Can a Kyocera 135 watt solar panel produce enough juice?
Posted By RichC on October 24, 2014
The last 24 hours I’ve been running a two person battery test to see just how comfortable we can be on minimal amp hours. Obviously we need to do better since even with a fair amount of sun hitting Encore’s single Kyocera 135 watt solar panel our battery bank is depleting. The clouds are passing in front of the sun regularly enough to drop my 8 amp solar charge back to 1 or maybe 2 amps, but since our use depletes the battery back at a steady 8 amps with the inverter on (we are still comfortable and charging gadgets), it can barely keep up when the sun hitting the panel. Kick in the refrigeration and we end up well above what can be replenished without running the diesel or plugging in to shore power. Obviously for long term self-sufficient cruising I’ll need to look for better ways to produce electricity (currently the Honda generator, but perhaps more solar or a wind generator?)
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