Solar Install Questions

[wwaveydave]

Hi Guys,

I've got a new solar panel and MPPT box to put in my van. I'd like to let you know of how I intend to install it and for those who have solar installations to let me know if they see any gotchas if that's OK?

Current setup is 1 Leisure Battery installed in the engine bay, charged with SCR and manual charging when required. Usual swap loom in placce to move a few bits to the leisure battery.
Kitchen unit with fridge is a rear conversion. I have the tap for the sink and the fridge running off the rear cigarette charger socket.
Hob is Gas powered. Gas is in the rear conversion unit. Rear conversion unit also has 2 13amp 3pin sockets attached to a small consumer unit used for EHU with a 16amp Commando socket and a commando extension socket.

I was planning to install the solar panel on the roof and then bring the cables down the tailgate and into the van behind the light cluster. There is already some kind of weird aerial thing going in there. I was then going to run the solar cables behind the fascia panels along the passenger side above the windows and down the side of the windscreen. I was going to mount the Solar box behind the Glovebox and take the cables from the battery into it using the grommet behind the coolant tank. I was also going to mount the inverter above the passenger footwell and use the same grommet to take the cables for that back to the battery. I'll fuse both ends of the inverter cables. I was going to run a 13amp cable from the inverter with a 16amp Commando socket on it into the back of the van to plug into the EHU system for when I want to use the inverter. So either EHU or Inverter could power the 240v circuit but not both.

Finally I'm going to look at removing the gas hob (and the gas bottle) and replacing it with an induction hob depending on some power consumption tests I'm looking into. Mainly whether I'd need to add a second battery.

I think that's about it. Any thoughts? Am I missing anything? Are there better ways to achieve this?

[g8dhe]

How much power do you think you will be using at Mains voltages, its normally not viable to run standard appliances from a leisure battery they just don't have the capacity.

[wwaveydave]

I've been looking at a Vango Hob that starts at 100W and ramps up to 200W, 450W, 600W, and 800W. I've not found a low power 12v Induction Hob yet.
The other thing is a Tassimo Coffee machine. Which I believe pulls 600w although I can't find the documentation I originally found for this. That's it really, everything else can be run on 12v.

Now, what I will say is that I'm a weekend only camper and when we go away we're very pub/bbq dependant. Please don't hate me. I'd envisage the Tassimo getting used at max 4 times throughout the day (2x2) and the hob just for a morning bacon sandwich. We've been away a six times so far this year and not actually used the gas in anger yet as we've used the local facilities instead.

I also use the van as a day van for mountain biking and paddle boarding and so in these situations it would be just the coffee machine.

I've seen 12v options for coffee machines, but I already have a 1500w inverter from a previous project and so I saw this as being a relatively low cost win. I'll be doing the solar for the other 12v stuff and to keep the batteries charged up anyway. Also, I am afraid of gas (all types).

[Windstille]

Sounds like a similar setup to our van. Our mppt controller is in the rear cupboard, dirctly below where the solar panel cable enters the van. Best thing about the solar panel is it keeps the Lesiure battery trickle charged to full which the alternator can't do. What wattage is your solar panel and what capacity and type is your leisure battery ( lead acid, AGM, lithium )?

I would love to add an inverter to our van. We have a 240v plug socket for an EHU but it's separate from the 12v LB sustem. I'd use mine for.low power usage like charging a drone and laptop. As g8dhe said, low powered appliances can be used but not high ones. Appliances which are designed to produce heat are your classic high powered appliances, like a kettle.

A standard lead acid shouldnt really get discharged below 80% charge regularly, so my 75ah battery gives me 15ahx12v= 175Wh. That's like using the coffee machine for 20 mins. Maybe if you're producing a solid 100 W each hour with your solar panel then you might get 2 coffees made a day.

Not sure about lithium batteries but I think you can discharge them repeatedly to a much lower state of discharge.

Nothing wrong with being pub dependent good to support local businesses. Although I'm can't beat being self-sufficient ofnan afternoon down by the beach. Personally I love making a cuppa on our gas hob because it warms the van up loads at the same time.

With a carbon monoxide alarm and a fire extinguisher you're pretty safe when using gas. Also turning it off at the bottle after each use. You could get a campervan specialist to inspect your gas system for peace of mind. My ol man has a stovetop french press with a built-in milk steamer, which would make a damn good coffee in the van.

Love to hear how you get on, it's a challenging one to make work on electric alone when you're off grid

[wwaveydave]

You might find you can get a 12v charger for your laptop and drone. That's how I charge my laptop in the van. Ordinarily laptop chargers want 14v-16v DC so getting a charger to make that step specifically would be much more efficient than going up to 240v and back down again.

My brain knows that every man and their dog use gas and that if looked after and well prepared is safe but I'd rather have all electric. Not really logical.

So have you got your leisure battery in the back and ditched the SCR?

[Windstille]

So have you got your leisure battery in the back and ditched the SCR?

No, the solar charger controller is connected to the leisure battery via a long wire down the inside of the van. Was tempted to put a secondary LB in the back as a dedicated inverter supply but think that would be more hassle than its worth.

You might find you can get a 12v charger for your laptop and drone. That's how I charge my laptop in the van. Ordinarily laptop chargers want 14v-16v DC so getting a charger to make that step specifically would be much more efficient than going up to 240v and back down again.

That's a good idea, I'll have a look into them. I had always assumed the laptop had to be charged from it's manufacturers charger.

[fittobust]

Have you considered free standing panels rather then fixing them to the roof? The reason being that you locate a freestanding panel to the optimum angle for any particular location, you may not be able to do this with the panel permanently fixed to the roof.