Understanding solar

[Milly Molly]

Hi everyone

We fitted 2x 100w solar panels a couple of years ago to our T6 Cali Ocean. We got the panels from Roger at Solar Camper Solutions and as promised they were really simple to fit.

I’ve been out to the van today and it is in full sun on our drive (29C and not a cloud in the sky) and only the fridge is running at Level 3. The leisure battery has gone down in an hour from 80% to 70% and when I checked the Victron app, it looks like its only generating 65W.

I don’t know much about electrics and I don’t really understand the app if I’m honest. But I would have thought that I would be getting more than 65W when it is in full sun? I’ve attached a screen shot of the app. Does it all look right? Any help gratefully received

Thanks all.

 

[EddieEagle]

Hi, my initial thought is the possibility of a build up of dirt, Sahara sand or other debris on the roof panels.
The battery voltage does look good on the app. On my set up the % on the control panel will often sit at less than 100% as it doesn’t ‘see’ the solar input until the engine is run.
Interesting to see the load output is on and drawing 1 W .

 

[dspuk]

I guess a few things to check. First, as said, how clean are they. I scrub mine regularly - they get dirtier up there than you think.

Second will be the angle to the sun, in perfect conditions you will still get less than the 200W, heat loss etc, so you should get, if the angle to the sun is right and the panels clean, you would get 140 - 160W. Turn the cali to the sun and pop the roof up. Make sure they are perfectly angled in line with the sun for checks.

It does look a little like *maybe* only one panel may be working - have you checked all the cables and connections and treble checked it was all fitted right when you did it? Could be you have been running on one panel all these years and not realised.

 

[Wannabecamperman]

The fridge has a compressor that cycles on and off depending on a) the ambient temp (high! today in the UK) and b) the level set at. The draw when on should be around 40 - 50w or so, and negligible when fridge is up to temp. The 1w is probably this state. Even 56w is more than or equal to the fridge draw even when the compressor is on, so you shouldn't be seeing a reduction in batteries, quite the opposite.

The second issue is the 56w for 2 x 100 wired I guess, in parallel. Those should be giving 120 - 160w typically. You can help this by raising the roof so they are angled in the morning or late afternoon, when sun not directly overhead. This suggest that you have only one panel functioning possibly?

 

[WelshGas]

Hi everyone

We fitted 2x 100w solar panels a couple of years ago to our T6 Cali Ocean. We got the panels from Roger at Solar Camper Solutions and as promised they were really simple to fit.

I’ve been out to the van today and it is in full sun on our drive (29C and not a cloud in the sky) and only the fridge is running at Level 3. The leisure battery has gone down in an hour from 80% to 70% and when I checked the Victron app, it looks like its only generating 65W.

I don’t know much about electrics and I don’t really understand the app if I’m honest. But I would have thought that I would be getting more than 65W when it is in full sun? I’ve attached a screen shot of the app. Does it all look right? Any help gratefully received

Thanks all.

View attachment 138486

As has been said on many occasions the % readout is an iffy calculation based on the amps being consumed at that point in time. It does not take note of Solar input.
The voltage shown shows that your Leisure Batteries are fully charged and the Solar Panels are putting out sufficient power to compensate for the 4 amps being consumed by the fridge.
Solar Panels will only put out sufficient power that can be used. They will not put out more power than can be consumed but can put out less than is being consumed.
The voltage shown on the camping Control Panel is accurate.