Daily energy consumption dictates how much solar power you need. For instance, if your RV appliances consume 600 watts each day, you'll need enough solar panels to produce that amount, factoring in sunlight availability.
We tend to hover right around 2 kWh (2,000 watt hours) per day for two adults. When scoping out your RV solar setup, the logical place to start is with the panels. The capacity of a solar panel is measured in watts, with the advertised number of watts being the amount of power you can pull in during perfect conditions.
A 100W solar panel producing 6A could recharge a 28Ah draw in under 5 hours of peak sun. This matches the general guidance that a 100W panel works for smaller RV battery banks. If you know how many watt-hours you use daily, convert your daily power consumption to amp-hours (Ah) by dividing the total watt-hours by your battery voltage (usually 12V).
Boondocking, or camping without hookups, requires a reliable way to keep your batteries charged, and solar panels are an excellent solution. However, selecting the right size solar panel for your RV battery is crucial to ensure you have enough power for your daily needs.
Never run out of battery power boondocking! Size solar panels perfectly to keep RV batteries charged. Calculate needs, choose solar kits, reduce usage, go off-grid!
For instance, if your daily power usage is 1200Wh, your daily amp-hour requirement is 100Ah (1200Wh / 12V). To ensure you can recharge your batteries fully each day, you need enough solar panel capacity to produce the required amp-hours. Consider factors like sunlight hours and panel efficiency.
Use this solar calculator to size your campervan or RV camper solar setup. If your device doesn't specify watts, use the watt calculator to convert amps and volts. List each device - every electrical component - its usage in watts, maximum number of hours used each day & if it's an AC or DC model.