Hey Will, thank you for your comment. Your question is interesting because the 200w panels differ from the 100w panels in several ways, not just the wattage. So, for your situation, I would suggest connecting all three panels in series. Each 200w panel has a rating of 23v (Voc) and 11.05A (Isc). Therefore, connecting three panels in series would produce 69v and 11.05A. The maximum series fuse rating for the 200w panels is 20A, and the maximum input voltage for the charge controller is 140VDC, which is perfect for your needs. Generally, the higher the solar panel voltage, the more efficient the solar charge controller will be. As long as the voltage remains below the maximum limit, you should be good to go. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask. Best regards, Jolly.
Hi there Is the box section for mounting the panels just bolted to the box frame? Or did you use tek screws? We have just bought a van very much like yours 😁
Hey, thank for the comment. It's 600w per hour. There's never a dumb question in regards to solar and campervan electrics 👍. Anything marked as watts (w) or amps (A) is calculated as watts/hour or amps/hour.
@@vandercampadventures appreciate it. Building my first van for travel ball this spring and doing research now. I am a complete beginner but a tradesman and computer nerd so I'm hoping it'll be enough for a simple 12v system. Your video was extremely helpful.
You'll smash it then 🤘. Campervan electrics can be confusing and quite technical so i'de recommend doing your research. If you need any help or advice with your electrics please let me know, i'de be happy to help 👍. Regards, Jolly
Not a dumb question. In this context, "600w" is the rated output of the panels under laboratory conditions (STC). As in "right now" and not over time. In the real world harvest will be *lower* because our vans are not in laboratories :-) , and will *vary dramatically* during the day as well as during the year. *Theoretical example:* let's say our 600w setup averaged 350w harvest from 11am to 1pm. 350w x 2 hours would be 700Wh (Watt-hours) collected during that period. *Real-world example:* Deep winter is brutal on harvest since the sun is so low in the sky. But yesterday (Jan 4th) was particularly clear and my 750w array was able to collect 2,180Wh total. Peak harvest was 445w at local solar noon. Today is total overcast and I'll collect ~900Wh if I'm lucky. 😕 Alternator charging is extremely helpful in such scenarios: cheap, powerful, and hands-off. Note: if you are building a larger system like this you can usually do it for less by selecting your own components instead of buying a kit . This 600w kit was $1,185.06 (conversion rate at the time of this writing); I cobbled together the 750w rig mentioned above at an apples-to-apples cost of $501.10. The main money-saver was sourcing used higher-voltage panels locally ($0.32/watt). Also the 60A mppt included in the kit is grossly oversized; 40A MPPT would be more appropriate for 600w of panel.
@@fratermus5502 very helpful, I should have known you wouldn't get peak performance as that isn't how advertising works. I would never have guessed that the expected vs reality would be that far off. I will have to factor that in. I intend to start with a 12v 200ah setup for my SUV. Travel ball starts in a few months and we travel coast to coast as he's in Highschool. The SUV will be trial run then I will build a 2000w setup, I will likely adjust that number. I haven't decided on a pull behind 12' trailer conversion or an Econoline Van. I think the 12' would be better for two people not sharing a bed. Any insight you can give me I am open. We can exchange email or discords if you are game. Mostly I would like to soak up whatever experience or info you have. I have tons of questions about 12v, 24v, and even 48v, I am curious about off grid non moving setups and conversions.
i am installing a 600 watt of solar in 3-200 watt solar suitcase ground portable configuration into a SAE 10 AWG plug. I have a 40 amp MPPT so i can have 2- 300 watt series/parallel configuration. my question is i have a 2000 watt inverter with a 250 amp ANL fuse to the battery and do i need a separate ANL 40 amp fuse to the MPPT?
Hey Robert, The MPPT positive battery cable MUST be protected with a fuse. The fuse should be positioned on the positive wire, as close to the MPPT charge controller as possible. As a rule, all DC cables must have a fuse to protect them and the fuse must be positioned as close to the source of power as possible. Hope this helps! Regards, Jolly
The Renogy Rover is compatible with a 24v battery supply 👍. In the settings, you can select the input battery voltage (12, 24, 36 and 48v). There is an auto detect but I believe this is for non-lithium batteries. Regards, Jolly
Nice video, easy to follow & well explained. 👍
Thank you 👍
great video, even a dummy like me managed to understand the differences, so thanks for posting it.
I'm chuffed it helped you out. Thanks for the comment 👍
I have the same setup but with 3-200W panels. Would your run two in series and one in parallel? Great video by the way!
Hey Will, thank you for your comment. Your question is interesting because the 200w panels differ from the 100w panels in several ways, not just the wattage. So, for your situation, I would suggest connecting all three panels in series. Each 200w panel has a rating of 23v (Voc) and 11.05A (Isc). Therefore, connecting three panels in series would produce 69v and 11.05A. The maximum series fuse rating for the 200w panels is 20A, and the maximum input voltage for the charge controller is 140VDC, which is perfect for your needs.
Generally, the higher the solar panel voltage, the more efficient the solar charge controller will be. As long as the voltage remains below the maximum limit, you should be good to go.
I hope this information is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
Best regards,
Jolly.
Hi there
Is the box section for mounting the panels just bolted to the box frame? Or did you use tek screws? We have just bought a van very much like yours 😁
Hey Chris,
We used tek screws and an adhesive sealant to secure the unistrut that sits on the roof.
Might be a dumb question, but is 600w per day or per hour? Appreciate the video.
Hey, thank for the comment. It's 600w per hour.
There's never a dumb question in regards to solar and campervan electrics 👍. Anything marked as watts (w) or amps (A) is calculated as watts/hour or amps/hour.
@@vandercampadventures appreciate it. Building my first van for travel ball this spring and doing research now. I am a complete beginner but a tradesman and computer nerd so I'm hoping it'll be enough for a simple 12v system.
Your video was extremely helpful.
You'll smash it then 🤘. Campervan electrics can be confusing and quite technical so i'de recommend doing your research. If you need any help or advice with your electrics please let me know, i'de be happy to help 👍.
Regards,
Jolly
Not a dumb question. In this context, "600w" is the rated output of the panels under laboratory conditions (STC). As in "right now" and not over time. In the real world harvest will be *lower* because our vans are not in laboratories :-) , and will *vary dramatically* during the day as well as during the year.
*Theoretical example:* let's say our 600w setup averaged 350w harvest from 11am to 1pm. 350w x 2 hours would be 700Wh (Watt-hours) collected during that period.
*Real-world example:* Deep winter is brutal on harvest since the sun is so low in the sky. But yesterday (Jan 4th) was particularly clear and my 750w array was able to collect 2,180Wh total. Peak harvest was 445w at local solar noon. Today is total overcast and I'll collect ~900Wh if I'm lucky. 😕 Alternator charging is extremely helpful in such scenarios: cheap, powerful, and hands-off.
Note: if you are building a larger system like this you can usually do it for less by selecting your own components instead of buying a kit . This 600w kit was $1,185.06 (conversion rate at the time of this writing); I cobbled together the 750w rig mentioned above at an apples-to-apples cost of $501.10. The main money-saver was sourcing used higher-voltage panels locally ($0.32/watt). Also the 60A mppt included in the kit is grossly oversized; 40A MPPT would be more appropriate for 600w of panel.
@@fratermus5502 very helpful, I should have known you wouldn't get peak performance as that isn't how advertising works. I would never have guessed that the expected vs reality would be that far off.
I will have to factor that in. I intend to start with a 12v 200ah setup for my SUV. Travel ball starts in a few months and we travel coast to coast as he's in Highschool. The SUV will be trial run then I will build a 2000w setup, I will likely adjust that number. I haven't decided on a pull behind 12' trailer conversion or an Econoline Van. I think the 12' would be better for two people not sharing a bed.
Any insight you can give me I am open. We can exchange email or discords if you are game. Mostly I would like to soak up whatever experience or info you have.
I have tons of questions about 12v, 24v, and even 48v, I am curious about off grid non moving setups and conversions.
i am installing a 600 watt of solar in 3-200 watt solar suitcase ground portable configuration into a SAE 10 AWG plug. I have a 40 amp MPPT so i can have 2- 300 watt series/parallel configuration. my question is i have a 2000 watt inverter with a 250 amp ANL fuse to the battery and do i need a separate ANL 40 amp fuse to the MPPT?
Hey Robert,
The MPPT positive battery cable MUST be protected with a fuse. The fuse should be positioned on the positive wire, as close to the MPPT charge controller as possible.
As a rule, all DC cables must have a fuse to protect them and the fuse must be positioned as close to the source of power as possible.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Jolly
How do i wire this to 2, 24v 100ah batteries?
The Renogy Rover is compatible with a 24v battery supply 👍. In the settings, you can select the input battery voltage (12, 24, 36 and 48v). There is an auto detect but I believe this is for non-lithium batteries.
Regards,
Jolly