New to this whole solar thing...

[toomanydogs]

Hey everyone,
This forum has such a vast amount of knowledge and for some reason, I've been trying to do this all on my own (with my wife's help). Why not actually participate in the conversation?

I'm trying to understand solar. I know I'm not a dumb guy but engineering is not my strength and for some reason I thought I could just learn it on my own. I just want to know if I'm on the right track so far.

Based upon what I think we'd like to be able to run in our rig, I calculated a total of 277 AH. If I'm running a 12V system, then I need about 473W of Solar Panels. On top of that, I'd likely need around 600 AH in battery storage (if we have cloudy weather, there are lots of things that we can cut out on our usage). So I was thinking we'd get 5 100W panels, 6 100AH 12V AGM batteries, a 2000W Inverter/Charger and then a good MPPT.
Does that sound about right? Still a little confused on how the voltages of the different parts all work together.

[JDOnTheGo]

Howdy toomanydogs! There is certainly a learning curve but it isn't too bad. If not familiar with converting volts and amps to watts - and back again, learn it. Also, learn about the various "voltages" used by a battery bank (resting, float, bulk charging, etc.). Sounds like you are on the right track!

Is the 277Ah number per day? I'll assume so. A 600Ah battery bank gives you 300Ah of usable capacity. Therefore, you basically have enough electrical energy stored to operate one day before you need something to charge the batteries. Nothing wrong with that but some folks aim for a couple-three days. Its all about your goals - how you plan to use your setup.

If you have the space, I prefer the higher voltage panels but they are physically much larger (I have four, 435 watt panels). They require an MPPT charge controller.

The output of the solar panels is "converted" to what the battery needs by the MPPT charge controller. For example, 8 amps @ 50 volts is converted into 13.5 volts and x amps to charge a 12V battery bank.

[toomanydogs]

Originally Posted by JDOnTheGo

(I have four, 435W solar panels)

How large are those panels? And how big is your system? We plan on not necessarily living bare bones but comfortably and with some restraint (especially when needed). My calculations were basically for a day when we just need to use everything for some reason. I didn’t calculate things like phones charging or small charge electronics. Didn’t figure those draw an awful lot of power.

[JDOnTheGo]

https://us.sunpower.com/sites/sunpow...lar-panels.pdf

About 42" x 82". My signature includes links to details about my solar system and lithium battery system.