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Sunday, July 17, 2011

RV Solar Panels - The Benefits of Installing Solar Panels on A Recreational Vehicle -- By Will Yap

Do you like the freedom of a recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle? Taking long RV trips on the road is a great way to spend quality time with the family. An RV is basically a house on wheels with all of the basic amenities and comfort on a home. Most people going on RV road trips would want to bring along all of their electrical gadgets such as television, personal computer, satellite dish, hair dryer, Xbox, microwave oven etc on the vehicle.
Due to the limited power supply on board the RV, you cannot run all of the appliances simultaneously because doing so will deplete the battery very fast. To overcome this issue, many recreational vehicle owners are installing RV solar panels.
There are many benefits of using a solar power kit on a motor home. Firstly, it is clean, quiet and easy to use. The solar system does not consume any gasoline or diesel and does not produce any unwanted waste also. All it does is harness the free energy from the sun and converts in into usable electricity.
In fact, an RV solar system design is quite simple. There are only 4 key components in the entire setup which are the solar panels, charge controller, battery bank and power inverter. The solar panels, usually installed on the roof of the vehicle are used to collect the energy from the sun. It is made from a semi-conductive material known as Photovoltaic (PV) cells. Solar cells have a natural tendency to generate electric current when exposed to sun light.
To use the current from the solar array, it is to be connected to a charge controller via electric cables. The charge controller will take the current from the panels and use it to charge the RV on board battery bank. Doing so will actually extend the life span of the vehicle batteries.
If you need a lot of power on your motor home because you have multiple electrical appliances, you may consider setting up separate battery bank just to fulfill the energy needs of the living compartment.
The type of battery most suitable for a solar system is the marine or deep cycle type. Deep cycle battery is very durable and can be discharged to a very low level without damaging its internal plates.
Since the batteries can only store Direct Current (DC), the power inverter will be used to convert the DC to Alternate Current (AC). Most modern electronic gadgets are designed to run primarily on AC. The final step is to run an extension cable from the inverter throughout the RV internal spaces.
Looking for more ideas on how to use solar power for RV? Learn how to build your own DIY solar system by downloading a free copy of "30 Solar And Wind Power For Homes Videos" e-book at http://www.diysolarenergy.info/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Will_Yap

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