Quote:
Originally Posted by DanChateau33SW
.....cut....
We live in south Florida and most of our travel is within the state, but we do regularly travel up to GA and looking to take a few other, longer trips. It would be nice to stop over night at a rest area to sleep and not have to be woken up by the generator starting or the inverter alarming on a low voltage.
Any experience, recommendations, or general direction to go are definitely appreciated.
|
My 2 cents...
There is a real possibility that adding solar won’t help with the “stop overnight in rest area” scenario because your batteries may be 100% charged by the motorhome’s alternator when you stop for the night, at which time it may be too late in day/night for solar to contribute much, or anything. There are a lot of variables to consider though, like what other power you’re using, battery bank capacity, alternator charging rate (delivered to batteries), etc...
Because solar only produces power during a few hours of the day, energy balance can’t be looked at on a steady-state basis. The same goes for alternator since engine must be running, or converter since generator must be running. Just saying that if goal is to cut back on generator time (particularly in middle of night), there is quite a difference between boondocking at the beach for a week and driving everyday from rest area to rest area during a long trip.