7 replies to this topic

[coguzzi]

I'm new to solar, and i can get a good deal on a BP 50W solar panel, featuring polycrystalline cell technology. my question is, will 50W be adequate to keep a house battery battery happy with a 2way fridge, and the occasional furnace run and normal lighing usage (im frugal in that area).

i like the 50W because of size since i dont want to do a permanent mount and be able to move the panel into the sun while camped

[craig333]

Ummm thats a big "maybe". Depends on just how light your usage is. I'd say do it, if it turns out to be inadequate you can always upgrade later. Just size the wiring and controller so you can upgrade if its necessary.

[griz]

Thats like asking how much TP should I take, ha ha. The furnace is the killer. I use a 75w and have never had a problem. Of course the sun is the key.
I would say you will be a ok.
Go 49er's

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I'm new to solar, and i can get a good deal on a BP 50W solar panel, featuring polycrystalline cell technology. my question is, will 50W be adequate to keep a house battery battery happy with a 2way fridge, and the occasional furnace run and normal lighing usage (im frugal in that area).

i like the 50W because of size since i dont want to do a permanent mount and be able to move the panel into the sun while camped

For the battery usage I camp with my 45W seems to work.I don't think you would have enough wattage out of the 50W to run the fridge on 12V for a very long time.As for lights you might want to try the LED bulbs,you can run them forever and not have much of a battery drain.
Since when we are out with the camper we usually drive it some each day the "house" battery gets some charge from that.
As mentioned the "sun exposure"is very important.
Make sure you get a controller that will let you expand,and wire with a larger size also.
Frank

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I wasn't thinking when I first responded.
I have a Truckfridge that I can run on my system without any drain as long as there is enough sun and the temp is set to above 32*.
I have been thinking about adding another panel to get close to 100W,but not sure I need it for the useage I have.
frank

[JHa6av8r]

I have a 90W solar panel and two 75 amp deep cycle batteries to run a 110L 2-way fridge, furnace, water heater, water pump, and LED lights. This is a FWC factory install and sized by them. Take a look at the fridge's average draw per hour and a simple back of the envelope calculation will probably tell you a 50W panel won't keep up with the draw from the fridge before adding anything else.

[Hittheroad]

All depends on the sun. The big advantage of 100 watts is on cloudy days. You may still get 50% generation which brings you back down to 50w.
Also are you going to orient the panel to the sun? Roof mounts usually lose a good deal because of poor angle. I haven't tried this out but I expect 50 watts carefully placed is similar to 80 watts flat mounted on the roof. Of course if you are near the equator...........

[RC Pilot Jim]

The killer is the furnace fan.  I can run my lights and fantastic fan 6-7 days  with the engine off and no solar (runiing fan 2 hours per day and lights about the same). Adding my Engel MT35 compresser fridge requires using my 60 watt solar panel after day 2 engine off to maintain 12.5 volts. The 60 watt panel collects 3.18 amps per day which is adequate to run the Engel as it only requires 2.5 amps to start and it uses .7 amps running.

 

Check with the manufacture of the furnace to determine what the amperage draw is. Check with solar distributor for their recommendation on correct panel size to use.