| Using a recreational vehicle (RV) for holidays is an | | | | major hardware stores. The hardest part is to install |
| excellent way to travel around the country. It is | | | | the panels on the roof of the RV. To reduce wind |
| basically a home on wheels with all the necessary | | | | drag when your RV is moving, the solar panels should |
| comfort and amenities. | | | | be installed flush to the roof of the vehicle. When the |
| A motor home is built with a range of power supply | | | | RV is parked, there should be a mechanism which will |
| to meet the demand of all the electronic gadgets | | | | enable the solar array to be raised and tilted. This is |
| such as television, computer, satellite dish, Playstation | | | | to ensure the Photovoltaic (PV) cells get the |
| etc that you will be bringing on the trip with you. It is | | | | maximum sun coverage. |
| fair to say, when you are on a road trip, you will | | | | When the sun is shining, the panels will generate |
| want to bring along all your electrical appliances with | | | | electric current to recharge the vehicle existing |
| you. This will create a problem because on board the | | | | battery system. If your power requirement is high |
| RV, there is only a limited power supply. | | | | because you have multiple electrical appliances on |
| To overcome this issue, many RV owners are | | | | board, you may consider making a separate battery |
| installing solar electric panels on their vehicle to | | | | bank. |
| supplement their power requirement. | | | | The battery bank can be made from 4 - 6 units of |
| Most RV solar kits can be purchased from specialized | | | | 12 volts deep cycle battery. The amount of power |
| RV supply stores. However, these kind of kits can be | | | | stored should be around 400 amp hours which will be |
| quite expensive. A solar kit designed for a | | | | sufficient to power your electronic gadgets for 4 - 6 |
| recreational vehicle capable of generating 440 watt | | | | hours. |
| will cost upwards of $3000! To save cost, you can | | | | If you are having a separate battery storage unit, |
| actually make the solar system on your own. An | | | | you will need to use the power inverter. Since all |
| electric solar system generally has 4 main | | | | batteries can only store Direct Current (DC), the |
| components which are the solar panels, charge | | | | power inverter will convert the DC to Alternative |
| controller, battery bank and power inverter. | | | | Current (AC). All modern electrical equipment |
| You can buy off the shelve solar panels from most | | | | nowadays run on AC. |