I had a quote from an agent this morning in response to my request to fit panels to a Jayco Conquest, The quote was for 2x 85watt panels, 20amp contoller and LCD display monitor plus 2 x 100amp hour batteries of teh same make and vintage. (they say mine is no good, they must be matched. All wiring and battery boxes are fitted are already in the vehicle as standard. $2700.00
My question is does this sound right in regard to price range,
and the story about my perfectly good working 100amphour house battery needing to be replaced to make the system work properly.
That sounds it could be a very good deal I paid $1000 to have a 12owatt panel fitted and I had everything else.But I still would shop around if you can.
-- Edited by gst on Tuesday 2nd of August 2011 05:05:27 PM
I have just been quoted - 2x 120w panels, 20 amp controller, including installation, $1400. 30 amp controller- add $60, 300w inverter- add $99. The panels cost about $400 each for 120w, controllers can vary from about $200 up, depending on what info you want them to show, and also quality.
Didn't mention that I already have 2x100amp batteries. And yes you have to have exactly the same batteries - age, type, etc, otherwise you may shorten the life of the new one.
I'd suggest asking for more details about the batteries. I personally avoid parallel connecting batteries but if doing so it's important that the batteries be identical in every respect including age. As pointed out, if one battery fails (even partially) both batteries must be replaced. (If considering ordinary wet (open) batteries I'd suggest a couple of 6v 200ah batteries connected in series would be a better alternative.)
Steps must be taken to ensure the load is shared exactly by both batteries when connected in parallel. The best way to do this is to use heavy gauge cables to interconnect them, also in order to equalise the load, the wires connecting the battery bank to the load should be connected as follows...The positive wire to the positive terminal on one of the batteries and the negative wire to the negative terminal of the other battery. Failure to do this risks the possibility of shortening the life of the batteries.
edit to add...
Only guessing, but it may be that the supplier/installer may be reluctant to connect the system to batteries of unknown (to them) condition.
-- Edited by jimricho on Wednesday 3rd of August 2011 07:36:31 AM
I would be careful about the solar panels that you install. Check what the physical warranty on them is. Some of the cheaper panels have a good power warranty (that is they guarantee the amount of power they will produce) but not so good on the physical warranty (if they fall apart). Remember that a panel on a van roof experiences much more extreme conditions than one installed on a house roof.
A large part of installation cost comes from running cables. If you are happy with a conduit or similar then it will be much cheaper than if the van wall needs to come off to have internal cables installed. You also need to think about the type and quality of batteries and regulators used. If you want I can send you some information talking about different solar parts.
I would also be wary of a $99 inverter as it is most likely a modified sine wave that may not power all your appliances correctly.
My products and quote are from reputable solar only supplier who is local, know him for 20 years, wiring all in situ as standard, (just to check gauge is correct) and batteries are Full River AGM DC105-12.
-- Edited by florinhill on Saturday 6th of August 2011 10:12:03 AM
Sorry if I sounded a bit negative in my last post. I didn't mean to imply that your install was poor, just generally letting people know who who read this to keep an eye out.
