Solar Panels

[hullygully]

Hi...Sorry if this has been asked before, (newbe to the site) just looking to put a couple of Solar Panels on the roof of the boat (when it comes back from painting)..

 

Looking at several kits..ie 2 x 100 w panels with all the fitting kit and a 20 amp dual battery controller...

 

My question to you guys is...will this do the job with 4 x battery's?? or do we go for 2 x 10 amp controllers ??

 

I'm real'y outa my comfort zone with this type of stuff, give me a engine any day..

 

Hope you guys can point me in the right direction

 

 

Just a thought...were not live aboard's just need it to keep the battery's topped up instead of running the engine.

 

Cheers.

 

Hullygully.

[b0atman]

As a holiday boat if nothing is left running on boat then 200watt should be more than adequate.

I recommend going for an mppt controller that has future growth capability .

[George94]

Without knowing how big your batteries are, and how much electricity you use, it's difficult to answer your question.

 

However, two 10 amp controllers produce the same power as one 20 amp controller, all else being equal, and the only advantage of having two is that if one fails, you still have the other.

 

For topping up idle batteries 200 watts of solar will be more than enough in summer, and maybe enough in winter if the batteries are doing nothing.

 

But if you are using electricity, you need to find out how much (add up all the things you use), then plan the solar array accordingly.

 

I find that 440 watts of solar is OK for living aboard in summer (except for using the washing machine). In winter, it's nowhere near enough. You need a genny for winter.

[Laurie Booth]

Don't buy any solar panels until the middle of 2015, due to price drop.

[George94]

Don't buy any solar panels until the middle of 2015, due to price drop.

 

What price drop?

[Groundhog]

I'm interested in this price drop as well. I'm planning a solar install. People here have recommended Bimble and having spoken to them I can see why. Very knowledgeable, very helpful and their prices are competitive.