Components of an RV Solar Charging System

As ever more campers wander away from the city in their own recreational vehicle, they discover that all of their modern conveniences take a lot of electricity. This is no problem if you are plugged in at a campground, or if you move frequently and the batteries charge while you drive. For other times when you park in an out of the way locale for days, the castle lights can really grow dim as the batteries slowly wear down. Two solutions suggest themselves. The first is to bring a gas powered generator, and run it for a few hours at a time to replace the energy used up. This will cost a lot of money for fuel and will create noise pollution.

If fuel consumption and noise is a concern, then you won't want to use a traditional generator. Other than only camping where there is access to plugins, there is another option, using solar energy with rv solar panels to charge your batteries.

The solar panels in a camper solar setup come in different sizes, like two feet by three feet or two feet by four feet. They will have a rating, such as 80 or 120 watts, which you can use to calculate how many panels you will need. These arrays of photo-voltaic cells can be wired together in series to match whatever charging requirements you have.

Most rv solar panels are attached to the top of the camper with a mount which can raise and lower. While these panels don't have to be set up and repacked, they are less versatile than those on stands on the ground. The portable ones have the advantage of being able to be turned to face the sun as it makes its course around the sky.

The sunlight gets converted to DC current, which flows down the wires to the charge controller. If the batteries are full, the charge controller won't let any more power pass through and saves the batteries from being ruined by overcharging them. AS soon as the battery level drops, the controller allows current to flow through.

The batteries need to be deep cycle rv batteries, which typically are what most motorhomes, campers and trailer already have. You may need to add more batteries for extra storage capacity, depending on how much electricity you will be using.

The final part of the system is the inverter. Inverters can convert Direct Current electrical current to Alternating Current 110V. This will allow you to use household appliances in your holiday trailer. Inverters come in different sizes, and some are more efficient than others, so it pays to shop around.

All of these components can be purchased from and installed by your Recreational Vehicle dealer. Alternatively, you can install them yourself with a little research. If In any case, a visit to your RV dealership will let you know what is available. Also, they can give you a pretty good idea of what size your system needs to be and how many solar panels it will require.

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