Yes it does...well, it did on this trip. But to give a precise answer I'd have to say that if conditions were different then it might not.Does your solar panel keep up with that large DC fridge now that you have the new batteries?
The Conditions: I had my 70-watt panel deployed for 3 days -- two of those from sunup to sundown and one for about 80% of the time (I missed a couple of hours late-morning when I was moving to a different camp.)
This 70 watt panel is free-standing (not mounted on the roof or anywhere else), which means that I can move it periodically to point it most-directly at the sun. On this trip I was in camp most of the time (except for a short hike and walking around taking pictures in the area) so I managed to keep it more-or-less pointed at the sun most of the time. On one day there were scattered clouds, and when they passed in front of the sun the power output dropped to maybe 15% of the full-sun power. Otherwise, the weather was non-stop sun all day. The highest instantaneous power output achieved was 65 watts, and most of the time, when it was oriented properly, it was more like 50-55 watts, according to my Watts Up meter (recommended
).During the 3 days of use this 70-watt panel put 1640 watt-hours of energy into my battery, according to the accumulating feature of my Watts Up meter. It was on this trip that, for the first time ever, I saw my MPPT charge controller light up its "Battery Full" light -- maybe that's a result of better batteries as well as good solar conditions...not sure. (Great solar conditions would be sunny and cold, as these solar panels put out higher voltage when cold and lower when hot.)
The morning I left to head home the battery charge was about 12.6 volts -- close to full, and that was 12 hours-ish after it had last received any solar charge. In addition to the drain of the DC-compressor fridge I was also re-charging my laptop periodically -- which pulls a significant current when charging, and my phone, and my iPod, and some use of fluorescent lights in the evening.
"If conditions were different": Like, if it had been cloudy or if I hadn't been around camp enough to re-orient the panel for maximum sun, then this 70-watt panel might not have kept up with the power demand.
I'm referring to the ability to keep up in steady-state conditions -- staying in one place indefinitely, without driving.
This winter I bought a 120-watt panel (one of those on sale at Solar Blvd), and I'm going to mount that permanently on the roof, connecting to the pre-installed plug on the roof of my 2005 FWC Hawk. (Unfortunately, my charge controller is not quite big enough to handle the combined maximum current output of both panels...so I had to order another one of those, too...and then I decided to order another Watts Up meter, so I'll be able to monitor the performance/power-contribution of each panel separately). So that 120-watt will be up there, running, when I don't feel like messing with the movable one, even though it won't have the advantage of 90° sunbeams (unless I drive to the tropics). And having both running will be insurance against insufficient power on days when it's cloudy all day. And the cost of this additional panel was less than I spent on gasoline for this 4-day trip.
However...I think this 25+lb addition will mean that I'll also need to install the "roof lifting helper shocks thingys".
