Need to make a Solar Panel decision.

Lance Glogowsky

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Sorry to beat this into the ground. OK, I’m making the jump this week with my solar system, with the multi plus 2 and other Victron devices that go with it, along with my 4- Safari lithium 12 volt batteries. But I’m being wishy washy in deciding which panels to go with. I’ll take suggestions on some specific panel makes and watts. I know this has been talked about a million times but specific companies and panels that I might go with that would give me somewhere in the range of 1000 W of solar power. I’m not leaving residential panels out of the possibility yet. The installer I’m using is pushing 5- 200 watt Renogy panels. I’ve pretty much decided on a parallel / series setup. However, I believe that requires an even amount of panels.

Thanks for your guidance.

Lance
 
Residential panels would give you more bang for the buck. And yes, a parallel/series setup requires an even number. Make sure you can place the panels without them being shaded by rooftop components. The Renogy panels would be fine, there are other brands such as Newpowa that could meet your needs.
 
Sorry to beat this into the ground. OK, I’m making the jump this week with my solar system, with the multi plus 2 and other Victron devices that go with it, along with my 4- Safari lithium 12 volt batteries. But I’m being wishy washy in deciding which panels to go with. I’ll take suggestions on some specific panel makes and watts. I know this has been talked about a million times but specific companies and panels that I might go with that would give me somewhere in the range of 1000 W of solar power. I’m not leaving residential panels out of the possibility yet. The installer I’m using is pushing 5- 200 watt Renogy panels. I’ve pretty much decided on a parallel / series setup. However, I believe that requires an even amount of panels.

Thanks for your guidance.

Lance

I've been pretty happy with the Rich Solar panels I have. The 200W size worked out well for fitting on my roof. And, yes even numbers for series/parallel.
 
Sorry to beat this into the ground. OK, I’m making the jump this week with my solar system, with the multi plus 2 and other Victron devices that go with it, along with my 4- Safari lithium 12 volt batteries. But I’m being wishy washy in deciding which panels to go with. I’ll take suggestions on some specific panel makes and watts. I know this has been talked about a million times but specific companies and panels that I might go with that would give me somewhere in the range of 1000 W of solar power. I’m not leaving residential panels out of the possibility yet. The installer I’m using is pushing 5- 200 watt Renogy panels. I’ve pretty much decided on a parallel / series setup. However, I believe that requires an even amount of panels.

Thanks for your guidance.

Lance

Here is a discussion (and link) found in the thread: "Affordable Solar...", pinned at the top of the Solar and Generator Forum:

Another way to reduce costs is by using "residential" Solar panels instead of the more common (in the RV world) 100 - 200 Watt Renogy, Furrion or NewPowa panels. If you shop for residential panels in the 325 to 425 Watt range you will find the price of the solar panels are around $0.55 cents per Watt (440 Watt Canadian Solar Panel for $238 = $0.54 per watt [Feb 10, 2023]). The one caveat with choosing any Solar panel for your RV is to make certain they will fit on your roof (I recommend making cardboard cutouts of your prospective panels [include space for mounting brackets] and test fit them on your roof before ordering the panels). See Forum post: "Using Residential Solar Panels on Your Camper" (link below).

Using-Residental-Solar-Panels-on-Your-Camper

Here are the links:

Using-Residental-Solar-Panels-on-Your-Camper?


Affordable-Solar-How-To-Design-and-Install-an-Affordable-Solar-System
 
Lots of good options out there for panels. I have 4x200W Renegy and they have worked just fine. However, if I were to do it again, I would have gone with slightly larger panels to get a bit more wattage out of each one. I thought it was going to be tighter on the roof than it turned out to be.
 
Residential panels would give you more bang for the buck. And yes, a parallel/series setup requires an even number. Make sure you can place the panels without them being shaded by rooftop components. The Renogy panels would be fine, there are other brands such as Newpowa that could meet your needs.

For the benefit of someone who knows nothing about solar applications, what is different about residential panels, and what are the other panel options available? I assume the residential panels costs less per watt?
 
I have not done solar yet but when I do, I will look into the residential panel option. I believe the biggest issue is space. There are only so many places you can put a panel in. You may not have the large spaces for the larger residential panels. It's possible with the weird landscape that everyone has on top of their trailer that more smaller panels can fit and in the end, you will have more watts.

I suggest that you get a tape measurer, make a map of your roof, and then make scaled panels to see what works. I suspect if you were really good with Tetris, you might figure out something real quick.

Make certain you think about work that may need to be done on roof in the future. I don't think most panels are strong enough to walk on. You probably do not want to trip on any panels either. Falling off your roof could be deadly and falling on your new solar panel would be costly.
 
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Thanks everyone for the advice. I was on top of my trailer yesterday looking at all the obstacles that are in the way for any size solar panels, two ACs, 4 see through vents, 3 air vents, the Winegard dome. It definitely takes planning. I cut out or pieced together my card board to the size panels Im thinking of getting and how many. I mapped and marked it out. It was tricky. I’m thinking towards a series / parallel configuration.

And with fitting the panels, like some of you have said, walking around room for maintenance is important.
 
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For the benefit of someone who knows nothing about solar applications, what is different about residential panels, and what are the other panel options available? I assume the residential panels costs less per watt?

There are two main benefits to "Residential" Solar panels vs "RV" Solar panels.

Residential Solar panel efficiency increases every year and, generally speaking, the price goes down every year. Consequently, you will get more wattage for less money.

Because of the increased efficiency of Residential panels, you also get more wattage per square foot of roof space.

Like others have said, installing Solar panels on your RV roof is like a game of Tetris, you want to maximize the wattage you can fit on your roof with as few panels as possible while also minimizing your costs, both purchase costs and installation costs.

As an example: I installed four, 305 Watt, Canadian Solar, panels on my roof for a total of 1,220 Watts. By contrast, I would have needed six, 200 Watt Renogy panels or twelve, 100 Watt "RV " type panels. In my case, my roof layout allowed for the larger Residential panels. Additionally, my Canadian Solar panels were technically superior to the RV type panels because they can generate 11% more energy in lower irradiance conditions (think cloudy days) than conventional Solar panels. This is especially useful since RV Solar panels are not mounted at the best angle relative to the Sun.
 
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There are two main benefits to "Residential" Solar panels vs "RV" Solar panels.

Residential Solar panel efficiency increases every year and, generally speaking, the price goes down every year. Consequently, you will get more wattage for less money.

Because of the increased efficiency of Residential panels, you also get more wattage per square foot of roof space.

Like others have said, installing Solar panels on your RV roof is like a game of Tetris, you want to maximize the wattage you can fit on your roof with as few panels as possible while also minimizing your costs, both purchase costs and installation costs.

As an example: I installed four, 305 Watt, Canadian Solar, panels on my roof for a total of 1,220 Watts. By contrast, I would have needed six, 200 Watt Renogy panels or twelve, 100 Watt "RV " type panels. In my case, my roof layout allowed for the larger Residential panels. Additionally, my Canadian Solar panels were technically superior to the RV type panels because they can generate 11% more energy in lower irradiance conditions (think cloudy days) than conventional Solar panels. This is especially useful since RV Solar panels are not mounted at the best angle relative to the Sun.

OK, that makes sense. I guess you just have to look at the size of the panel and the rated output to differentiate the two types, right? Would a Renogy kit like this be a residential type panel?

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monoc...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1
 
OK, that makes sense. I guess you just have to look at the size of the panel and the rated output to differentiate the two types, right? Would a Renogy kit like this be a residential type panel?

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monoc...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

No, those are not residential panels. Try https://www.santansolar.com/product-category/solar-panels/, they sell off-price residential panels. Be careful of the shipping cost though, it's not cheap. You may be able to find a retailer near you who can sell you a smaller number of panels, when you shop online they want to sell a pallet or more.
 
No, those are not residential panels. Try https://www.santansolar.com/product-category/solar-panels/, they sell off-price residential panels. Be careful of the shipping cost though, it's not cheap. You may be able to find a retailer near you who can sell you a smaller number of panels, when you shop online they want to sell a pallet or more.

I only need one 100 watt panel so shipping will be an issue. A starter kit should work for me and assure the controller and panels mesh together. I still need to do more research and get more knowledge.
 
OK, that makes sense. I guess you just have to look at the size of the panel and the rated output to differentiate the two types, right? Would a Renogy kit like this be a residential type panel?

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Monoc...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Are you just trying to get something on your roof, or are you wanting to get the right parts now, so that you do not have to replace today's parts with better parts down the road?

What is your camping style?

Do you BoonDock often?

How many days in a row do you BoonDock?

All of your listed components are high quality components and they will serve you well.

It sounds like you are trying to rush your decision on Solar panels to "Get it Done This Week".

My suggestion is to wait on installing your Solar panels. Install your batteries and other components, leaving room for your Solar Charge Controller and cabling, and just go camping.

With 4 SOK batteries you should have enough stored energy to last at least two days without hookups and maybe 3, depending on the weather and your usage.

Get out and enjoy your system and worry about adding Solar in the future after you have time to really research what space you have available on your roof and the best panels for your camping style.

A couple of additional notes:

You can get a portable generator to recharge your batteries for now until you decide on which panels you want.

Your goal of 1,000 Watts of Solar might be a bit too low for the size of your battery bank, especially if you want to run an Air Conditioner. If you want to run an A/C unit, I would recommend closer to 1,400 Watts of Solar.

The price for the panel you linked to above is ~ $1.00 per Watt (I am allowing $30 for the controller shown). Good residential panels can be purchased for closer to $0.50 per Watt. Even including shipping, you should be able to get your panels for less than $1.00 per Watt.

I would recommend you look at Northern Arizona Wind and Solar for panels, this is where I purchased my panels and they were very helpful and shipped only 4 panels and the shipping cost was reasonable.

Again, based on your posts, it seems like you are rushing the Solar panel purchase. I just wouldn't want you to become disappointed with your system, simply because you bought the wrong panels, or undersized them.
 
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[MENTION=22656]SolarPoweredRV[/MENTION]

My interest is not in installing a solar system on my trailer. It's simply to build a small portable system to use as backup power for several indications. I have a Honda EU2000 that I have used on rare self contained camping, and I thought it might be interesting to put together a small portable system to supplement or replace the inverter generator.

I'm not sure where I implied I was in a hurry to purchase anything, as I honestly am tied up with several other projects right now, and have just started to look into solar components. I'm a beginner at this and really need a lot more info before I start putting together anything. Thanks for the info.
 
[MENTION=22656]SolarPoweredRV[/MENTION]

My interest is not in installing a solar system on my trailer. It's simply to build a small portable system to use as backup power for several indications. I have a Honda EU2000 that I have used on rare self contained camping, and I thought it might be interesting to put together a small portable system to supplement or replace the inverter generator.

I'm not sure where I implied I was in a hurry to purchase anything, as I honestly am tied up with several other projects right now, and have just started to look into solar components. I'm a beginner at this and really need a lot more info before I start putting together anything. Thanks for the info.

Sorry I misunderstood your time line. I got the sense of urgency from your title: "Need to Make a Solar Panel Decision" and your first sentence: "I’m making the jump this week with my solar system".

When you say "Small Portable System", does that mean you are planning a "Stand Alone" system with the components you listed above and not install them on your camper? I was going with the thought that you wanted to install all this in/on your camper.

If you want to create a small Test system, well, that's a whole different kettle of fish...
 
Sorry I misunderstood your time line. I got the sense of urgency from your title: "Need to Make a Solar Panel Decision" and your first sentence: "I’m making the jump this week with my solar system".

When you say "Small Portable System", does that mean you are planning a "Stand Alone" system with the components you listed above and not install them on your camper? I was going with the thought that you wanted to install all this in/on your camper.

If you want to create a small Test system, well, that's a whole different kettle of fish...


Dave

I looked up Northern Arizona Solar. I determined there was only one spot I could fit one of their residential panels and that would take the majority of the width leaving a small space to walk around. With all the devices spread out, it doesn’t leave much open space for larger panels.
 
Sorry I misunderstood your time line. I got the sense of urgency from your title: "Need to Make a Solar Panel Decision" and your first sentence: "I’m making the jump this week with my solar system".

There is some confusion here. I'm not the OP [MENTION=6106]Lance Glogowsky[/MENTION]. It's his thread and he has completely different needs than I do. I jumped in because it was a discussion on panels, but I hijacked the thread and messed things up. I'll back out and let him get the info he needs.
 
Sorry to beat this into the ground. OK, I’m making the jump this week with my solar system, with the multi plus 2 and other Victron devices that go with it, along with my 4- Safari lithium 12 volt batteries. But I’m being wishy washy in deciding which panels to go with. I’ll take suggestions on some specific panel makes and watts. I know this has been talked about a million times but specific companies and panels that I might go with that would give me somewhere in the range of 1000 W of solar power. I’m not leaving residential panels out of the possibility yet. The installer I’m using is pushing 5- 200 watt Renogy panels. I’ve pretty much decided on a parallel / series setup. However, I believe that requires an even amount of panels.

Thanks for your guidance.

Lance

This is what I did with my solar system on my fifthwheel
Res panels on sale from santan @$85 ea. jinko 325 W ea. you need to measure because they are large @70”x40” I believe. I have 1300 W total, but it’s tight up there but have access to everything.
I added tilt brackets also and I get a much larger output when tilted during wintertime.
I mounted them on unistrut so I can change panels later if needed. ;)
IMG_3784.jpeg
 
This is what I did with my solar system on my fifthwheel
Res panels on sale from santan @$85 ea. jinko 325 W ea. you need to measure because they are large @70”x40” I believe. I have 1300 W total, but it’s tight up there but have access to everything.
I added tilt brackets also and I get a much larger output when tilted during wintertime.
I mounted them on unistrut so I can change panels later if needed. ;)
View attachment 50726

Very nice job. I’m guessing you are full time?
 
Just to share a bit of my experience. I can't climb ladders anymore, so I tried measuring from inside the trailer. My calculation said I could fit six panels. The guy I bought the Victron stuff from said he could install the panels, and we agreed that he would order a pallet of 10 panels and sell me the six I needed. When came time to install them, though, he said he could only fit one or maybe two panels on the roof, so I loaded all six panels into the back of the truck (moving all of that stuff to the back seat and inside the trailer). Superstition Solar thought they could do better because he uses a different mounting bracket. He looked and measured some and decided that he could fit four panels on, so I sold two panels while I was at Quartzsite. When it came time to actually put the panels on, only three would fit. The fourth one lacked about two inches of fitting. Tomorrow it will be installed on the roof of our casita here at The Ranch, where it will power a small security system.

One of our neighbors has a Class C with the roof completely covered in solar panels. They are mounted on a raised rail system and go over everything else. Of course, he also replaced the rooftop air conditioner with a minisplit mounted on the rear bumper....

Measure carefully and be sure to include room for the brackets. Also, you have to leave some room around air conditioners.
 

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