Installing Solar on Conversion Van
Off grid electric supply.
Choosing a solar system was confusing… watts, amp hours, volts.. Ugh. All we knew was that we wanted to have enough power to charge our cell phones and computers, run the fridge and microwave, power the vent, and run the A/C enough so that we stay comfortable at night.
Check our our list of the most helpful solar information online.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
In our searching, we learned that we not only need to know how many amps we need, but that we should also plan for inefficiencies in power that come from various factors, including…
Gain Some Knowledge
We learned about alternating currents (AC), direct currents (DC), inverters and controllers from The Engineering Mindset's video Power Inverters Explained.
We learned enough to ask, "What is the difference between a transformer and a controller?" We found our answer here.
We learned some of basics with Will's Solar for Dummies video and got some good advice from Anna's fast-forward conversion video.
We considered a variety of pre-assembled kits (see below) but couldn't find one with everything we want. Most of the kits have 100w panels. We don't have room for 5 or 6 panels. Plus, we learned that the design of the panel can help with efficiency (higher watts and more cells is better).
We considered flexible solar panels because they are lighter (for better gas mileage) and discreet (for stealthiness) but decided against it after watching another one of Will’s videos. (Will, what would we do without you?!) But, if you are set on flexible panels, Renogy has them in abundance.
After much (too much) research, we found that we would not be able to run an air conditioner off of the amount of solar panels that will fit on our van. Not that we want to chase the hottest sun, but for the days where it's just a bit too hot to be comfortable enough to sleep, we wanted the ability to power an air conditioner all night. Even just occasionally.
And, that's when we found out about wind - solar combination options. Ugghhhh, more choices! ("More choices" is usually a good thing, but we're running blind here, people. We need fewer choices. Just tell us what to do!!) Nevertheless, more choice might mean A/C!! But, no. Wind power is only a supplement to solar and wouldn't provide enough juice to make our dream happen. That only meant our vent fan placement was even more important.
Ultimately, due to potential noise levels of wind power and Retired at 40's turbine review video, we went with all solar. We pieced our complete solar kit together instead of purchasing a kit.
Check our our list of the most helpful solar information online.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
In our searching, we learned that we not only need to know how many amps we need, but that we should also plan for inefficiencies in power that come from various factors, including…
- Solar panels don’t always put out as much energy as they are “supposed to”
- Inverters don’t always properly invert; we should guess 80-90% efficiency
- Batteries don’t always hold all of the energy that is put in
- Cables could come loose, break, etc.
- And, something about pure vs modified sine wave (huh?!)
Gain Some Knowledge
We learned about alternating currents (AC), direct currents (DC), inverters and controllers from The Engineering Mindset's video Power Inverters Explained.
We learned enough to ask, "What is the difference between a transformer and a controller?" We found our answer here.
We learned some of basics with Will's Solar for Dummies video and got some good advice from Anna's fast-forward conversion video.
We considered a variety of pre-assembled kits (see below) but couldn't find one with everything we want. Most of the kits have 100w panels. We don't have room for 5 or 6 panels. Plus, we learned that the design of the panel can help with efficiency (higher watts and more cells is better).
We considered flexible solar panels because they are lighter (for better gas mileage) and discreet (for stealthiness) but decided against it after watching another one of Will’s videos. (Will, what would we do without you?!) But, if you are set on flexible panels, Renogy has them in abundance.
After much (too much) research, we found that we would not be able to run an air conditioner off of the amount of solar panels that will fit on our van. Not that we want to chase the hottest sun, but for the days where it's just a bit too hot to be comfortable enough to sleep, we wanted the ability to power an air conditioner all night. Even just occasionally.
And, that's when we found out about wind - solar combination options. Ugghhhh, more choices! ("More choices" is usually a good thing, but we're running blind here, people. We need fewer choices. Just tell us what to do!!) Nevertheless, more choice might mean A/C!! But, no. Wind power is only a supplement to solar and wouldn't provide enough juice to make our dream happen. That only meant our vent fan placement was even more important.
Ultimately, due to potential noise levels of wind power and Retired at 40's turbine review video, we went with all solar. We pieced our complete solar kit together instead of purchasing a kit.