Buy all your VW California Accessories at the Club Shop Visit Shop

One solar panel or two

Geoffsomer

Geoffsomer

Messages
36
Location
Hillsborough, N. Ireland
Vehicle
T6 Ocean 204
Hey all,

Curious question here for those who have solar panels fitted.

Is 1 x 100W solar panel generally enough for a California for parking up for say 4 days max.

I’m asking assuming a MPPT controller and the latest flexible 100W Panel if fotted, and power usage is the fridge set at 4, a few lights on the evening and say charging a phone once a day.

I’m just about to order the items needed, hence double checking in advance.

Many thanks In advance for those kind enough to reply
 
Hey all,

Curious question here for those who have solar panels fitted.

Is 1 x 100W solar panel generally enough for a California for parking up for say 4 days max.

I’m asking assuming a MPPT controller and the latest flexible 100W Panel if fotted, and power usage is the fridge set at 4, a few lights on the evening and say charging a phone once a day.

I’m just about to order the items needed, hence double checking in advance.

Many thanks In advance for those kind enough to reply
Without going into specific power usage and generation, for summer use, a single panel is adequate. I have a single 120w panel and when there are good light levels it will run what you mention continuously. I’ve done some winter trips and north of arctic circle trips. There, the panel helps but your battery will be depleting (a little slower than without solar) 4 days is still possible with elevated roof facing the sun. If I was building the system again from scratch, I’d probably fit two, only because I like to charge my electric skateboard and drone in the van but for only fridge, lights and mobile devices one is adequate in my opinion.
 
Is it not possible to add another panel at a later time or is the charger specific to the number of panels?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
 
Why does the panel have to be 100W?
On my previous motorhome I had a single 160W panel which didn't seem any larger in area than the 100W panel I have on my Cali.
@Roger Donoghue has offered 120W panels. (maybe still is). What's so special about 100W?
I should say that I bought the 100W panel because it was available and deemed to do the job that I wanted it to do.
 
Is it not possible to add another panel at a later time or is the charger specific to the number of panels?

Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
The MPPT charger can be a limiting factor but normally start with the capacity of 2 x100 watt panels wired in parallel.
 
Ask yourself if you will use it in places where the sun dont shine as well all the time. We have two 120w panels, mostly powering the fridge and four ipads and four iphones. Sunny days now in the end of July and beginning of August it bulk charges for 5 hours and spends 5 hours topping it up. That tells me we would manage with one panel now, but later in the season the sun gives less power. The diesel heater takes eletrical power too. I can have our roof bars mounted with two panels and the extra cost for another panel when getting the proper MPTT charges was not that bad. I sometimes use a portable 12V vacuum in the car, that takes a lot of power. I also sometimes charges my ebike. With one panel that would be really hard.
 
Hi all.

All my tests have shown that 100w is enough for the average couple summer camping with a compressor fridge. This is particularly so with the Ocean as you have two batteries which gives a good buffer in case the weather is poor for a few days.

100w gives 5.4 amps max charging.

I use 100W panels because they are narrow, and this means they don't flex much at all, which means they will not suffer fatigue faults. I used 120W panels for a while as that is all i could get, and they are not much wider. (8cm). I abosrbed the extra cost.

I now have 100w panels and will have for the forseable future. I've got another 200 in production.

I can't mount 160w panels the way I do (unless they are traditional framed panels, which are much much heavier), and then, they will be too wide fot the Cali roof. Panels tend to go wide past 120w . There isn't much motivation for matufacturers to make them long and narrow.

You can add panels to my 100w kits very easily, the 1st panel slides forward, the new one takes it splace, and then plug into each other. As long as you go for a Victron 75/15 or 100/20, or the Epever Duo, then you can simply add a panel and keep the same charger.

The MPPT charger "wattage rating" is simply the amount they can "take" and then pass on as battyery charging. Even then, they can take more, but they discard anything over their limit. They are rated in watts as to what they can charge, not what they can receive.

I've chosen 100w as:

- My tests, with logs, show an 80W panel will keep a compressor fridge running ad infinitum in the summer in the UK. So 100w gives some headroom, and allows for the fact the thin panels lose a bit of efficiency when they get hot.
- They are structurally more rigid than larger thin panels.
- 100w is a size that enables the use of roof bars and roof boxes, if some care is put into positioning.
- 100w is an easy amount to multiply up. 2 panels, or, as recently 3 panels. You can still put your roof bar feet in between the panels and retain your roof carrying capability.
- Anything over 100 to 120w in thin panels is priced at a premium as to make 2 x 100w more cost effective
- 100w panels will go width ways on ALL vans with no issues.

This is why 100w is a "magic number".

p.s. you can't have a 160w panel that is the same size as a 100w panel. The cells are a very specific size and panel dimensions increase with wattage. There are of course "tweaks". Back contact panels are a bit smaller, but, overall, the sizes reflect the wattage. If I had a motorhome I'd have the biggest panels I could fit on it, but motorhomes and VW vans are two different beasts.
 
Last edited:
Thanks @Roger Donoghue for a comprehensive treatise on the subject.
I now have a greater understanding of the thinking behind the supply of your offering for Calis.
I already have one of your 100W panels and bought it in the knowledge that I could easily increase capacity.
I said that my 160W panel didn't seem any larger, but I'm quite prepared to accept that it must have been, I never measured it.
 
You are more than welcome. :)
 
Hi all.

All my tests have shown that 100w is enough for the average couple summer camping with a compressor fridge. This is particularly so with the Ocean as you have two batteries which gives a good buffer in case the weather is poor for a few days.

100w gives 5.4 amps max charging.

I use 100W panels because they are narrow, and this means they don't flex much at all, which means they will not suffer fatigue faults. I used 120W panels for a while as that is all i could get, and they are not much wider. (8cm). I abosrbed the extra cost.

I now have 100w panels and will have for the forseable future. I've got another 200 in production.

I can't mount 160w panels the way I do (unless they are traditional framed panels, which are much much heavier), and then, they will be too wide fot the Cali roof. Panels tend to go wide past 120w . There isn't much motivation for matufacturers to make them long and narrow.

You can add panels to my 100w kits very easily, the 1st panel slides forward, the new one takes it splace, and then plug into each other. As long as you go for a Victron 75/15 or 100/20, or the Epever Duo, then you can simply add a panel and keep the same charger.

The MPPT charger "wattage rating" is simply the amount they can "take" and then pass on as battyery charging. Even then, they can take more, but they discard anything over their limit. They are rated in watts as to what they can charge, not what they can receive.

I've chosen 100w as:

- My tests, with logs, show an 80W panel will keep a compressor fridge running ad infinitum in the summer in the UK. So 100w gives some headroom, and allows for the fact the thin panels lose a bit of efficiency when they get hot.
- They are structurally more rigid than larger thin panels.
- 100w is a size that enables the use of roof bars and roof boxes, if some care is put into positioning.
- 100w is an easy amount to multiply up. 2 panels, or, as recently 3 panels. You can still put your roof bar feet in between the panels and retain your roof carrying capability.
- Anything over 100 to 120w in thin panels is priced at a premium as to make 2 x 100w more cost effective
- 100w panels will go width ways on ALL vans with no issues.

This is why 100w is a "magic number".

p.s. you can't have a 160w panel that is the same size as a 100w panel. The cells are a very specific size and panel dimensions increase with wattage. There are of course "tweaks". Back contact panels are a bit smaller, but, overall, the sizes reflect the wattage. If I had a motorhome I'd have the biggest panels I could fit on it, but motorhomes and VW vans are two different beasts.
Just out if interest, how much would it cost to retro fit a second panel to your 100w set up, have a victron 75/15 bluetooth controler
 
For an existing customer, £359 plus shipping.
 

Similar threads

M
Replies
9
Views
558
Roger Donoghue
Roger Donoghue
OllieCollieCali
Replies
3
Views
374
Californication69
Californication69
R
Replies
23
Views
2K
waneos
W
Back
Top