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Camper Bob 
podders Helping podders - pHp 
Joined: 26 Sep 2011 Location: Portland Oregon Online Status: Offline Posts: 913 |
 Topic: Solar Charging SystemPosted: 21 Aug 2012 at 6:01pm |
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Wow. Did anyone else understand all that? I'm sure your both right, but to us mere mortals, that was mind dazzling. Glad we have some technowizards aboard. Safe Travels.
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Camper Bob and Camper Sue
Gracie the Wonder Dog (12 LB. Mini Dachshund) 2013 Rpod 171HRE(ORPod) 2016 Lance 1685 2015 Nissan Pathfinder |
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bhamster
Senior Member
Joined: 19 May 2011 Location: Washington Online Status: Offline Posts: 165 |
Posted: 21 Aug 2012 at 7:09pm |
That's an awesome chart, thanks for the link. I looked into the source of the data and it's assuming a fixed panel averaged throughout the year. Luckily they have a handy calculator on their website: I put in Average July with a two-axis plate (since I rotate and tilt my panel during the day), and it came up with this:  In my region that's 8-10 "sun hours" per day, even more than I thought. June and August were about the same: 7-8. Since we only camp May-September it works out well for us. As for the line-losses, check out this calculator: My configuration shows 0.45% loss, so pretty insignificant (0.1Ah less).
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Footslogger03
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jul 2011 Location: Laramie, WY Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
Posted: 21 Aug 2012 at 7:36pm |
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All math and laws of science aside ...I've paid my dues and decided a generator was the right thing for me.
That being said, I am a technical guy and understand the process so I love staying informed and truly benefit from the discussions like this one. 'Slogger |
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Livin' the Dream ...'Slogger
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techntrek
Admin Group - pHp 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059 |
Posted: 21 Aug 2012 at 7:42pm |
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You definitely get more sun by moving the panels throughout the day, but many RV systems have fixed panels, often mounted horizontal on the roof which is far from optimal (below the 4.5 I quoted). Even if the system is designed with portable panels like Walt's many people won't move them at all (other things to do while camping) or enough to make much difference. Permanent systems - including the ones used to gather the data used in that map - are placed optimally to get sun for most or all of the day and often camping sites aren't. I'm just trying to present realistic numbers. Glad to see you'll get more bang for your buck! If anyone is interested in getting more input here is a great forum I'm a member of: http://www.wind-sun.com/ForumVB/forum.php |
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bhamster
Senior Member
Joined: 19 May 2011 Location: Washington Online Status: Offline Posts: 165 |
Posted: 21 Aug 2012 at 8:00pm |
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Here's the flat version:
 It looks like I still get 6-7 even if I just laid it on the ground. It definitely depends on the campsite, but it's been working fine for me even in the forests of the northwest. Another factor to consider is that appliances that run during the day (while there's sun) will pull all or part of their current from the solar charger directly and avoid the efficiency losses from charging/discharging the battery. In the AGM case this could increase efficiency by up to 10% while the sun is shining. |
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Solar Charging System