Temporary solar advice

I

Irmscher2007

New Member
Hello, just after some advice on a temporary solar set up. Mainly around fixing to the roof.

Off to Le Man's 24 he race mid June, unfortunately no hookup on the site this year.

Looking at Solar to keep the fridge running, and charge up a power station for 3 x mobiles and a speaker. I'd hope the power station would last three or four days and then can be charged from the 12v inside the van.

I'm not keen on drilling through the pop top roof, most of the time we have EHU on sites and worried a portable panel on the floor would get stolen when we are away from the van.

I was thinking about purchasing a flexible Renogy panel and whilst setting up attaching it to the roof using strong velcro and running the wiring through the front window underneath the wind deflectors.

The other option is to buy one of the traditional metal framed panels and attached the velcro to the metal.

Is it going to be much more beneficial spending a bit extra buying an MPPT controller over a PWM?

Thanks

Screenshot_20240328-110052.png
 
What size/type of leisure battery do you have? And how long are you going to need to run the fridge for?

Temporarily fixing a panel to a pop top will be a pain, tbh if you're going to the trouble of buying all the kit you may as well fix it on properly, there's plenty of options to not have to drill into your pop top.
 
TallPaul_S said:
What size/type of leisure battery do you have? And how long are you going to need to run the fridge for?

Temporarily fixing a panel to a pop top will be a pain, tbh if you're going to the trouble of buying all the kit you may as well fix it on properly, there's plenty of options to not have to drill into your pop top.
Click to expand...
It's a standard leisure battery, reads 110ah from what I can see.

The fridge would be on for 6 x days. The first day would have around 7 hours driving.

I know there are options to attach the panel without drilling but it's the wiring that I can't see a way around without drilling.
 
Do you have barn doors or a tailgate? If barn doors, you can use the tailgate mount holes to get panel cables into the van.

MPPT Vs PWM is definitely worth it, they're about 30% more efficient.

www.12voltplanet.co.uk

PWM Vs MPPT Solar Controllers

PWM Vs MPPT Solar Controllers, article by 12Volt Planet. We take a look at the pros & cons of MPPT & PWM solar controllers and discuss which one will provide the best results depending on your environment
www.12voltplanet.co.uk

A 100w panel, in bright sun, will output about 30Ah per day. A fridge at 1.25Ah/h is 30Ah usage per day...

If you had a PWM controller, that's down to 20Ah a day - have a couple of dull days with only 1 or 2Ah produced by the panel and you'll deplete the battery (or more likely, the fridge will shut off due to low voltage).

You do of course have the option of running the engine for a bit to recharge the batteries.

Also remember those semi flexible panels need to be kept fairly straight or else you'll end up cracking the cells.

If the panels have holes in the corners you can get suction mounts to attach them to your roof (magnets also but not suitable for a pop top)

Suction cups
 
You are proposing what we do - folding solar panel on roof with cables through partly open window to controller inside the van.
Just make sure that panel is secure - it does not take much wind to move it or fold it up.

Pete
 
20240312_111536.jpg

Stick a wire through your EHU with an XT60 plug (for DC) and wire to the leisure battery terminals. Then buy a cheapo solar stand alone panel with an MPPT built in.
 
TallPaul_S said:
Do you have barn doors or a tailgate? If barn doors, you can use the tailgate mount holes to get panel cables into the van.

MPPT Vs PWM is definitely worth it, they're about 30% more efficient.

www.12voltplanet.co.uk

PWM Vs MPPT Solar Controllers

PWM Vs MPPT Solar Controllers, article by 12Volt Planet. We take a look at the pros & cons of MPPT & PWM solar controllers and discuss which one will provide the best results depending on your environment
www.12voltplanet.co.uk

A 100w panel, in bright sun, will output about 30Ah per day. A fridge at 1.25Ah/h is 30Ah usage per day...

If you had a PWM controller, that's down to 20Ah a day - have a couple of dull days with only 1 or 2Ah produced by the panel and you'll deplete the battery (or more likely, the fridge will shut off due to low voltage).

You do of course have the option of running the engine for a bit to recharge the batteries.

Also remember those semi flexible panels need to be kept fairly straight or else you'll end up cracking the cells.

If the panels have holes in the corners you can get suction mounts to attach them to your roof (magnets also but not suitable for a pop top)

Suction cups
Click to expand...
That's some good info. Maybe I should look into a 200w or 2 x 100w panels.

I never thought about suction cups.
 
Pete C said:
You are proposing what we do - folding solar panel on roof with cables through partly open window to controller inside the van.
Just make sure that panel is secure - it does not take much wind to move it or fold it up.

Pete
Click to expand...
What panel do you use? And how do you secure it to the roof?
 
It's a generic 100W folding one from Amazon. Probably not available now.
I used small but strong magnets on the edges to hold it down (no pop top).

Pete
 
I'd definitely prefer an MPPT over a PWM, and definitely use MPPT for a permanent install.

If you are setting up a temporary panel for occasional use then if you go with the popular brands like Renogy the included PWM controllers are not terrible. The same is probably not true of the off brand eBay specials.

Thing is in a fixed install your panels are likely not well aligned with the sun so the greater efficiency of the MPPT gives you an edge. Portable panels you can set up well orientated to the sun and improve the efficiency that way.
 
bp_porcaro said:

I have just got this on Amazon with the £40 off voucher £129.99

had great online reviews and up to now, very pleased with the quality and output etc. Would recommend for your needs at Le Man.

We went to the Le man Classic w/e there last year and had a fantastic time :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I have got a couple of panels now. One is a foldable Renogy 80w, got it for £60 I think. Says refurbished, direct from Renogy. That will charge up a Renogy Phoenix 200 powerstation to charge all the phones and speakers etc.

I have also got a 130w Ecoworthy panel for £70 which I think I will put on to a sheet and velcro to the roof to see how it gets in before deciding on whether to fix permanently.

I'd like to try le man's classic. I'm guessing it doesn't get as busy as the main one. Le Man city is great which the tram next to the track
 
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