Todd and Tony, I live at the Jersey Shore and the seagulls bomb solar panels and RV roofs with clams in order to break the shells and eat the innards. Weird but true. I highly recommend affixing seagull cut-out decals to the panels because it fools the gulls into thinking that another gull is sitting there and they won't drop a shell near another gull. We use this technique in marinas to do the same. Stay safe and well; thanks for all you have done!
If you're a FT boondocker like we are, I think the answer is, " You need as much as can fit on your RV, have the carrying capacity for, or as in our case, as much as you can afford." You still might not have enough though. We have 23.5 kwhs (the equivalent of 1,840 ah) of LiFePo-4 batteries onboard, but we can only fit 5,020 watts of solar on our MH (and that's with a roof completely covered with 4,400 watts of panels and a 620-watt liftable array on the side of the MH). Since 4,400 watts are flat mounted this reduces their output perhaps 25%. Their performance is also reduced by bad weather and in winter, when the sun is lower in the sky. Though this may sound like I have more solar than I need, the ratio of 2.7 to 1 works out about right in my application in the practical sense. Your mileage may vary.
So far I have found out that I need a minimum of 6-8 panels in order to keep things topped up. I also use BMS agm batteries because they're half the cost and work great for long draw
My own opinion on an easy answer: "As much solar as you can fit on the roof." Solar cells are pretty affordable these days. Just fill up the roof and size the rest of the system accordingly.
I'm a newbie and know next to zip about this subject. What would I need for a 31 to 34 footer class C rv, full time living ... I'd really like to know everything I can for maximum power without setting myself on fire.
So my goal is to have our residential fridge run while we travel from WA to TX (with overnight stops along the way) this next summer. We have 440watts (2 x220w) of solar, 2000w inverter, mppt 100/30a charger and 2 x 100ah lithium batteries. Is this setup enough to get the job done?
In my experience it takes an average of about 400watts of solar and 200ah of battery power to run a residential fridge - perhaps a little more in the summer when it's hot out and your fridge must work harder. This means you might just get by but won't have enough power to run anything else. You might want to add a battery-to-battery charger to allow your alternator to charge your batteries while driving down the road or at least have a small generator for back up charging if you happen to experience a string of rainy days.
Todd and Tony, I live at the Jersey Shore and the seagulls bomb solar panels and RV roofs with clams in order to break the shells and eat the innards. Weird but true. I highly recommend affixing seagull cut-out decals to the panels because it fools the gulls into thinking that another gull is sitting there and they won't drop a shell near another gull. We use this technique in marinas to do the same. Stay safe and well; thanks for all you have done!
If you're a FT boondocker like we are, I think the answer is, " You need as much as can fit on your RV, have the carrying capacity for, or as in our case, as much as you can afford." You still might not have enough though. We have 23.5 kwhs (the equivalent of 1,840 ah) of LiFePo-4 batteries onboard, but we can only fit 5,020 watts of solar on our MH (and that's with a roof completely covered with 4,400 watts of panels and a 620-watt liftable array on the side of the MH). Since 4,400 watts are flat mounted this reduces their output perhaps 25%. Their performance is also reduced by bad weather and in winter, when the sun is lower in the sky. Though this may sound like I have more solar than I need, the ratio of 2.7 to 1 works out about right in my application in the practical sense. Your mileage may vary.
Oh lord, I hoped this was going to be quick & simple.
So far I have found out that I need a minimum of 6-8 panels in order to keep things topped up. I also use BMS agm batteries because they're half the cost and work great for long draw
My own opinion on an easy answer: "As much solar as you can fit on the roof." Solar cells are pretty affordable these days. Just fill up the roof and size the rest of the system accordingly.
I'm a newbie and know next to zip about this subject. What would I need for a 31 to 34 footer class C rv, full time living ... I'd really like to know everything I can for maximum power without setting myself on fire.
So my goal is to have our residential fridge run while we travel from WA to TX (with overnight stops along the way) this next summer. We have 440watts (2 x220w) of solar, 2000w inverter, mppt 100/30a charger and 2 x 100ah lithium batteries. Is this setup enough to get the job done?
In my experience it takes an average of about 400watts of solar and 200ah of battery power to run a residential fridge - perhaps a little more in the summer when it's hot out and your fridge must work harder. This means you might just get by but won't have enough power to run anything else. You might want to add a battery-to-battery charger to allow your alternator to charge your batteries while driving down the road or at least have a small generator for back up charging if you happen to experience a string of rainy days.