Is Solar worth it?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by DanielB

and then there is the whole not burning fossil fuels and low carbon footprint thing.. Cutting down on burning coal and/or fracking might worth a dollar or two to you.

I don't buy the "low carbon footprint" argument, since it doesn't take into account the carbon footprint of the factory where the panels are made.

[masseyfarm]

I live on the marginal solar production zone and I would have to say I am satisfied with what I have at this point.

I also have solar charging my home battery bank that powers my home alarm and, in emergency, other devices for a short period. This makes this a no/little maintenance item.

On the motorhome, on a bright day even without sun, my batteries are always topped off for limited use. When the sun is shining, I can run the fridge, WiFi, laptop, GPS, Coffee Maker, etc with no problem on 12V and the Solar will keep the batteries topped off till dusk. I will then switch the fridge to LPG till the next morning. A larger battery bank will allow more intermittent demand.

If you install your own system, it will be a bit more cost efficient, and you will better understand how to care and maintain it.

Bottom line, yes solar is worth it, if for nothing else than the joy of getting power from the sun for free. (Installation costs ignored.) Don't go for a panel too small to be of use, and when installing, don't go cheap on the wire size.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f313...ml#post1109933

Dave

[webspinner]

We have 200 watts of solar on our Tradewind and we love it for a number of reasons:

It is nearly hassle free - no generator to set up or unload, we just flip a switch and we're charging the batteries and running the inverter for 110.

It gives us power for an unlimited time without refueling. We are limited only by our two propane tanks, not our generator gas. And we never have to deal with gas cans.

It has a lower carbon footprint compared to a generator. Both produce CO2 in their manufacture. Generators continue to do so, whereas solar panels do not. I don't have time right now to gather all the data for the break even point of solar vs. gennie - maybe later.

BUT

We are on the west coast where we hardly ever use AC. For that, we need to be plugged in. Our "infinite" use depends on our conversion to all LED lights and no AC.

We can charge the batteries back up during an overcast day, but not when camped in full shade. If you camp a lot in the woods, this would be a consideration.

For ease of use and low maintenance power, solar can't be beat.

[CanoeStream]

This thread has received some edits and is now reopened. Please keep a cool head when posting. Imagine working through a disagreement with a friend or relative with whom you'd like the relationship to stay positive. That exemplifies the Community Rules objective contained within the 'Be Nice' instruction.

Thank you,
Bob

[crisen]

I hope this isn't out of place in this thread but I have a question. We don't have solar panels but I am considering adding one. How do the panels mount to the trailer?

I am concerned about two things, the extra holes in the roof and since we have some really rough roads here about the durability of the panel while towing. I do try to slow down on the bad spots in the roads but sometimes you just get surprised.

[webspinner]

Rick, our panels are attached with, believe it or not, tape. Not just any tape - it's a very special, extra strong, no-holes-in-the-skin tape solution. I'm not sure if it came with the solar panel kit or was simply recommended. It's worked fine for thousands of miles of towing, and in blistering heat and freezing cold.

[crisen]

Originally Posted by webspinner

Rick, our panels are attached with, believe it or not, tape. Not just any tape - it's a very special, extra strong, no-holes-in-the-skin tape solution. I'm not sure if it came with the solar panel kit or was simply recommended. It's worked fine for thousands of miles of towing, and in blistering heat and freezing cold.

I had not thought about tape, I may need to look into this. By the way what do you define as "freezing cold". It is -25 F here right now and we sometimes get -50 F.

[AWCHIEF]

Originally Posted by crisen

I had not thought about tape, I may need to look into this. By the way what do you define as "freezing cold". It is -25 F here right now and we sometimes get -50 F.

It is relative; down here the locals consider "freezing cold" anything close to 32F. Still seems silly to me after living in Maine for so many years.

3M makes several different industrial strength outdoor tapes that are being used more and more by manufactures and contractors. They are available at Amazon and Lowes that I know of.

[Lily&Me]

After Hurricane Sandy, and the frequency of these monster storms increasing, the ability to generate one's own (albeit limited) power is increasingly appealing.

Being able to run minimal lighting, keep the water pump going, etc., for an unlimited time period even without electricity would be very handy.

I recall a news clip a week or so after Sandy about a man and his family on the east coast who were functioning quite comfortably in their Airstream trailer while neighbors for miles around were without electricity for weeks. They were running a generator, though, which we prefer not to use.

We don't boondock when we know it is going to be hot enough that we have to have AC or cold enough that we have to run the furnace.

Running the generator seems to defeat the purpose, for us, and to disturb the serenity of a beautiful spot. However, it has come in very handy on a number of occasions.

We are seriously pondering a set of portable panels, which seem they would do the trick at a fraction of the cost of installing them on our roof.


Maggie

[HiHoAgRV]

Some very good points are brought up, the intangables seem to be key items in the 'to solar or not to solar' decision. The hard cold facts tend to get muddled with passion, while in the background the folks who use solar don't seem to even worry about those facts!

I'm on the fence deciding if 'Mounting' solar is worth it. Seriously considerng putting it on the trucks camper shell so I can park the trailer in the shade...

[Mike91208]

Originally Posted by AWCHIEF

3M makes several different industrial strength outdoor tapes that are being used more and more by manufactures and contractors. They are available at Amazon and Lowes that I know of.

3M VHB tape is used to tape down solar panels (3M VHB tape):
3M

[webspinner]

Originally Posted by crisen

I had not thought about tape, I may need to look into this. By the way what do you define as "freezing cold". It is -25 F here right now and we sometimes get -50 F.

I'm in coastal California, so "freezing cold" is driving through a light dusting of snow. You'll have to find other sources to tell how the tape fares in real cold.

[JamuJoe]

I also used 3M VHB tape to mount a solar panel on our Casita (and shelves etc. inside our Airstream), and it held fast through blistering heat, freezing cold, rough gravel roads, and the intense UV at 7400 ft in Durango, CO. Great stuff. My Airstream dealer insisted on using what he was familiar with when he installed my solar panels, however - rivets.

[Jim Flower]

Both my son and I have excellent solar set ups for our intended purposes. He has about 100 watts, 2 group 24 acid batteries & a 600 watt inverter, all controlled by a system provided by the great folks from AM Solar. The system is just perfect for his 67 Globetrotter. My system was provided by CAN AM and consists of 3 95 watt panels, 4group 24AGM batteries, a 1500 watt pure sign wave inverter, and a really great controller with remote switching. The systems allow us to keep every thing charged up whether we are boon docking or leaving the units in the storage yard for a few days or a few months. There have been zero issues with performance. Just hook up and go. It's just how we roll.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I would like to have solar panels, but cost wise versus usage doesn't make sense to me at this time. I have a nice generator and haven't really used it that much either. Not running a generator for a carbon foot print point of view makes no sense to me since most all of us burn tons of fuel in our tow vehicles getting to these places that we want to go to. As for freezing, it's 32 degrees F, the point where water freezes.

[masseyfarm]

In Canada we freeze at 0. Does that make us blessed or cursed.

Dave

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

As for freezing, it's 32 degrees F, the point where water freezes.

[Aage]

makes us cold, that's for sure!

[bfd]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

...Not running a generator for a carbon foot print point of view makes no sense to me since most all of us burn tons of fuel in our tow vehicles getting to these places that we want to go to. ...

My thoughts exactly as I read through this thread. Unfortunately, the fuel I would burn in camp with a generator would probably be miniscule compared to what my truck consumed on the trip. This is an interesting and informative discussion though. I haven't invested in either type of supplemental power yet, so this will help me make a more informed decision.

Bruce Davis
Athens, AL

[AirsDream]

This is a perpetual topic of discussion, probably because there is no "right" answer. It is clearly a case where "one size does not fit all." I've got a reasonable amount of experience, having both a generator (Yamaha 2400) and solar panels (2- 140 watt roof-mounted panels from AM Solar) and 3 Lifeline batteries. (I've also got a bigger home generator, but that doesn't count for purposes of this discussion.) Some observations based solely on MY experience:

If you're not going to boondock, it probably doesn't matter; you don't NEED a generator or solar panels. Just plug into shore power and you're good to go. But if you want to boondock (that's about 95% of what I do) or you're thinking that the grid won't always be there to serve you every day, you need other power sources after just a few days ... like maybe two days if it's down below freezing and you're running the furnace a lot. So what are the advantages and disadvantages of genset vs. solar? Here's MY take on it.

I bought the gennie first. On the plus side, it is reasonably quiet (be careful: many generators are quite noisy!), powerful enough to run my 11k BTU A/C, runs all day or night on one fueling on either gasoline or propane, starts always on the second pull of the starter cord (on the first pull if I've run it in the last day or so), is light enough (barely) for me to lug around. It runs on propane if I want, so I don't have to carry around extra fuel (I tow with a diesel pickup). [If you tow with e.g. a Suburban or SUV, where do you store the gasoline or extra propane tank(s)?] One of the good things it does do for me is provide power at the storage shed for high power needs, e.g. a mid-sized air compressor I use to maintain farm equipment and the steam cleaner I use on carpet and furniture. When you need LOTS of juice, a generator can provide it. Downsides: it was relatively expensive, takes up a lot of room, requires maintenance, and in many of the places I stay (especially music festivals), generators are allowed only during very limited hours or not at all. And it seems as if the older I get, the heavier it becomes! But it works well. BTW, mine is WAY too big if its only use were battery charging - a 1000 watt or even 750 would have been plenty.

Solar panels have lots of upsides: they're silent and need no attention other than an occasional rinse-off, and always keep my battery bank fully charged so long as I'm not in deep forest and/or they're not covered with deep snow. I suppose that several dark, gloomy days in a row might produce so little juice that the batteries would run down, but it hasn't happened in several years of use. I can and do use them anywhere I am and they're plenty to power everything in my trailer including TV and computer and printer, etc. except not the microwave or A/C. Only two downsides I'm aware of: they were relatively expensive, and they change the appearance of the coach a bit.

Recent practical experience ... This past summer I drove up to Alaska and back (see, Goin'UpNorth ). From several previous Alaska trips, I KNEW I'd get a lot of cloudy days of rain and would be mostly boondocking. So I loaded the generator into the truck for backup. I think that over the course of the trip there was shore power available only twice. But I never used the genset during the entire trip; the solar panels just did their thing and kept me going the whole time. For MY uses, the limiting factor now clearly is water. When I'm solo, I can go a little more than ten careful days before my fresh water tank is depleted, and in decent weather a propane tank runs the fridge and gives me hot water and cooking heat for weeks. Solar panels just keep the batteries up all the time with no thought or work required by me.

Bottom line: it all depends upon what YOU do with YOUR coach and how much YOU elect to spend. I can live fine with Fantastic Vent and fan up to about 95F outside. YOU might need A/C when it's 80 out. I make drip coffee. YOU might need a high powered espresso machine. I junked my microwave. YOURS might be essential to life as you know it. So in the end, only YOU can decide what is best for YOUR particular style of travel and camping. Just get out there and do it!

[Lily&Me]

We remember camping on the beach at Padre Island national seashore, where there is a dump station and water fill.

If we'd had solar panels to keep our batteries charged, we could have stayed there indefinitely.


Maggie