Solar Upgrades on the Renault Trafic Campervan
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- Adding a second fibreglass self adhesive semi flexible solar panel. This is a 210W panel taking my theretical total up to 410W. The ctek D250SE as a charge controller can only use 300W, as far as I am aware. However these panels are less efficient than solid flat glass panels for a few reasons. They are curved over the roof so don't get direct sun over the entire panel all the time plus they don't have any cooling as they are stuck directly to the roof, albeit on the trafic it does sit up slightly on the ribbed roof. Therefore I am never really going to get the full wattage of the panels. My thinking is, the greater the surface areaI have to capture the sun in winter the better I can recharge my battery whilst keeping the solar system fairly stealthy and not causing any wind resistance. #solarpower #campervan #renaulttrafic #vanlife
I never knew those self adhesive panels existed, handy.
I think they are a bit overpriced but I like the ease of install of them. Wasn't sure they output as much as quoted but I've changed my charge controller to a Victron one and it has shown over 410W when really sunny so they deffo can. Atb Dave
@@playing_in_trafic That's shocking actually, you have a 200 and a 210 Watt panel and got over that combined wattage, most other panels can only hope to get close to their stated wattage.
They are slightly more than six times the price per wattage than the ones that I got four years ago, I checked them out using your link in a comment below, they seem as though they're built to last although they should at that price.
I'm not using mine as I previously mentioned but did test them and they work fine (using a Victron solar charge controller) but I'd be very surprised and pleased if they deliver close to 90 Watts per 100 watt panel on the best of days (High noon) during the summer.
@@pa_maj.MARTINI-van-MAN Yes I was surprised especially as I said in video. "These panels are supposed to be fairly inefficient due to not having air gaps below them for cooling etc" Atb Dave
Just looking back at this one and wondering how they held up over the winter for you with producing and how they have stood up to time. Thanks for you time.
Hi Richard. Thanks for the questions. The panels have held up well physically and I am really happy with them. However, production on full sun days in winter is still pretty low due to the angle of the panels to the sun. In the summer sun the full 410W is easily achieved. In winter in full sun the max output from these panels was around 100W. Roughly 25% of the capacity. In comparison on the same full winter sun days using a cheap portable 100W panel angled towards the sun I was able to get around 70Watts. A fair bit of difference but a bit of a faff setting up to charge stuff off. Was an interesting experiment though.
What panels are these? Looking to add some to my Trafic and they seem to be the perfect size!
They are made by Photonic Universe and are fantastic panels and fit perfectly. They are horrendously expensive though. This is link to the most recent 210 Watt panel ebay.us/tkcL0H Atb Dave
Thanks for showing this . Im keen to do similar .
Cheers. Aye solar is deffo a great way to go. 🌞
Hi there, what panels are you using and where did you get them from and if you have an affiliate link so i can buy 2 of them for my Trafic L1H1 please. Thanks in advance.
@@digitechnomad Hi. I used Photonic Universe Panels, the ones I got are fibreglass but I would also check out the aluminium ones. The newest one is 210W and the older is 200W (they seem to have stopped doing this one, otherwise I would have got matching panels) They are expensive and as I think I said in the video not as efficient as regular flat glass panels. I do however really like them for the stealthiness and aerodynamics. Plus they allow me to load my kayak on roof rack without fear of damaging them. This is an affiliate link to ebay of the newest panel I got. ebay.us/jrrJES Much appreciate the request for affiliate link, Im affiliated to ebay not the specific seller, so just following the link helps me out. Cheers. Atb Dave