Hi Guys, Im new to this site and I need help regarding my solar panel on top of my van that Ive recently purchased. The old owner didnt know the size of the solar panel on the roof. How can I figure this out? Cheers in advance.
denmonkey said
12:05 PM Aug 1, 2019
If you can get under it, you should find a sticker on the back with the details of the panel.
It will have how many watts the panel is rated for.
cheers Brett
Tony Bev said
12:28 PM Aug 1, 2019
Hi Bickies, welcome to the forum
Two more ways to find out
Measure the physical size and let us know what the measurements are I am sure someone (not me), who has plenty of experience with solar panels can then take an educated guess
You could run your battery down a bit, and have someone use an AMP clamp meter, to check what is going into the battery at around noon
For example my 300 watt solar panel is about 1800mm X 900mm It will also put out about 15 amps, if the batteries requires it
Hope that this info is useful
Bickies said
01:46 AM Aug 2, 2019
Thanks for the advice guys
Izabarack said
06:31 AM Aug 4, 2019
If you cannot get to the label on the back of the panel, I suggest you site your van in full sun under a clear sky at midday, clean the front of the panel, then disconnect the panel from the controller, measure Open Circuit volts and short circuit Amps. If the panel is a nominal 12 volt panel (most likely), multiply the measured short circuit Amps by 12 and you will have a reasonable estimate of the panel Watts. A lot of multimeters are limited to measuring up to 10 Amps so if the panel is larger than 150 Watts, you may need a larger capacity meter to measure the Short Circuit current.
Iza
-- Edited by Izabarack on Sunday 4th of August 2019 06:33:00 AM
T1 Terry said
02:20 PM Aug 4, 2019
Another quick and rough method is to measure the panel in each direction, then look for panels with those measurements on Evil Bay or Low Energy Development's site and that will give you a close approximation of the advertised panel capacity. Used as an RV battery charging source, you will not see the total output as advertised by the manufacturer, but it is a good guide to comparing one panel with another.
It will have how many watts the panel is rated for.
cheers Brett
Hi Bickies, welcome to the forum
Two more ways to find out
I am sure someone (not me), who has plenty of experience with solar panels can then take an educated guess
For example my 300 watt solar panel is about 1800mm X 900mm
It will also put out about 15 amps, if the batteries requires it
Hope that this info is useful
If you cannot get to the label on the back of the panel, I suggest you site your van in full sun under a clear sky at midday, clean the front of the panel, then disconnect the panel from the controller, measure Open Circuit volts and short circuit Amps. If the panel is a nominal 12 volt panel (most likely), multiply the measured short circuit Amps by 12 and you will have a reasonable estimate of the panel Watts. A lot of multimeters are limited to measuring up to 10 Amps so if the panel is larger than 150 Watts, you may need a larger capacity meter to measure the Short Circuit current.
Iza
-- Edited by Izabarack on Sunday 4th of August 2019 06:33:00 AM
T1 Terry