If I Have Solar Panels Do I Need A Generator
Note that 2 wire start is different than electric start.
If i have solar panels do i need a generator. It completely depends on your system. The generator is a relatively simple install by comparison. You have solar panels. Solar is nice to have but you do need a generator for those cloudy days.
Been using solar for 10 years. Whenever the sun is shining you re solar panels will be generating power. 7 panels and 4 300 amp agm batteries. Ergo you should have electricity.
Since i can gauge the generator s size by the watts produced most rv generators run from 1 000 to 3 000 my choice is made a little easier if i know roughly the wattage used in my rv s appliances. This is only possible with a solar system with battery backup. It is feasible to run your ac off batteries but it really requires lithium batteries and at least 960 watts of solar. Powered by the sun a solar charging system can recharge your batteries indefinitely.
When your batteries drop below a certain voltage the ags kicks in to turn on the generator and recharge your battery bank. If i want a generator for days of bad weather when the solar panels can t work at their peak i need a smaller generator. Which is really expensive. Solar is an intermittent energy generation source and it may not be generating electricity at the exact moment you need it.
What does an inverter do in making a solar generator work. As you can see from the table above the one big disadvantage to using a generator as backup with a solar power system is that you can not take advantage of the energy generated by your solar panels. A solar power inverter. I have 600 amps but only 300 usable amps.
It would take roughly 20 000 worth of solar panels and associated equipment to match the capabilities of even a small standby generator that costs less than 2 000. Unfortunately that isn t quite the way it works. Even if it is generating solar power it may not be generating enough to power the electrical devices that you want to use. Unfortunately solar requires an investment on your part as most rvs do not come with solar panels installed.
But that doesn t mean that it isn t possible. Solar power plus battery backup system. Off grid generators paired with solar power systems need 2 wire start capability to allow the automatic generator start ags function to work. When the power goes out solar panels may or may not work.
The electricity that is produced by the solar panels and stored in the battery is produced and stored as dc direct current electricity.