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NGL I think I have a pretty efficient setup and I'm in the process of installing a 4th panel (bringing my total to 1220W) because 915W isn't really cutting it f
by thot_experiment 5y ago
NGL I think I have a pretty efficient setup and I'm in the process of installing a 4th panel (bringing my total to 1220W) because 915W isn't really cutting it for winter power now that I'm not spending time outside much. My quiescent draw/day is about 500Wh just doing nothing (fridge + internet) and on a cloudy day I'll make maybe 800Wh with the current setup. I don't think 800W of panels will let you power anything you want during winter.
I'm also working on a way to bring power in from my alternator but unfortunately I think I'm going to have to invert in the engine bay and rectify feeding into my MPPT controller to avoid running some absurdly thicc wire to carry a few hundred watts at 12 volts.
- t0mas88 5y agoYou could get a 12v to 48v DC converter on the car side of things. That already helps a lot in cable thickness.
- thot_experiment 5y agoWhen I looked into this previously I wasn't able to find a suitably sized boost converter but it seems like there are higher capacity ones cheaply available now. Thanks for the suggestion I may very well end up doing this.