DIY Solar Panels World

Solar Energy Panels — Solar Trickle Chargers

Solar Trickle Chargers are small, low-current solar panels used for maintaining storage batteries for your vehicle or boat. Why will you need to maintain them?

All batteries lose charge over a period of time because of self-discharge. By using a trickle-charger, you can replace those lost power. This helps to extend the lifespan of your batteries and ensures you have a smooth start every time you turn the ignition. There is no fear your vehicle or boat won’t move after storing away for a long time.

Since we only need a small current to maintain the batteries, solar panels will be the ideal candidate. As long as there is sunshine, you can be sure your batteries can be maintained in top condition.

But not all solar panels can be used for this purpose. You have to make sure the trickle is large enough for your battery size.

First, you’ll need to find out how big your batteries are. This information is usually written at the side of the battery. If no information is available, try looking up the model on the Internet. Most of the time you’ll find what you want.

If your battery is rated at 100Ah and you estimate that it’ll lose 30% of its power every month, you can work out the power loss per day. (This is about 1% every day.)

Next, find out the sun hours you receive at your location. With this figure, you can divide the energy loss per day by the sun hours per day to determine how much current your solar energy panels need to generate.

If you’re lost, solar trickle chargers will usually have specifications that show you what battery size its suitable for. Have fun!

Recreational Vehicle (RV) Solar Panels — Run Your Appliances With A 12VDC Panel

Many appliances for RVs, boats and camping use 12VDC supply. When you are outdoors having fun, these appliances provide you with all the convenience and comfort. Here’s a list of such 12VDC appliances:

• Hair Dryer
• Heated Travel Cup
• Heavy Duty Metal Fan
• Wet Dry Vacuum with Gallon Canister
• “All Season” Heater/Fan with Swivel Base
• Crock Pot Slow Cooker
• Flexible Map Light
• Frying Pan
• Heated Fleece Blanket
• Portable Stove
• Rechargeable Flashlight with Adjustable Head
• SnackMaster Deluxe 12-Volt Family-Size Cooler/Warmer
• Digital/Electric Compass with Ice Alert
• et cetera…

I’m sure you’re familiar with these…

However there are times when the accumulators run empty just when you need to draw power from them. Thus a 12VDC solar panel will be ideal to ensure these appliances work at all times. With such nifty devices, these inconvenient moments will only be  memories.

During the day, solar panels will bring the accumulators to full charge. At night, power is drawn exclusively from the batteries. If you’re running some appliances only during the day, you may not need batteries… you can plug straight into the solar panels to power these appliances.

Many appliances do not really care if the power is clean, so you can also power most systems that require 120VAC using an inverter. Although you loose efficiency, it may be worth a try.

Let’s take a look at an example of what you can use for a 12VDC solar panel:

And this is how an inverter with 12VDC input will look like: