As ever more campers wander away from the city in their own recreational vehicle, they discover that all of their modern conveniences take a lot of electricity. This is no problem if you are plugged in at a campground, or if you move frequently and the batteries charge while you drive. For other times when you park in an out of the way locale for days, the castle lights can really grow dim as the batteries slowly wear down. Two solutions suggest themselves. The first is to bring a gas powered generator, and run it for a few hours at a time to replace the energy used up. This will cost a lot of money for fuel and will create noise pollution.
If fuel consumption and noise is a concern, then you won't want to use a traditional generator. Other than only camping where there is access to plugins, there is another option, using solar energy with rv solar panels to charge your batteries.
It is possible to hook several RV solar panels together, and commonly they are wired in series to provide a greater output. These panels are made of many small cells all formed into a rigid panel. Photo-voltaic cells gather the energy of the sunlight and convert it to electricity, which flows to your battery bank.
Many rv solar panels are permanently mounted on the roof, or are placed beside the camper. While the roof mounted panels are more secure in winds and don't need packing and unpacking, the panels on portable stands can be oriented to face the sun as it moves during the day.
Electricity is generated from the sunlight, and passes through a charge controller to the battery bank. The charge controller makes sure your batteries don't get overcharged and ruined, and most charge controllers have circuitry which makes the charging cycle more efficient.
Almost all RV's and motor-homes come equipped with deep cycle batteries. These batteries are designed to be discharged and charged back up multiple times, unlike a regular automotive battery. Your unit may not have come with enough batteries, so it might be necessary to add more.
You might want to include an inverter, to change twelve volt direct current into one hundred ten volt alternating current. You will need one of these if you plan on making microwave popcorn or running any other normal household appliances. Some motorhomes and holiday trailers have inverters built in.
If you are buying a new RV, you can pick a model with these parts included, or have the dealership order them and get them installed professionally. If you are the handy man type, you can find all of your components yourself and do it yourself. A trip to the RV dealership might still be a good idea, since you can ask them questions and they will help you decide how big of a system to install.
If fuel consumption and noise is a concern, then you won't want to use a traditional generator. Other than only camping where there is access to plugins, there is another option, using solar energy with rv solar panels to charge your batteries.
It is possible to hook several RV solar panels together, and commonly they are wired in series to provide a greater output. These panels are made of many small cells all formed into a rigid panel. Photo-voltaic cells gather the energy of the sunlight and convert it to electricity, which flows to your battery bank.
Many rv solar panels are permanently mounted on the roof, or are placed beside the camper. While the roof mounted panels are more secure in winds and don't need packing and unpacking, the panels on portable stands can be oriented to face the sun as it moves during the day.
Electricity is generated from the sunlight, and passes through a charge controller to the battery bank. The charge controller makes sure your batteries don't get overcharged and ruined, and most charge controllers have circuitry which makes the charging cycle more efficient.
Almost all RV's and motor-homes come equipped with deep cycle batteries. These batteries are designed to be discharged and charged back up multiple times, unlike a regular automotive battery. Your unit may not have come with enough batteries, so it might be necessary to add more.
You might want to include an inverter, to change twelve volt direct current into one hundred ten volt alternating current. You will need one of these if you plan on making microwave popcorn or running any other normal household appliances. Some motorhomes and holiday trailers have inverters built in.
If you are buying a new RV, you can pick a model with these parts included, or have the dealership order them and get them installed professionally. If you are the handy man type, you can find all of your components yourself and do it yourself. A trip to the RV dealership might still be a good idea, since you can ask them questions and they will help you decide how big of a system to install.
About the Author:
Solar energy is the way of the future. Follow this link to find out more about RV Solar Panels For Beginners. You can also learn more about many handy Residential Solar Products.
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