solar panels for rv

solar panels for rv

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Using a recreational vehicle (RV) for holidays is an excellent way to travel around the country. It is basically a home on wheels with all the necessary comfort and amenities.

A motor home is built with a range of power supply to meet the demand of all the electronic gadgets such as television, computer, satellite dish, Playstation etc that you will be bringing on the trip with you. It is fair to say, when you are on a road trip, you will want to bring along all your electrical appliances with you. This will create a problem because on board the RV, there is only a limited power supply.

To overcome this issue, many RV owners are installing solar electric panels on their vehicle to supplement their power requirement.

Most RV solar kits can be purchased from specialized RV supply stores. However, these kind of kits can be quite expensive. A solar kit designed for a recreational vehicle capable of generating 440 watt will cost upwards of $3000! To save cost, you can actually make the solar system on your own. An electric solar system generally has 4 main components which are the solar panels, charge controller, battery bank and power inverter.

You can buy off the shelve solar panels from most major hardware stores. The hardest part is to install the panels on the roof of the RV. To reduce wind drag when your RV is moving, the solar panels should be installed flush to the roof of the vehicle. When the RV is parked, there should be a mechanism which will enable the solar array to be raised and tilted. This is to ensure the Photovoltaic (PV) cells get the maximum sun coverage.

When the sun is shining, the panels will generate electric current to recharge the vehicle existing battery system. If your power requirement is high because you have multiple electrical appliances on board, you may consider making a separate battery bank.

The battery bank can be made from 4 - 6 units of 12 volts deep cycle battery. The amount of power stored should be around 400 amp hours which will be sufficient to power your electronic gadgets for 4 - 6 hours.

If you are having a separate battery storage unit, you will need to use the power inverter. Since all batteries can only store Direct Current (DC), the power inverter will convert the DC to Alternative Current (AC). All modern electrical equipment nowadays run on AC.

Looking for more ideas on how to use solar power for homes? Learn how to build your own DIY solar system by downloading a free copy of "30 Solar And Wind Power For Homes Videos" e-book at http://www.diysolarenergy.info/

DIY Camper RV Solar Panel Installation