Upgrading Your Caravan Solar System
Many new caravans come with solar systems installed. These will often get you started on your adventures, but you may find them insufficient for longer trips or fully off-grid situations.If you are new to caravanning it’s okay to start small and get out there and enjoy your trips and find out what works for you and what doesn’t. Can you run everything you want from your current solar?
When you find you want to spend more time boon-docking and away from RV parks and shore power, it’s time to consider upgrading.
Solar Charge Controller
This device smooths out and controls the flow of electrical power from your solar panels to your batteries. Upgrading your older PWM charge controller for new MPPT solar controllers can result in up to 30% increased performance from your solar charge controller.
This simple upgrade can charge your batteries to their fullest extent and also provide a trickle charge to keep them topped up.
Solar Inverter
The solar inverter converts the DC power stored in your batteries to AC power that many of your appliances us
When you start taking extended trips or boondocking where you don’t have access to auxiliary power, you are going to have to rely more heavily on your solar system. If you want to run all of your convenient appliances from the battery, you are going to have to provide more power to support all those devices. You can carry a generator to augment your power requirements, but that means carrying more fuel and putting up with generator noise.
A larger inverter can convert more of the power stored in your batteries to usable power for your appliances. This helps you spend more time in the wild and have truly memorable camping experiences.
Solar Batteries
Solar batteries are the heart and soul of your caravan’s power system.
Lead-acid batteries or traditional batteries, are cost-effective, have a long lifespan, are easy to maintain and have very low operating costs. They offer a mature technology that has been around for decades. Lead-acid batteries are widely used in many different applications.
Despite their popularity, lead-acid batteries have many shortcomings when compared to newer battery technology like lithium-ion.
Lead-acid batteries are heavy. These batteries can take longer to charge and are not as energy-dense. When you discharge a lead-acid battery for too long, it loses some of its ability to accept a charge, reducing its capacity.
Lithium-ion batteries are lighter, have a longer life, charge rapidly, handle deep discharge better, and are less prone to voltage sag while under heavy load. The main disadvantage of lithium batteries is cost. They can be significantly more expensive than traditional lead-acid batteries.
Despite the higher cost, lithium-ion batteries are generally considered superior to traditional batteries.
If you decide to upgrade your solar system to newer more efficient components, be sure to recycle your old components with a licensed recycling facility.
Upgrading your power and solar systems on your caravan will increase the range and time you can spend away from shore power, and let you get to and enjoy some unique vacation trips you wouldn’t be able to enjoy without.
