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How Easy Is It To Put Solar Panels on Your Camper Van or RV?

Whether you’re building or buying a camper van or other RV, modern lifestyles demand it has some kind of steady power supply besides the vehicle’s battery. An on-board generator is one such option. But a cleaner and easier-to-maintain alternative is to install solar panels on your camper van or RV. And with a bit of prep-work, it’s something you can do at home or hire (us) the experts to do it for you.

What kind of solar panels do you want on your camper van or RV?

You may have seen large solar panels installed on homes or by power stations. However, those aren’t the only kind available to camper vans and RVs, Parked in Paradise reports.

rv solar panel

Panels come in a variety of sizes and arrangements. Some are small and flexible enough to lean against your windshield. Others are rigid, with enough surface area that they have to be installed on the roof. That doesn’t mean you can’t mix-and-match panels, though. For example, you can have a few small portable panels to recharge a phone, while a large fixed one helps power the rest of the RV.

How many solar panels does your camper van or RV need?

Given there’s only so much space in and around a camper van and RV, knowing how many solar panels you can install is an important concern. However, not necessarily for the reason you may think.

Your camper van’s or RV’s solar panels don’t power your lights, fridge, or other electrical devices directly, eXplorist explains. Instead, the current they generate goes into a current controller which feeds into a battery or power bank. It’s that battery/power bank that’s drained when you plug in a heater or laptop charger. As such, adding more panels doesn’t change the available power, but how quickly the power source recharges.

Solar panels are rated based on how many watts they produce. To calculate how many watts you’ll need, you first have to find out how much power your devices use in a typical day. That means either measuring it directly with a wattmeter or calculating it directly based on each device’s amp-hour (Ah) and voltage rating and turn-on time, Motorhome reports.

Once that’s done, you can estimate the bare minimum battery capacity you’ll need. And after that, you can calculate how many solar panels your camper van or RV needs based on estimated daylight duration.

For example, say I have a 12V battery with a 100-Ah capacity. That works out to 1200 Wh of power. If I can only guarantee 4 hours of usable sunshine, I’ll need a 300 W solar panel array.

What you’ll need

If you’re building your RV or camper van yourself, you’ll need a few things besides the solar panels themselves. As we’ve mentioned, you’ll need a battery and a charge controller to store the charge. Plus, if the battery/power bank supplies DC power, you’ll need an inverter to convert it to AC.

If you’re using rigid panels, you’ll also need mounts to secure them to your roof. Parked in Paradise recommends tilt mounts because they maximize how much sunshine hits the panels. You’ll also need to wire the panels together. Usually, that’s done in series, which doesn’t require fuses or expensive wiring, but some charge controllers require an in-parallel setup. Luckily, many manufacturers, like Renogy, supply camper van solar panel kits with all the necessary hardware.

Once you have the hardware, you’ll need to figure out where to place the panel and how to arrange the wiring. So, before you install anything, measure your distances, or create a van mock-up to see if you have long-enough cables, Far Out Ride recommends. However, while drilling into the roof to mount your panels is the go-to method, Wayfarer Vans reports there are panel adhesives available.

If you’re buying a pre-made RV or camper van, some come with solar panels pre-installed. Others, like Airstream’s Basecamp trailer, come pre-wired for solar panels. Wayfarer’s camper van conversion kits don’t come with solar panels, but they can be ordered with a Goal Zero power station that’s ready-made for solar panels. All you need to do is buy the panels and plug them in.

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VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERIES FOR CHARGING ELECTRIC VEHICLES

VRFBs have been successfully used to provide charging stations for electric vehicles, (EVs) in a variety of countries around the world. The shell of the set up can be used to provide shading for the cars whilst hosting the solar panels used to charge the battery. Often EV charging stations use the grid to provide the power, in this scenario it’s renewable energy that is charging.

ENSURE A STABLE, SECURE ENERGY SUPPLY FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS

The telecommunications industry places high demands on the reliability and security of electricity supply to their systems. This is because the services offered by the companies in this industry, such as mobile communications, must also be provided on a sustainable and continuous basis.

This must also be reflected in the power supply. VSUN Energy fulfils this requirement by integrating solar and/or diesel, with the VRFB storage system, guaranteeing a reliable and sustainable supply of power for the telecommunications industry.

The intelligent energy management system significantly reduces supply and site costs and provides environmental and economic added value compared to conventional diesel generators.

The VRFB storage system can be easily and seamlessly integrated into any system, and it is independent of climatic conditions.

As a result, green energy is available at any time, anywhere.

POTENTIAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS APPLICATIONS INCLUDE THE USE OF VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERIES:

  • as a replacement for high-maintenance and environmentally hazardous battery systems and diesel generators
  • to stabilise weak, unstable power grids
  • as off-grid solution in areas without connection to the grid
  • as a suitable means of energy for all signal transmission stations
  • as a scalable solution for locations with multiple operators

THE ADVANTAGES OF USING A VRFB INCLUDE:

    • reduction in the total operating costs
    • elimination or mitigation of the effects of constant increases in diesel prices
    • ease of integration into DC telecommunications infrastructure
    • elimination of service and maintenance cost of obsolete storage solutions
    • environmentally friendly and reusable components
    • ease of integration into standard online and remote maintenance systems
    • high-temperature tolerance

USING THE VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERY FOR STABLE POWER SUPPLY

The storage solutions from VSUN Energy open up new avenues in stable and cost-efficient electricity supply. Whether in combination with solar PV (photovoltaic) systems, wind power plants, diesel, gas or biogas generators, or operated in parallel to the public grid, VRFBs are the optimal backup solution to provide an uninterrupted power supply. VRFBs are ideally suited to be the central component in a microgrid.

The VRFB ensures that energy from PV and wind systems is available even when it is dark or there is no wind. It can be recharged quickly and it is immediately ready for use.

With a wide range of VRFBs offered, VSUN Energy’s solutions offer integrated systems for the energy industry. They can be used, for example, to stabilise the grid, as decentralised supply units or as interim storage for surplus energy.

Providing you with an uninterrupted power supply thanks to vanadium redox flow technology. VRFBs store energy until it is needed. Capacity ranges from kW through to multi-MWh with all products having a 100% deep discharge.

GO OFF-GRID WITH VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERIES

On-site generation of electricity through decentralized systems, including diesel generators or renewable energy sources like solar PV, combined with a high-performance, scalable VRFB energy storage system, make microgrids a viable solution for your company’s energy needs.

VRFBs offer uninterruptible power and significant cost savings. VSUN Energy offers comprehensive support in developing the ideal microgrid solution for you in Australia – from semi-autonomous to autonomous. Where the power supply is unreliable or cost prohibitive, off-grid solutions from VSUN Energy are ideal.

For a wide range of scenarios, including weak infrastructure, hotel facilities, or even entire islands, VRFB energy storage systems combined with diesel/gas generators can reduce costs by over 50% while ensuring an uninterrupted power supply.

VANADIUM REDOX FLOW BATTERIES AND SOLAR PV (PHOTOVOLTAIC) SYSTEMS

Our energy solutions installed either with a partner solar provider, or directly with our customer, fit perfectly with solar park project solutions – from planning to system implementation to operations. This includes the precise assessment of customer needs, a detailed installation plan, GPS-assisted measurement of solar PV (photovoltaic) tracking systems and minimisation of potential power loss caused by shading.

The photovoltaic systems are installed and put into operation in cooperation with certified partner companies and organised in accordance with a pre-defined project plan.

FLOW BATTERY INSTALLATIONS AND SOLAR POWER

Most flow battery installations used in large megawatt installations are combined with a solar panel system. This makes perfect sense as you need a cheap source to generate electric energy. Whilst large in size, these powerful flow batteries can be transported to any location within Australia.

Australia lies in the perfect geographical location to provide sufficient solar energy for the solar panels to charge VRFBs. The systems can hold hours of electric power which can be used during peak times to avoid penalty tariffs and save a small fortune.

If your business is located in an area where power failures occur, these solar panel/VRFB combinations can be a real saviour. The solar and battery backup system can easily get you through a few hours of total power failure and potentially avoid costly loss of production.

VRFBs offer an uninterruptible supply of power. They are available with power ratings from 10 kW and a scalable energy capacity into the MWh range. Base load coverage, power peak limiting and safeguarding of sensitive areas can be guaranteed at all times.