Solar power

Solar is complicated as fuck, okay? Don’t let anyone tell you it’s simple. They’re full of shit.

Solar wattage needed

2 slide outs
LED lights
Carbon monoxide
Smoke detector
Water pump
MoFi router - 12 watts
Cell phone
Stereo
TV - 2 amps x 120 volts = 240 watts
MacBook Pro - .8 amps x 120 volts = 96 watts
Need ____ total watts

We currently have 2 panels at 170 watts each, so 340 total watts and they weigh 48lbs (24lbs each)

We need to buy at least one 170 watt panel to bring us to 510 total watts. That would cost $460 and be 72lbs total weight for the panels.

Or we could buy two 170 watt panels for 680 total watts, for $920 and 96lbs total.

Inverter

We need a 3000 watt inverter, for around $1250 and 40lbs.

You want overload protection to prevent draining your battery
Look for a power inverter that automatically turns off when your RV battery voltage goes below 10V
Need to check what kind of converter we have according to our manual to ensure we charge upgraded battery properly while using solar

We were given this inverter

Xantrex Freedom X 2000 watt power inverter

future solutions keystone OEM recommendation:

Bart

Call!!! 574-262-3688

Battery bank

At least two 170Ah batteries for 340Ah total - $3000 and 100lbs

Lithium 100Ah weigh 29lbs each for $1000

Lithium 170Ah weigh 49lbs each for $1500

OR The Gamechanger - a 270Ah single battery for $2375, at 80lbs

The Gamechanger battery

Shit to figure out

How does electricity work?
Which AC breaker do we hook to inverter?
How do we route wire from AC breaker to inverter?
How do we route wire from inverter to control panel?
What AC and DC wires do we need? Wattage? Rating? What are even the variables?
There’s always a bunch of extra shit connected to the wiring next to the inverter. Fuses? Disconnect devices? Circuit breakers? What extra stuff do we need there?
Distribution panel? Is that different than the controller?
How do we ground the inverter?

Here’s what we want

Hello! We are looking for someone to help us with the installation of an inverter and battery bank to finish our solar setup.

We already have two Zamp solar panels installed, with 340 total amps of solar, and a 30 amp Zamp charge controller. We also own a Xantrex Freedom X 2000 inverter, which is not yet installed. And we still have the original battery from the RV manufacturer.

We are looking for someone to install our inverter, and a battery bank (we are most interested in the Battle Born Game Changer 3.0, or something like it), and get it all wired up to our electrical.

We may be interested in adding one additional solar panel, depending upon cost. We will add to our wattage down the road and upgrade the inverter at that time, if necessary.

The things we want to power are:

Laptop
CPAP
Phone/Tablet chargers
LTE Modem

We do not expect to power things like air conditioner, microwave, refrigerator, etc. We are happy to run our generator when we do need air conditioning for short bursts and our water heater and fridge run just fine on propane. We generally boondock 3-4 days, no more than 7.

What are our options?

Here’s what we should do

Buy batteries
Buy an outlet adapter for inverter
Wire up inverter to battery
Plug an extension chord directly into inverter and use that for power

Installers we’ve reached out to

Future Solutions

2616 Glenview Dr, Elkhart, IN 46514

Not mobile

Future Solutions website

2022-07-02 - Emailed

Power Up RV Solar

Is mobile, but they’re currently in Michigan (as of July 2022)

Power Up RV Solar website

2022-07-02 - Emailed
2022-07-02 - Received quote, but it was FULL install for $15,000. We responded and asked for a quote for just the inverter and battery installation