An idiots guide to Solar power please

[StephandJohn]

Our Swift Firebrand (like a Swift 590) is 12 years old but in very good condition and we're planning to keep it for a long while yet.
Often wondered about Solar panels etc but not known where to start. Of course thinking about the future costs of energy we should have probably thought about it years ago!
So my questions are:
We don't know when we'll be able to go abroad again for health reasons so is it worth it with the UK weather?

Would it be ridiculously expensive for an old van?

If the answer is no:
What would we need and how much would it cost?
John is very good at DIY so could we fit it ourselves if not, what would a dealer charge.

Thanking you all in advance.
Steph

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

It depends whether you need offgrid power .
If you use campsites with ehu ,probably not ,but if you spend a lot of time off grid and watch the TV etc then most probably yes.
You can buy a reasonable kit with all the bits and pieces required and you should also consider adding more battery power to store the solar power generated.

 

[GeoffnDee]

If you look at www.sunstore.co.uk they show Motorhome solar panel kits which should give you an idea of costs , I would look at 100watt or larger systems.

 

[The Wino]

As previously suggested it depends how you use your motorhome and also what you want to run off the battery most importantly do you want to run mains powered kit through an inverter. There will be a pretty big increase in what you need in terms of the installation for anything producing heat from electric and in going from 12 v only to mains as well.

 

[cyberyacht]

Forget about heat from solar. That's what refillable gas is for. 3-400W of solar and a 200Ah Lithium will produce all the electricity you are likely to need except during the absolute depths of winter.

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[Jev88]

What you need.... the basics to get you started in your plans.

1. Panels - VERY Roughly £100 per 100 watts - the more you have the more potential free power you can harvest, Framed more reliable than flexible panels due to heat problems.
2. Controller - Buy cheap buy twice - Branded like Victron, Sunshine Solar, EP Energy and Votronic are popular and worth a bit more! - go for MPPT models with Bluetooth (personal preference).
3. Brackets of choice for roof - typically glued onto your roof via the "feet".
4. Cabling with MP4 weather proof connectors.
5. Batteries - a minefield of choice but branded standard wet acid leisure batteries are fine for occasional off grid use.

With a good set up people report power used previous day/night will be fully recharged by midday next day in UK summer.

 

[Tombola]

greg virgoe does some good videos regarding van power/solar

 

[Spriddler]

Do you intend to spend much time off grid?
Has your current set-up let you down?

If No and No you probably don't need solar.

 

[599]

just put as many panels as you can fit

 

[WildBunch]

Hi.
The answer to your basic questions are :-
Yes it is worthwhile with the UK weather? Especially in the summer.
It is a relatively easy DIY job if you have some basic skills & do the necessary research.
You need to think about what type of existing batteries you have. Buy a solar controller that can be set to the required charging profile to suit your existing battery type and what type you may purchase in the future. I recommend the MPPT type of solar controller as they are more efficient. The solar controller will need to match the solar panel you intend to purchase for both the voltage & current capacity.
The size of panel you will chose will be based on how much electric you use & the space you have on the roof of your van.
There is a lot of information on line about this subject. Try looking at the information given by main solar suppliers EG. Victron & Sterling.

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[two]

Some will say "you can never have too much solar" (unlike wine) but you ought to start by determining how much electricity you use. There's no point in being able to harvesting more than you need (and not use it) but the cost of having solar at all might be more than any saving achieved if you don't go out to places where you need to be self-sufficient often. You may not know how much you use, so I suggest you start by looking at the saving per night that you might make each year by avoiding the extra cost for hook-up. Divide that by the cost of your proposed investment and that's a rough guide as to how long it might take to recover.
I tend to wild camp only when en route to a site and, under those circumstances, the travelling keeps my batteries fully charged. Not all the sites I visit offer non-EHU pitches, so i would not save (say £5/n) very often. Your circumstances may, of course, be different. If you go out in Winter (in the UK) I think you'll need EHU anyway, because you are unlikely to be able to harvest enough electricity to keep up with your consumption.
For many people, I'd suggest that solar is unnecessary. Don't forget that whatever you add to the van must be taken away from your payload. If you have plenty of payload and plenty of dosh (you are fortunate and) ignore all of the above: add as much as you can and enjoy a little bit of extra freedom.

 

[The Wino]

Some will say "you can never have too much solar" (unlike wine) but you ought to start by determining how much electricity you use. There's no point in being able to harvesting more than you need (and not use it) but the cost of having solar at all might be more than any saving achieved if you don't go out to places where you need to be self-sufficient often. You may not know how much you use, so I suggest you start by looking at the saving per night that you might make each year by avoiding the extra cost for hook-up. Divide that by the cost of your proposed investment and that's a rough guide as to how long it might take to recover.
I tend to wild camp only when en route to a site and, under those circumstances, the travelling keeps my batteries fully charged. Not all the sites I visit offer non-EHU pitches, so i would not save (say £5/n) very often. Your circumstances may, of course, be different. If you go out in Winter (in the UK) I think you'll need EHU anyway, because you are unlikely to be able to harvest enough electricity to keep up with your consumption.
For many people, I'd suggest that solar is unnecessary. Don't forget that whatever you add to the van must be taken away from your payload. If you have plenty of payload and plenty of dosh (you are fortunate and) ignore all of the above: add as much as you can and enjoy a little bit of extra freedom.

We wanted some solar as we often stay off site a couple of weeks at a time in France. We didn't HAVE to get solar as the battery never got flat but I thought s single 100w panel was worth fitting in case and I was bored in lockdown!. Totally agree about the you can't have too much lot and about wine!. I think the sensible thing is to weigh it up like you suggest and figure out why you want solar. As you say if people like sites it could be they don't save anything with solar unless they often go on ones with a no electric option.

 

[StephandJohn]

Thanks everyone. Thats all been very helpful to get us thinking in a practical way about whether or not we need it. On balance we probably don't because we don't spend that much time off grid. I know you can always rely on knowledgable people on here to sort things out for you.

 

[autorouter]

Ideally you would need just enough solar to make up your daily usage and refill the batteries. However solar power availability is sadly the opposite of demand - more power required when there's no sun, less power required when it's sunny. Even a huge solar array is not going to be enough to see you through the winter. It's a matter of fitting as much as is reasonable, then finding other ways to top up the battery when the sun don't shine.

Many people, light users, find a 100W panel is quite adequate for their needs in summer. That will give you 30 to 45 amp-hours of energy per day, and that's as much as many people use when the weather is warm and sunny. If you are a heavy user, with a 12V compressor fridge for example, you'd be better with 200W or 300W.

The main problem in DIY terms is running the cable from the solar panels on the roof, through a hole with a weatherproof seal, through the cupboards to the solar controller. Wiring the solar controller is easy - two wires for the panels, and two wires (plus a fuse) for the battery. I think if you fit just one panel, you should use nice thick wire so that if you ever add more panels you don't need to re-do the wiring.

 

[two]

Thanks everyone. Thats all been very helpful to get us thinking in a practical way about whether or not we need it. On balance we probably don't because we don't spend that much time off grid. I know you can always rely on knowledgable people on here to sort things out for you.

Glad it has been a help, especially on confusing things like this. As with any hobby, it's easy for it to consume all your funds if you let it. My belief is that it's better to spend them on using more than improving. In general, you should know when you really need something. Try to avoid being sucked into things that sound nice, they often turn out to provide less than they promised.

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[StephandJohn]

Glad it has been a help, especially on confusing things like this. As with any hobby, it's easy for it to consume all your funds if you let it. My belief is that it's better to spend them on using more than improving. In general, you should know when you really need something. Try to avoid being sucked into things that sound nice, they often turn out to provide less than they promised.

Thanks. Very sensible advice. That's been our discussion around the subject so we've now decided we won't be doing it.

 

[two]

Don't say "never", though. You don't know what will be around the corner.
There's no harm in investigating these things, to be better prepared should the need arise.