How Many Solar Panels Do You Need To Run A Camper

They allow a user to harvest energy from the sun and turn it into electricity.

How many solar panels do you need to run a camper. Now that you are thinking in terms of the size of the solar panel array it s time to determine how many watts of solar panels you need. To generate the stored electricity needed to run our rv air conditioner all day you d need over 340 square feet of solar panels ish plus 3600 amp hours of battery capacity and guaranteed perfect sunshine. Why are there types to choose from. Also keep in mind that solar panels experience a 75 90 drop in efficiency on cloudy days so it s good to have slightly more than you need when it comes to solar power about a 20 cushion if possible to account for less than ideal conditions.

If you have a rough idea of your power needs you need to check a solar panel s spec sheet and look for the watt rating the peak power amps and peak power volts. We will be working off of that number. This equals thirty amp hours a day meaning you would need two one hundred watt panels to fully recharge your rv. This is also assuming of course you have a lot of battery power too.

A 300 amp hour camper battery for instance would need around 300 watts of solar power. Solar panels we have four 100 watt polycrystalline panels installed on the front section of our camper s roof. All solar panels serve a single purpose. You ve already figured out how many amp hours of batteries you need from your solar power audit.