Solar and Water

[MeaganinUtah]

What solar kit do you recommend for a bus that sleeps 4-5 and how many lithium batteries do I need?
Also, how many gallons for my water tanks? 20 or 30? We don't plan on living in it full time.

Thanks a bunch!

[JA6net]

Add up all the stuff you want to run by watts used. Decide how long it's gonna be used...

Use this calculator https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/ele...alculator.html

And get your kWh needed. Start shopping. Quality and price varies greatly, but generally speaking you get better for more expensive on batteries. Panels are basically all the same in their 2 classes ( black and blueish tint is easy way to tell type) Mono or polycrystalline... Mono being the superior and black colored.

https://ases.org/monocrystalline-vs-...-solar-panels/

I'd avoid kits... Usually sub quality for sake of everything in a box. Spend a day doing your research and get the components individually.

Something to consider is how you're installing. While it seems like a 12v system would be best for RV, the cost of heavier wire and efficiency loss is why good systems run at higher volts. (watt is usable power...(watt= volt x amp) 1000 watts is same if 100 volts and 10 amp or 10 volt and 100 amps. Difference is that wire for 100amps is 100 times the cost of 10 amp rated wire.

4 12v lithium batts in series for 48v will give you same run time as 4 in parallel @ 12v.

To get the 48 v to 12 you put an expensive step-down transformer on each circuit before heading out to the bus.

[TheHubbardBus]

Originally Posted by JA6net

I'd avoid kits... Usually sub quality for sake of everything in a box. Spend a day doing your research and get the components individually.

Going to take one heck of a lot longer than one day for anyone not already exceptionally well versed in the subject to even begin to wrap their head around the concepts necessary to design and build their own system.

No offense intended, but there are some innaccuracies in the black & white advice you offered. Mono isn't always superior to poly, all panels within a single class are most certainly not the same, the price of batteries doesn't necessarily speak to their quality, and a 12V bank - particularly in a 12V native vehicle - isn't the opposite of 'good'... especially not when electrical needs are modest.

OP - There's no way anyone's going to be able to help with your questions without you going in to much more detail on the cumulative electrical & water needs for your (assuming) family. How many adults, how many children, what appliances do you intend to power, and for how long, etc, etc, etc. I think you'd be best served by searching the forum for old posts related to the subject and reading as much as possible. But at a bare minimum talk more about your needs so maybe someone in a similar circumstance can give some generalized advice.