As most of you know – I LOVE SOLAR POWER!! However; my new home – Aria – does not currently have any solar panels onboard. I know…. GASP!!! Clearly I need to rectify that very quickly! 🙂 To that end, I’ve done some research to find out what is available on St. Lucia. One would… [Read More]
Lithium Batteries for RV’s
Update from JD: I have now installed a 10kWh Lithium (LFMP) battery bank in Missy. Details are here. Lithium batteries offer some pretty great capabilities! Used in an RV, they can be really incredible! The RV world seems to be divided into those that depend on their battery bank and those that don’t even know… [Read More]
Payback of a Solar Charging System
Solar charging system cost vs. payback is a constant topic for some folks. I really do not understand why but that does not matter – there are many things I do not understand. I am providing my system information and cost to give the folks that are curious about this another data point and possibly… [Read More]
Battery Temperature Sensor
This past week I finally got around to installing the battery temperature sensor that I have for my house battery bank and solar charge controller. I purchased the sensor months ago and I have just been waiting for the arm surgeon to give me the ok to return to normal life. Batteries require a slightly different… [Read More]
New Juice – New Batteries – Happy Camper
The age of the house batteries in my RV/home (JBAM) was unknown. They were in the coach when I purchased it and there was no indication of when they went into service. They have served me very well for about a year and a half. However; they have some swelling and use a lot of water…. [Read More]
$10 per Watt
I recently read an article about a person that added solar power to their “vehicle” (attempting to protect the innocent). They installed approximately 400 watts of panels and paid nearly $10/watt! WOW!!! I hate to be the bearer of bad news people but, with some shopping, rigid solar PV panels are in the $1/watt range… [Read More]
Dutch Star Energy Audit
Audits always seem to be a hot topic!! In this case, energy audit is the subject. An energy audit is often referred to as an electrical budget, an energy budget, and even a power audit. Note from JD: Here is post about doing your own energy audit or energy budget. I previously discussed the importance of having… [Read More]
Solar Power Winter Update
I’ve written about my solar charging system here, here, here, and here. The more time I spend with the system, the more I learn about it. It is interesting to me that just a few months ago I was amazed at how much excess capacity I had. Now, in the winter months and located in… [Read More]
Is solar power for you?
The topic of solar power on an RV comes up very regularly. Instead of repeating the same thing over and over, I thought perhaps documenting it might be helpful and consume less of my time. I am most certainly not the sole source of this information – this same information is all over the Internet… [Read More]
Solar Panel Mounts
Several people have asked for more details, especially photos, of my solar panel mounts. These mounts were originally referenced here during the system installation on my Newmar Dutch Star. I have had zero issues with these panel mounts. The two panels have been mounted with the solar panel mounts as shown below for six months… [Read More]