Solar Power for Camping: A Beginner’s Guide
When I was a kid, we “roughed” it in a small bumper-pull trailer. In the 1980s, it was no frills, for sure, but at least we were inside with a furnace to keep the chill away at night.
But when I think about that old camper and compare it to my current one, the difference is almost comical. And it’s not like I’m pulling a $100,000 fifth wheel, either – that would be an even bigger difference!
There are many more creature comforts in today’s campers than there were even 10 or 20 years ago, let alone 40 years ago. There are also many more technologies that make camping a much easier and more functional experience – solar power being one of them.
If you’re new to solar power and have questions about solar power for camping, specifically, how much solar power you need, you’ve come to the right place.
How Much Solar Power Do I Need for Camping?
Using solar power for camping isn’t just a matter of slapping a camping solar panel
https://www.renogy.com/solar-panels/ on your camper’s roof and connecting some wires.
Instead, you need to consider the question, “How much solar power do I need for camping?”
The answer to this question is, of course, that it depends.
Before investing in a solar power system, you need to know what you need and what you don’t. Adding too many solar panels is a waste of your time and money – there’s no point in covering your RV’s roof with panels if you don’t need all the power that they can generate. By the same token, you don’t want to add a single solar panel thinking that it can produce the power needed to run two A/C units in the heat of the day.
You should start by figuring out what your normal energy use is when you’re camping. Once you do that, you can figure out the size of your solar power bank for camping.
To determine your energy usage level, just go camping! You’ll need to boondock, obviously, so you can gauge how long your batteries last under normal use. The key term here is “normal use.” Use the lights, the water pump, and whatever else you normally use so you get an accurate estimate of power consumption.
While you’re camping, use a battery monitor to track the levels of the batteries in your camper or RV. You’ll then need to do some math. Let’s say, for example, that after two days of camping your two 80 amp-hour batteries are at 50 percent charge. In other words, the batteries have used up a total of 80 amp-hours over two days, or 40 amp-hours per day.
Using this figure, you can determine how much solar power you need.
Just remember that you need to have a big enough battery bank to store the power generated by your solar panels. You can cover every inch of your camper with solar panels, but there’s no point if your batteries don’t have the ability to store all that energy.
Adding additional batteries for a solar power bank for camping brings up the question of space in your camper as well as its weight rating. Batteries aren’t exactly small or lightweight, so be sure you have a place where you can safely add additional batteries to increase capacity for storing power.
Solar Power for Camping: A Beginner’s Guide
When I was a kid, we “roughed” it in a small bumper-pull trailer. In the 1980s, it was no frills, for sure, but at least we were inside with a furnace to keep the chill away at night.
But when I think about that old camper and compare it to my current one, the difference is almost comical. And it’s not like I’m pulling a $100,000 fifth wheel, either – that would be an even bigger difference!
There are many more creature comforts in today’s campers than there were even 10 or 20 years ago, let alone 40 years ago. There are also many more technologies that make camping a much easier and more functional experience – solar power being one of them.
If you’re new to solar power and have questions about solar power for camping, specifically, how much solar power you need, you’ve come to the right place.
How Much Solar Power Do I Need for Camping?
Using solar power for camping isn’t just a matter of slapping a camping solar panel https://www.renogy.com/solar-panels/ on your camper’s roof and connecting some wires.
Instead, you need to consider the question, “How much solar power do I need for camping?”
The answer to this question is, of course, that it depends.
Before investing in a solar power system, you need to know what you need and what you don’t. Adding too many solar panels is a waste of your time and money – there’s no point in covering your RV’s roof with panels if you don’t need all the power that they can generate. By the same token, you don’t want to add a single solar panel thinking that it can produce the power needed to run two A/C units in the heat of the day.
You should start by figuring out what your normal energy use is when you’re camping. Once you do that, you can figure out the size of your solar power bank for camping.
To determine your energy usage level, just go camping! You’ll need to boondock, obviously, so you can gauge how long your batteries last under normal use. The key term here is “normal use.” Use the lights, the water pump, and whatever else you normally use so you get an accurate estimate of power consumption.
While you’re camping, use a battery monitor to track the levels of the batteries in your camper or RV. You’ll then need to do some math. Let’s say, for example, that after two days of camping your two 80 amp-hour batteries are at 50 percent charge. In other words, the batteries have used up a total of 80 amp-hours over two days, or 40 amp-hours per day.
Using this figure, you can determine how much solar power you need.
Just remember that you need to have a big enough battery bank to store the power generated by your solar panels. You can cover every inch of your camper with solar panels, but there’s no point if your batteries don’t have the ability to store all that energy.
Adding additional batteries for a solar power bank for camping brings up the question of space in your camper as well as its weight rating. Batteries aren’t exactly small or lightweight, so be sure you have a place where you can safely add additional batteries to increase capacity for storing power.
Arabic
Français
Español
Português
Deutsch
Türkçe
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek