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Subject Topic: Solar and batteries
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20/1/2021 at 1:49pm
 Location: Cambs
 Outfit: Tin tent diddy tent BIG tent
View birder99's Profile View Profile   Reply to birder99 Reply   Quote birder99 Quote  
Joined: 24/9/2010

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I would be concerned as how I was going to get that amount of power back into the batteries without frying them. Repeated charging at a high amp rate is going to destroy most leisure batteries in a matter of weeks. The advantage of the Li batteries is that they can take a high charge rate and they have a greater number of duty cycles before end of life. I suspect your pv controllers will limit the charging to about 6A max.

Further to Trogs comments above it might help to take a look at the discharge curves of the batteries as a high load will effectively reduce the capacity of the battery.

I have two 80W freestanding panels that I can move around to optimise their efficiency and in the winter months (when you would need the heater) I would not expect to get more than about 20ah back into the battery each day on average. In the summer it is a different story but then you would not need a heater....

Just don't get too optimistic as to what PV and lead acid systems can do, especially when the sun is very low in the sky. If you have caravan roof mounted panels they are next to useless at getting much more than a very small base consumption back to the battery in the winter months.    

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'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'


20/1/2021 at 2:44pm
 Location: East Herts
 Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
View Colin21's Profile View Profile   Reply to Colin21 Reply   Quote Colin21 Quote  
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I presume this is a 240 volt 500 watt heater you have. If this is so, then you will be running it through an inverter and inverters take power to run themselves. Therefore the consumption of the inverter would need to be taken into account too. To get 500 watts at 240 volts out you would need to put quite a bit more than 500 watts at 12 volts in, because of the inverter's consumption. Those batteries would probably be very flat by morning and would take a considerable amount of power and time to recharge, so that set-up might just about work for one night, but I very much doubt it would work for a second night. Solar panels only give their maximum rated power if they are angled directly into bright sunlight and kept at that correct angle, which would mean constantly turning them with the sun. Laid flat their output reduces quite dramatically, as it does when there is only hazy sun or less. They will work just using daylight, but at massively reduced output.

In my opinion, solar panels are great for keeping a leisure battery topped up while the caravan is not being used, but not much else.



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Best Regards,
Colin


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21/1/2021 at 11:15am
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Was watching the Ch 5 TV program “Bargain-Loving Brits In The Sun” Sunday 8pm part 2 off 6 last weekend.

There was a chap on there that had been living in his touring caravan on a very remote permanent pitch, in Spain, possibly Benidorm, totally of grid with a Solar set up providing all the electric he needed.

I think he has been there for a number of years.

Post last edited on 21/01/2021 11:20:49


21/1/2021 at 12:58pm
 Location: None Entered
 Outfit: None Entered
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Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 21/1/2021
Was watching the Ch 5 TV program “Bargain-Loving Brits In The Sun” Sunday 8pm part 2 off 6 last weekend.

There was a chap on there that had been living in his touring caravan on a very remote permanent pitch, in Spain, possibly Benidorm, totally of grid with a Solar set up providing all the electric he needed.

I think he has been there for a number of years.

Post last edited on 21/01/2021 11:20:49



given a good supply of sun anything is possible.. more so if you dont have to lug it all about.. the UK isnt very solar friendly we dont see enough of that big shiney thing in the sky..

trog



21/1/2021 at 8:38pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo
View navver's Profile View Profile   Reply to navver Reply   Quote navver Quote  
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The figures below are the predicted output of a 245kwh PV system with panels fixed in position angled for optimum annual production. You can see the percentage output per month with Jan at 2.79% and May/June being over 13%. That shows how much less you will get in each winter month.




Month     % of yearly production (PV GIS)     Production per month (kWh)
January     2.79%     6,446
February 4.43%     10,235
March     8.28%     19,130
April     10.93%     25,252
May     13.15%     30,381
June     13.25%     30,612
July     12.96%     29,942
August     12.09%     27,932
September 9.72%     22,457
October     6.52%     15,063
November 3.81%     8,802
December 2.07%     4,782
Total     100.00%     231,034


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via mobile 23/1/2021 at 4:30pm
 Location: Ayrshire
 Outfit: Auto-Sleeper MHs
View Fiona W's Profile View Profile   Reply to Fiona W Reply   Quote Fiona W Quote  
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The off-grid man in Spain doesn’t need a heater on overnight either.

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2024 = 20 sites / 41 nights. 2023 = 9/23. 2022 = 13/35. 2021 = 11/29. 2020 = 4/20. 2019 = 13/35. 2018 = 20/33. 2017 = 10/22. 2016 = 19/33. 2015 = 15 sites / 27 nights. Didn't count 1976 to 2014.



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