Solar panel - yay or nay?

[KatrinK]

We are soon heading off full-time travelling through Europe and are first making a stop at SAP in Doncaster for all kinds of work, including getting two new Lithium batteries. We are umming and ahing about whether to get a solar panel too.

We are thinking that we will mostly be staying at hook-up campsites/parking places. There could be the occasional off-road overnight stay. We are literally complete newbies so hard to foresee...

Has anyone here been in a similar "boat", has a solar panel and has found it to not be needed OR has no solar panel and wishes they would have installed it?

Trying to figure out whether it’s worth the initial, and later, maintenance costs.

 

[The Wino]

I think I'd have gone for solar but not lots and lead acid batteries for your expected use. But if you have lots of money and want to future proof your motorhome get lithium and lots of solar and a b2b. You haven't said if you want to power any mains powered items from batteries when off grid that's going to have a big effect on what's going to be sensible to fit.

 

[nabsim]

One thing to remember for those saying not to fit lithium if using EHU is the weight saving. Some new motorhomes are being sold with very little payload so although expensive it may be worth paying for weight saving. A single 95ah Bosch battery I used to have weighed 26kg, a single 100Ah Lifepo4 battery now comes in at 13kg. I had 3xBosch and now have 2x Lifepo4 so saving 52kgs

 

[Lenny HB]

If you are going to use sites and EHU absolutely no point in wasting money on Lithium.

A different matter if you are hardly ever going to use sites then if you go for Lithium you need to be able to charge them fast to take advantage of so a decent B2B and as much solar as you can fit on the roof.

Our current setup is 3 x 78ah Gels & 300 Watts of solar we can survive without EHU all of the time apart from the UK in deepest winter.

 

[Lenny HB]

One thing to remember for those saying not to fit lithium if using EHU is the weight saving. Some new motorhomes are being sold with very little payload so although expensive it may be worth paying for weight saving. A single 95ah Bosch battery I used to have weighed 26kg, a single 100Ah Lifepo4 battery now comes in at 13kg. I had 3xBosch and now have 2x Lifepo4 so saving 52kgs

If you need to change to Lithium to save 13kg the van is not fit for purpose.

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[nabsim]

If you need to change to Lithium to save 13kg the van is not fit for purpose.

Totally agree but that doesn’t alter the fact there are new vans with under 200kg payload before extras fitted.

 

[headlight]

For "occasional" days off grid as you state then 2 good condition lead acid batteries with no solar would cope.
However it really does depend how many nights off EHU you end up having plus there is the cost savings and flexibility of not being on EHU.
I had a PVC for 5 years and was never off EHU so no need for solar, lithium's, B2B etc.
Early this year I bought a motorhome intending to use it in the same way as I used the PVC, short trips on EHU.
However after a couple of trips I realised that the extra space and refinements of the motorhome meant that I could go away for longer and being self sufficient gave more flexibility as to where we stopped and was cheaper.
I looked at what would be the most cost effective set up for me for my intended use.
To this end I fitted a second 100ah lead acid leisure battery and bought a 100 watt solar suitcase with controller.
Total cost for the solar, battery and cabling/connectors etc about £300.
I have just ordered another panel that can be connected in parallel to my existing controller as we have decided to go abroad for 6-8 weeks and at least 50% of the time we won't be on EHU.

 

[The Wino]

One thing to remember for those saying not to fit lithium if using EHU is the weight saving. Some new motorhomes are being sold with very little payload so although expensive it may be worth paying for weight saving. A single 95ah Bosch battery I used to have weighed 26kg, a single 100Ah Lifepo4 battery now comes in at 13kg. I had 3xBosch and now have 2x Lifepo4 so saving 52kgs

True but in the original post the use was described as mostly on site with occasional nights off. In that case unless it's a heavy electrical use either one lead or one lithium would probably suffice but the op says lithium batteries. More than one lithium for that requirement seems ott and it would be strange to go for two lithium's and solar panels if weight was really an issue

 

[CamperJack]

I've done a week off grid with 2 'normal' batteries and no solar. Normal 'lead acid' batteries are perfectly reliable and lithium is not any advantage in your scenario.

Exactly. I lived in my van in winter. 220ah lead acid, 340 watts solar, and a 30a b2b.

Never hooked up. I have a self build and didn't incorporate a hook up into the system.

That said I only have 12v electrics and the biggest drain was my laptop and deisel heater.

 

[ROCHESB]

If you need to change to Lithium to save 13kg the van is not fit for purpose.

If for licence reasons you need to be at 3500kg or less, every kg helps. Swapping a lead acid battery for a lithium one plus solar panel for a net zero weight gain or slight saving could make a difference to some people.

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[PaulC70]

I keep wondering about more solar and lithium as currently have one solar panel which I think is 100or 120 watt and one leisure battery (lead acid) however not had any bother with this and have only used EHU 3 or 4 times in a year. However we rarely stay in one place more than 2 nights to be honest so everything gets topped up with the touring.

 

[Sapper520]

I weighed our van with everything ready for touring, minus my wife and bedding. That included full full tank, about a third (30 litres) of fresh water, table, chairs, two leisure batteries, Cadac, solar panel, awning, food, Adblue, spare wheel and Jack etc..……3140kgs. Our van is plated at 3500kgs.

Going to lithium to save weight as got to be the most expensive option.

Forgot to add…..all my wife’s crafting stuff…..must be 50kgs of that!

 

[KatrinK]

Thank you so much again everybody

It’s been super interesting to read everybody’s different experiences, POVs and advice.

Based on the responses here we actually realised we really like the idea of not having to rely on hook-ups and being able to generate energy via traveling and the sun - what a U-turn!

We’ve got lots to learn and are looking forward to figuring things out

 

[PaulC70]

Thank you so much again everybody

It’s been super interesting to read everybody’s different experiences, POVs and advice.

Based on the responses here we actually realised we really like the idea of not having to rely on hook-ups and being able to generate energy via traveling and the sun - what a U-turn!

We’ve got lots to learn and are looking forward to figuring things out

Absolutely, people use their campers / motorhomes in very different ways, from staying one place for a week at a time to full timers to those that literally never stay in the same place 2 nights in a row! I appear to be one of the latter. On saying that, this weekend will be the first time we stay off grid in the same place for 3 nights/2 days so will be a proper test of the solar / batteries.

 

[The Wino]

Absolutely, people use their campers / motorhomes in very different ways, from staying one place for a week at a time to full timers to those that literally never stay in the same place 2 nights in a row! I appear to be one of the latter. On saying that, this weekend will be the first time we stay off grid in the same place for 3 nights/2 days so will be a proper test of the solar / batteries.

We're moving on everyday people but are staying in the MH for our daughters wedding for 3 days without moving so we'll see how we get on. It will be interesting as we have a new lithium battery so if the solar regulator shows us fully charged at the end we'll know for summer use were sorted.

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[headlight]

Likewise I'll be doing 4 nights off EHU over the bank holiday next week.
It will be the first time I've used my 200 watts of solar and 2 X 100ah lead acid batteries in anger, although I have tried it at home.
I don't envisage any problems but it will be nice to confirm for certain that I have covered my electrical needs prior to going abroad.

 

[CamperJack]

Thank you so much again everybody

It’s been super interesting to read everybody’s different experiences, POVs and advice.

Based on the responses here we actually realised we really like the idea of not having to rely on hook-ups and being able to generate energy via traveling and the sun - what a U-turn!

We’ve got lots to learn and are looking forward to figuring things out

Not staying on sites means I save money and I can spend longer away in the van.

By the way, I lived in mine for a while and I never stayed at a camp site.

 

[Tombola]

first thing I do when getting new vans is solar, lithium and blutooth monitoring

 

[The Wino]

first thing I do whne getting new vans is solar, lithium and blutooth monitoring

As we bought ours in 2014 and still have it the goalposts might have moved!