Two days ago, we talked about how to choose the size of solar panels, according to the electrical consumption of our RV and so on. Before we look at how to install a solar system, let's review the components of an RV solar system.
1. Battery pack
The battery is the core of the motor home power system. Without batteries, the RV has no way to store electricity. A battery is where you store the energy provided by solar panels for your use. Your solar panels will charge the battery bank. But not all battery packs are created equal, and not all battery packs and solar pv wire are suited to the unpredictable charging cycles of solar systems. Lithium batteries for solar applications are a better choice than lead-acid batteries.
2. Solar panels
Your RV solar panels will be installed on the roof of your RV, harvesting energy from the solar cells and transmitting that energy (via a charging controller) to your battery pack. Solar panels can be laid flat, or you can choose to adopt a method of installation that makes your solar panels face the angle of the sun.
3. Charge controller
The charging controller is installed in the RV. The wires go from your solar panel to the charge controller, and from the charge controller to your battery pack. The purpose of the charge controller is to control the charging speed of the battery. The charge controller needs to prevent overcharging and, in the case of the MPPT charge controller, operate the panel as efficiently as possible.
4. The inverter
The battery produces 12 volts of direct current. With it, you can power all 12 volt equipment and appliances as well as the 12 volt (cigarette lighter) port of the RV. If you want to power a coffee machine, laptop, Instapot, or any other device that requires ac with 120 volts, you'll need an inverter that converts 12V dc to 120 vac. You will install the inverter in the RV as close to your battery pack as possible, and your AC appliances and equipment will receive converted (from DC to AC) power from the inverter.