 2014 Wrangler Willys Edition, 2019 Iron Bull 14K 22' Equipment Trailer, 2019 Quality Trailers 7K 18' Utility Trailer

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper larry0071's Avatar
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    Okay... a 100w panel will average about 5-6 amps per hour for most of the sunny day. Assuming you are drawing near that 40, 8 would hold your ground, keep your batteries where they are.... during the sun. Not charge them, but hold them. You would need around 20 I would suspect. And lithium batteries, and a charger system that can hammer the power in hard and fast during the times of best light.

    A generator would be needed on overcast/rainy/dreary days. Your consuming some real power there, typically when folks are talking solar they are trying to be very stingy with power use to make an off grid solar system work, and they are not expecting performance that matches shore power for long term.

    Look up Will Prowse on YouTube. This dude is legit.

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj...q8kmJme-5dnN0Q
    2020.5 Reflection 311BHS Dual AC, 2019 Ram 2500 Bighorn Level 2, 3.73 / 392 Hemi 14,404.34 lb towing and 3,004.34 payload, 2019 F-150 King Ranch 3.5EB CC/LB, 2016 Cherokee Trailhawk, 2014 Wrangler Willys Edition, 2019 Iron Bull 14K 22' Equipment Trailer, 2019 Quality Trailers 7K 18' Utility Trailer

  4. #4
    Seasoned Camper chemist308's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by larry0071 View Post
    Okay... a 100w panel will average about 5-6 amps per hour for most of the sunny day. Assuming you are drawing near that 40, 8 would hold your ground, keep your batteries where they are.... during the sun. Not charge them, but hold them. You would need around 20 I would suspect...
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoj...q8kmJme-5dnN0Q
    I actually have some data now. I increased my Dad's electric bill by about $150 for a month. Figuring around $0.10 per kWh here, that puts me around 1500 kWh per month or 50 kWh per day--that should get me in the neighborhood of 400 Amp hours per 24 hour day in the full heat of a NC summer. That would seem like a 4 100 Amp lithium battery bank with solar to back it up and charge it. Did I get my math right here?

    I'm guessing a 3000 Watt inverter, or should I choose a 5000?

    I can trim that a bit by using propane for cooking and hot water. I can go down to one AC easy enough if the temperatures are below of 90--1 or both ACs don't run constant unless I'm getting direct sun with temperatures well over 90. Bubble foil in the windows is definitely helping me there. The fridge is now a residential unit with about 2.87 amp draw--I need to do a diy post on that one... So, 5 or 6 panels at 200 Watts?
    2018 Grand Design Reflection 337RLS
    2020 Ram 3500 SRW
    https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7803/4...56f2161a_m.jpg

  5. #5
    Site Sponsor SolarPoweredRV's Avatar
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    Ok, you have not defined how long you want your system to operate. Are you going to live full time in your coach in NC all through the Summer, requiring at least one Air conditioner 20 to 24 hours per day? Or, are you going to travel with the weather seeking 70 degree outside temperatures year-round?

    Here is what Battle Born has suggested as guidance: It takes one 100ah Battle Born battery to run your Air Conditioner for one hour (Yes, One BB battery for every One hour of A/C use).

    You also need to be mindful of the seasons, for example: during the Winter your Solar production will be reduced by nearly 50% simply due to the Sun's lower angle in the sky (tilting Solar panels can mitigate this somewhat).

    Let me tell you about our experience this past Winter...

    We traveled from FL to Quartzite AZ and back beginning on January 28 and returned mid-March (basically traversed I-10). We Boondocked for most of the trip with a few stays in campsites peppered throughout our trip.

    We have 1,220 Watts of Solar on the roof (4 panels) and ~ 800 ah of usable Lithium Ion battery storage (courtesy of two Tesla Model S battery modules).

    We experienced mostly cold nights for most of our trip, that meant our biggest electrical drain was the 12v Furnace (RV furnaces are POWER PIGS), by-the-way, we like to keep warm at night. We have a 3000 amp Victron Inverter that I have wired to power both legs of our 50 amp coach. We did not skimp on usage of the 120 volt appliances or the Entertainment system. We used the Microwave when we wanted, we used the Entertainment as long as we wanted and I even used the seat heater in my sofa to keep me nice and toasty whenever I wanted a nice, warm, toasty, butt. We used Propane for our refrigeration and hot water.

    With our usage, the 1220 Watts of Solar on the roof was able to replenish almost all of what we had used the previous 24 hours. We had a few cloudy days and our Solar production suffered, fortunately, we had some excess battery capacity that we relied on to get us through, however, we never were able to charge the batteries to full with Solar alone (due to the low Sun angle). We did have a few days scheduled in campsites where we quickly charged our batteries to full.

    When we returned to FL, we continued to Boondock and we used our Champion, Dual Fuel, Generator (running on Propane) to power our Air Conditioning needs.

    I hope this helps you get a "real life" feel for how you can live on Sunshine (Solar) and Boondock most of the time.
    David and Peggy
    2019 Ford F350 Lariat, 6.7L Diesel, Dually, Long Bed
    Running with 20k Reese Goosebox (Love It) and Ford Factory "Puck" system.
    Stopping with 8,000 lb Disc Brakes and Titan Hydraulic over Electric Brakes system.
    Powering all this fun with 1200 Watts of Solar, two Tesla, Model S, battery modules, 24 volt Victron Inverter.
    2018 Solitude 310 GK

  6. #6
    Seasoned Camper
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    Quote Originally Posted by SolarPoweredRV View Post
    Ok, you have not defined how long you want your system to operate. Are you going to live full time in your coach in NC all through the Summer, requiring at least one Air conditioner 20 to 24 hours per day? Or, are you going to travel with the weather seeking 70 degree outside temperatures year-round?

    Here is what Battle Born has suggested as guidance: It takes one 100ah Battle Born battery to run your Air Conditioner for one hour (Yes, One BB battery for every One hour of A/C use).

    You also need to be mindful of the seasons, for example: during the Winter your Solar production will be reduced by nearly 50% simply due to the Sun's lower angle in the sky (tilting Solar panels can mitigate this somewhat).

    Let me tell you about our experience this past Winter...

    We traveled from FL to Quartzite AZ and back beginning on January 28 and returned mid-March (basically traversed I-10). We Boondocked for most of the trip with a few stays in campsites peppered throughout our trip.

    We have 1,220 Watts of Solar on the roof (4 panels) and ~ 800 ah of usable Lithium Ion battery storage (courtesy of two Tesla Model S battery modules).

    We experienced mostly cold nights for most of our trip, that meant our biggest electrical drain was the 12v Furnace (RV furnaces are POWER PIGS), by-the-way, we like to keep warm at night. We have a 3000 amp Victron Inverter that I have wired to power both legs of our 50 amp coach. We did not skimp on usage of the 120 volt appliances or the Entertainment system. We used the Microwave when we wanted, we used the Entertainment as long as we wanted and I even used the seat heater in my sofa to keep me nice and toasty whenever I wanted a nice, warm, toasty, butt. We used Propane for our refrigeration and hot water.

    With our usage, the 1220 Watts of Solar on the roof was able to replenish almost all of what we had used the previous 24 hours. We had a few cloudy days and our Solar production suffered, fortunately, we had some excess battery capacity that we relied on to get us through, however, we never were able to charge the batteries to full with Solar alone (due to the low Sun angle). We did have a few days scheduled in campsites where we quickly charged our batteries to full.

    When we returned to FL, we continued to Boondock and we used our Champion, Dual Fuel, Generator (running on Propane) to power our Air Conditioning needs.

    I hope this helps you get a "real life" feel for how you can live on Sunshine (Solar) and Boondock most of the time.
    Sorry for the huge quote. I'm on my phone, and selective snipping is difficult.

    Anyway, your travels pretty much emulate our future plans, which will begin in early November. Like you, we're boondockers, to the extent possible. However, our planned solar/battery design is different, and I'd appreciate a sanity check if you don't mind. The current plan is as follows:

    975W solar
    70A charge controller
    3kw inverter
    4 x 100ah lithium batteries
    5500w generator (as needed)

    All powering the following:

    Residential refrigerator
    3 AC (no more than 1 at a time, seldom on battery)
    Washer/dryer combo (currently optional)
    Dometic freezer (also optional)
    Typical coach appliances

    Our coach is due to arrive at the dealer next week, so we have time to change the solar configuration if necessary, or add a battery or 2.

    We're pretty good at load management, assuming our planned layout will actually function. It's a full time rig, with winters in the southern states, and summers up north. Essentially following the sun.

    So, do you see any holes in the plan? Any reason to not add the washer/dryer or freezer?

    TIA!
    Last edited by Chuck.N; 09-18-2020 at 08:08 AM. Reason: Fix typos
    Chuck & Madelyn
    2021 M399th
    2020 Ram 3500 Laramie 4x4 MC DRW

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