Solar panels are an essential part of any true Offgrid design. As a rule of thumb, the total solar power wattage should be at least twice the storage capacity in Ahr of your batteries – so for say 300Ahr of batteries you should have at least 600W of solar connected. This may made up of a mix of fixed solar panels on the roof plus portable panels or solar blanket.
The type of solar panel and the way they are connected is also critical to the performance. At OffGrid RV WA, our EXOTRONIC solar panel of choice uses PERC cells with a cutting-edge 9+ wire busbar design. This technology ensures superior performance of the panel in all conditions including partial shade or low light. In addition, we generally will connect multiple panels in series to further enhance performance in low light conditions.
The type and capacity of solar controller is also crucial to overall solar performance. We have a strong preference for VICTRON SmartSolar MPPT high voltage solar charge controllers due to their exceptional performance and reliability as well as the voltage specifications being ideally suited to series connection of panels.
Solar panel circuits must be able to be isolated to comply with the regulations.