X-Roughneck said:
Astravelers answered: Do you feel the size of system installed is really providing you results you are happy with considering the out of pocket costs? Yes, absolutely! I have a pair of residential solar panels on a 30' Class A (moving to a 36' Class A). Each panel is 325 watts for a total of 650 watts. 60 amp solar controller, 400AH (Amp Hour) of lithium, and a 2000 watt inverter/charger.
AStravelers, couple of quick follow on questions to your answer above. The solar you have is in addition to the Inverter and house battery set up that probably came with the coach? The solar is the (Second) Independent source to include collection and battery charging?
And when you boondocked and are operating off battery power only are you able to run the Air Conditioner, or is that even possible? I am definitely not electrically minded, but I would think the battery sources are for TV, Re-fridge and normal appliances only.
I want to be on the move avoiding hot weather seasonally and don't think I would be boondocking in 100 Degree weather, but just want to ask.
I have not read all the later replies since you asked these question which may or may not have already answered the questions. I'll go ahead and reply.
Your questions are good and pretty specific. The questions also indicate you are pretty much starting out on this journey of living off the grid in a RV. There are lots of trade off and variables in living w/o electric hookups. Also lots of stuff about drinking water and your sewer system usage and disposal that come into play with boondocking.
It is a learning project to just start RV'ing, much less starting to living off the grid (boondocking).
Don't get me wrong. It is great to be independent, and live off the grid in a RV. Great freedom to go were you want, when you want. It just takes a bit of learning and a lot of reading and learning by the hard knocks of experience.
Back to answers:
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The solar you have is in addition to the Inverter and house battery set up that probably came with the coach? No not in my system. A lot depends on the inverter and batteries that were installed in RV when you bought it. Some of this is answered (but not directly) in the links I provided earlier. The quick answer is, you can't mix different battery sizes and types as well as age of batteries.
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The solar is the (Second) Independent source to include collection and battery charging? Solar is used to put power back in the batteries when the sun is shinning. Generally it is used when you don't have elect hookups. Some systems are best used by running the generator for an hour or so in the morning to put some power (charge) back in the batteries and then let the solar finish the charging. That is a simple answer to a somewhat complex operation.
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And when you boondocked and are operating off battery power only are you able to run the Air Conditioner, or is that even possible? I am definitely not electrically minded, but I would think the battery sources are for TV, Re-fridge and normal appliances only.
Running the A/C off of battery & solar is a limited time situation. If you have lots of solar and battery you can run the A/C for 2-4 hours, maybe more. There are links I have to people who have run the A/C off of battery for a few hours. It is not a practical set up for someone starting out with boondocking. To start with there is the cost of $7,000 to $15,000 to design and install the system. The fridge is normally operated off of propane. However some folks do install residential fridges and then size their battery & solar systems to account for the elect fridge. Most or perhaps many of these folks don't do extensive boondocking, i.e. continuous weeks off the grid.
We do operate our microwave, toaster, laptops, LED lights, charge my wife's handicapped scooter and power chair, operate a CPAP at night, TV and satellite TV system, the receiver is a bit of power hog.
The info in these two links may help you understand more about the systems to boondock:
http://www.rv-dreams.com/rv-electrical.html
http://www.rv-dreams.com/our-rv-electrical.html
Be sure to read, and re-read the links I gave earlier to get a feel for RV elect systems, batteries, charging & solar.
Hope this helps.