Solar panels
I'm not to great at electrics so would like some advice on solar power from you experts out there.
Can you get a solar panel fitted that will charge both your cab battery and lesuire battery? If so approx how much am I looking at to have it all fitted and working? I'm only looking to keep the batteries topped up whilst the van is sat in storage, when
we go away we're normally on hook-up anyway as one of us likes a hairdryer on a morning!
If I can get an idea of price then when I phone the dealer I'll know if they are having my eyes out or not. Please don't suggest DIY, it won't happen in this house for a job like this Thanks in advance.
Comments
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a out five years ago i had an 80w panel fitted to my previous van. the wiring in the swift MH was already done and only needed the panel, the regulator and connecting up.
a local firm in Chard (i think) did it for £320 incl panel and regulator.
panel prices will have tumbled since then but the labour wont have....
you may not need as large as 80w however, if doing it, do it once and as large as you can afford and fit on the roof space.
you never know ypu might start to go off grid and a hairdryer can be run from an inverter which converts your 12v to 230v.
with your panel, you'll be able to put the juice back into the battery in a jiffy....
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Did that panel keep both batteries topped up BB?
Sounds reasonable for that price, better than having to replace batteries all the time as they run down and get damaged.
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as Peedee says, our van also already had the wiring and the 'smart' Sargent PSU to manage both batteries....same process as for alternator or ehu.....just a different input to the PSU.
if you dont have this technology, the general method is to connect via regulator to leisure batteries and then use a Battery Master (or similar) to transfer charge to the vehicle battery.
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We are now buying a new motorhome. As part of the deal our dealer has agreed to fit a Solar panel. I am supplying it and they are fitting. 120w light weight Black Back from a company called Photonic Universe complete with Dual charge controller. This will
charge both batteries. I have used Photonic before and have proved to be very good. Have a look on their EBay shop. My kit cost about £210. They are easy to fit too. Hope this helps and good luck.0 -
Forgot to add that you could ask your local garage / machanic to fit your own supplied panel so you will not need to fit diy. Just a thought. 2 hrs at the most.
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