Escapees May June 2015 Demo

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ay/June 2015 |ESCAPEES .17
Emily and Mark Fagan have been living exclusively on solar power in their
RV and sailboat for eight years, and they offer many pages of tips and tu-
torials about solar power on their Website at
A summary of their two RV solar power installations can be found at
Be electrically independent.
480-443-8520 • 800-999-8520
Call for our free catalog and design planner.
CATALYTIC HEATER
Keep warm without using
battery power. Easy hookup
kits available.
NOEL’S SOLAR-INVERTER
PACKAGE KIT
A complete AC & DC power
system for your RV.
RV SOLAR KITS
Includes: Solar panel, mount,
regulator, wire, hardware
package and instructions.
SOLAR SYSTEMS
Solar systems work silently
to recharge your RV battery
automatically with no fuel
or fumes.
SOLAR BOOST 2000E
Can increase solar output
with fewer solar panels.
INVERTER-CHARGER
Use virtually any appliance day or night
without a generator. A remote control
panel offers essential system read out
and convenience of control from inside
e RV. Doug and Jane Kirkby SKP #814 CM# 28 Serving Our Escapees Family since 1979
PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
As the batteries charge, their
voltage rises. When they reach a par-
ticular level, for instance 14.4 volts,
the charge controller reduces the
amount of current flowing into them
from the panels and holds the batteries
at that voltage for a specified amount
of time (usually three hours or so).
This is called the absorption stage.
Once the absorption time period
passes, the charge controller reduces
the current flowing to the batteries
even more (like shutting down the
tub’s faucet to a mere trickle) and
holds the batteries at a final float
stage voltage of 13.4 volts or so until
dark. The voltages and time periods
are all programmable on more
sophisticated charge controllers.
Limitations of Solar Power
Solar and battery power is
phenomenal, but it can’t do
everything. It is not possible to
power up an air conditioning unit
or to run a standard residential
fridge off the grid in an RV for more
than an overnight or two, because the
weight of the batteries and size of the
panels required would be excessive in
an RV. However, hair dryers, toasters,
small pancake compressors and power
tools, vacuums and microwaves can all
be powered with an appropriately sized
inverter, battery bank and solar panel
installation.
Summary
In essence, a solar power system for
living off the grid in an RV is made up
of two sub-systems: first: a power sys-
tem that consists of a battery bank and
inverter(s) that provides AC and DC
power to the RV’s house-
hold appliances. Second: a charging
system that consists of solar panels and
a charge controller that converts sun-
shine into electricity that gets stored in
the batteries for future use.
For weekenders and vacationers that
want a solar power solution for their
RV without jumping into a big rooftop
installation project, there are portable
folding solar panel kits on the market
that include all of the necessary com-
ponents in a handy suitcase system.
For RVers looking for a system they
can live on for a few weeks or years
at a time, I’m planning a second part
to this article that will cover various
installation techniques. Look for this
article in an upcoming 2015 issue.