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RV Solar Calculator How Much Solar Power Do I Need For My RV by CampingForFoodies
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How To Determine: How Much Solar Power Do I Need For My RV?

Camping For Foodies by Pete in My Husband's Corner:
Use this RV solar calculator to answer the question: How Much Solar Power Do I Need For My RV?
Prep Time30 minutes
Active Time30 minutes
Additional Time4 days
Total Time4 days 1 hour
Course: RV Camping Tips For Beginners
Author: Kim Hanna
Cost: $0

Equipment

Materials

  • RV with its normal batteries
  • Electrical equipment you want to operate using solar power

Instructions

Determine the amount of solar power needed for RV boondocking

  • Go boondocking using your RV battery(ies) as your ONLY power source
  • Normally operate all electrical equipment. (Note: DON'T conserve ... the demand load must be accurate to get a true reading of how much power your solar panels must produce)
  • Note the number of days before your RV batteries are drained

Here's an example for our RV batteries

  • For our experiment, we have two group 24 lead acid batteries, each battery has an 80 amp hour rating.
  • (Note: RV batteries have a certain amp hour rating indicating the total capacity of the battery. Approximately 75% of that capacity can be used because at a certain point, the voltage drops to a level that will no longer provide power.)

The math to calculate how much solar power you need for your RV

  • ____ amp hours per battery x ____ number of batteries = ____ total amps available from your RV batteries
  • ____ total amps available x .75 capacity = ____ total true usable amps from both batteries
  • ____ total true usable amps from both batteries / ____ days before batteries were drained = ____ amp hours per day average need
  • Here’s an example of our math for our RV batteries that are in good condition
  • 80 amp hours per battery x 2 batteries = 160 total amps available from both batteries
  • 160 total amps available x .75 capacity = 120 total true usable amps from both batteries.
  • 120 total true usable amps from both batteries / 4 days before our batteries were drained = 30 amp hours per day average need
  • Now we know our typical demand is 30 amp hours per day.

What the sun provides

  • 100 watt solar panel = approximately 6 amps/hour in direct summer sun (no clouds)

Here's an example of our calculation of how much the solar panels are generating to recharge our RV batteries

  • 5 hours of direct sunlight x 6 amps generated/hour = 30 amp hours/day

Our final determination

Notes

See our post, How Much Solar Power Do I Need For My RV?, for detailed instructions. https://www.campingforfoodies.com/how-much-solar-power-do-i-need-for-my-rv/