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16/4/2014 at 9:39pm
Location: uk
Outfit: Karsten - sun storm - doesnt matter!
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hi there
im not an electrical expert but i might be able to offer some advice!
i also have a van with a leisure battery and use it only to run lights, a flat tv & dvd, charge phones and ipad and to play music through a stereo system.
the lights are all led type which helps a lot.
i have a 100Ah battery and i use a 100w panel on the van roof through a charge controller. it runs everything fine and the battery charges from daylight ( not just sunlight ) till dusk. you could use a bigger battery and a bigger panel to charge it up.
my battery is usually fully charged by around 2-3pm ( indicated by a green lamp on the charge controller lighting up.
by using the battery as much as possible its giving the battery a good cycling which is healthy for the battery but dont flatten it completely.
id imagine your fridge possibly has a heavyish current draw so you might be better with 2 x 100Ah batteries wired in parallel - effectively giving you twice the range of 1 battery and 2 panels on your roof to charge them. and change your lighting to led if you ve not already done that.
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16/4/2014 at 10:28pm
Location: Derby
Outfit: See sig
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I would estimate based on calculations I just did in my head (Can post exact workings out if you like) that a 100W panel should serve you fine for what you need on sunny days but if you get a 150w you would cover yourself for more overcast days. Also if possible upgrading your battery would help somewhat, maybe a 110ah or something similar.
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17/4/2014 at 4:04pm
Location: Norwich
Outfit: Citroen Relay Campervan
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If it's a compressor fridge, it should last a lot more than 1 day - I've done 4 days with a 110A/h battery.
I assume the fridge is on whilst you're travelling, so that it is pre-cooled when you arrive. If not, the fridge will use a lot of power to initially get cold, but hardly any once it has reached the required level.
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Cheers
John
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Topic: solar panels
