If you have ever camped in an RV or a camping trailer and been in a location without access to an external power source that is available in a campground, you know how hard it can be to power all your electrical needs. Using a gas-powered generator to run various electrical components and recharge your unit's batteries can be noisy, create gas fumes, and ruin the quality of your camping experience. A solar panel kit installed into your RV or camper can help you get free and quiet power you can use while camping. Here are some tips to help you determine your solar panel needs and what components you will need to harness the sun's free power while you camp and enjoy the outdoors.

Determine Your Solar Power Needs

The first step in setting up a solar panel kit on your RV or camper is to determine how much power you will need to capture and store each day from the sun. This depends on how much power you want to have for use and what types of electronics and power-using equipment you plan to use each day. It has been calculated that an average camper can use between 75 and 150 amp-hours (Ah) of energy each day, which can be provided with six 100-watt solar panels every day.

This type of set-up will provide power to give you close to the comforts you could expect at home while on the power grid. For example, you could run lights inside your camper for up to ten hours, the water pump for an hour for showering, washing dishes, and flushing the toilet. You can prepare food by running the microwave for thirty minutes, power your refrigerator during the day and run your gas stove for cooking. You can also plug in your cell phone and your laptop for four hours and watch television for up to four hours.

You can mount your solar panels onto your camper's roof in an angled position so they capture the sun's full rays for as long as possible during the day. If you don't want to mount them on your roof, you can place them in your campsite next to your camper in a sunny spot and move them, when necessary.

Add Required System Components

When you are selecting and buying your solar power equipment, make sure it is approved to be used in an RV or a camper trailer. Many solar panels kits and equipment have a warranty that will be void if you use it within an RV or camper trailer that travels, as vehicular travel can cause damage to the equipment. So make sure you purchase RV-grade solar panels, including charge controllers and a junction box.

You will also need to buy and install a solar panel charge controller, which regulates and controls the voltage and power current coming from the solar panels and into your camper's batteries. This regulation ensures your batteries do not become overcharged on full sun days, which can cause damage to them.

Along with a controller, you will need a power inverter with your solar power system, which turns the power you receive from the solar panels from a DC to an AC current. The power created from the solar panels is a direct current (DC), which powers your RV or camper's internal electrical systems, such as the water pump and lighting. But to power your plug-in devices, such as a cell phone, or a television, you need to turn the DC power into AC power or alternating power. The power inverter will provide AC power to your RV or camper's electrical outlets.

You can also upgrade your solar panels pre-installed junction boxes to a power optimizer. The junction boxes are installed on the back of your solar panels and house all the electrical components moving the current from the solar panels to your controller in one direction to prevent power from feeding back into your panels and becoming lost. Switch out a junction box on each of your solar panels with a power optimizer, which constantly tracks the maximum power each module in the panel creates.

Completing this step helps increase the energy output of your panels and maintaining them so they continually provide the most power for your camping needs. An optimizer also shuts down your modules to stop delivery of power when your grid or inverter's power is turned off.

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