check out the new remote control Jockey Wheel SmartBar Canegrowers rearview170 Cobb Grill Skid Row Recovery Gear
Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Post Info TOPIC: Solar panel sizing


Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 5
Date:
Solar panel sizing


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.

__________________


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 386
Date:

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





__________________


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 5378
Date:

Hi Bickies, welcome to the forum

Two more ways to find out

  1. 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
  2. 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



__________________

Tony

It cost nothing to be polite



Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 5
Date:

Thanks for the advice guys

__________________


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 888
Date:

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

__________________

Iza

Semi-permanent state of being Recreationally Outraged as a defence against boredom during lockdown.



Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1315
Date:

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.

T1 Terry

__________________

You can lead a head to knowledge but you can't make it think. One day I'll know it all, but till then, I'll keep learning.

Any links to any sites or products is not an endorsement by me or do I gain any financial reward for such links 



Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 386
Date:

how'd ya go Bickies ? did you get it sorted ?

__________________
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.

Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us
Purchase Grey Nomad bumper stickers Read our daily column, the Nomad News The Grey Nomad's Guidebook