Solar Power for your Caravan, Motor Home or Campsite

Solar power is fast becoming a common way of powering campsites around Australia. As campsites become more comfortable and campers become less inclined to "rough it" solar power is increasingly being used to power small refrigerators, kitchen appliances, tools and provide for lighting at night. Noisy generators are becoming less and less popular and are now banned from many campsites.

Solar panels are easy to use and transport, and are generally used to charge an auxiliary battery that can also be charged by a vehicle alternator while on the move. Panels can be mounted on a Camper or 4WD roof or connected to a lead and placed in a convenient position when a camp has been established. If panels are roof-mounted, care must be taken to park in a site that gets full sunlight. If panels are kept on a lead they can also be tracked for maximum efficiency by orientating them towards the East in the morning and towards the West in the afternoon. Two smaller panels can easily be joined together to make a folding panel for ease of transport.

Calculating a solar array for camping.

Consideration needs to be given to how long you wish to remain in one spot and how large the auxiliary battery is. Often a panel that does not quite meet power requirements is sufficient, as the vehicle can charge the battery while on the move and the time of stay in one spot is not long enough to fully discharge the battery.

An example of this would be a camp where a small refrigerator is used. With no solar panels the refrigerator discharges the batteries chosen to run it in 1 day (24 hours) The average stay "in camp" is 2 days. The vehicle alternator is set to direct charge the battery whenever the vehicle is running. The panel output can be as low as half the refrigerator power requirement. This can mean cheaper refrigeration than if the average camp stay was say 4 days. The panel output required for 4 days would then be higher as the full refrigeration load would be from the panel.

Will solar power work for me?

Maybe... Some folks understand it and make good use of it, some through ignorance or bad experience will be quick to inform you of the shortfalls. The most common shortfalls are:

1. Lack of sun. If you are visiting a warm climate you will tend to want to park in shade wherever possible. Pity about the roof mounted panels! No matter what the panel salesman told you you will quickly discover that there is no such thing as a shadow tolerant panel! Continual overcast weather or rain in your location will also severely reduce panel output. This may result in no power when you want it most.

2. Lack of battery capacity. This is related to no sun. When the batteries are not being charged they go flat! An undersized battery bank will quickly disappoint you. More so if you have no additional means of charging.

3. Poor quality batteries. This is unfortunate, especially if you have paid good money for them. You need heavy duty deep cycle batteries and you must limit the total discharge to avoid your battery becoming totally discharged. You should never leave your battery in a discharged state for longer than 2 - 3 days.

4. Not enough solar panels for the load used. Unfortunately being human we want as little cost as possible for the most power. When we have some power we want more... Beware of increasing you electrical load without realizing it! Its very easy to add small components over and above the planned load. Suddenly what should have worked no longer does. If you can only afford a small investment keep your electrical requirements small. Always use high efficiency appliances when possible.

But look at the advantages!

You no longer need that expensive powered site. You have power where there is none. You are responsible for your own energy. You learn about a new technology.