We all know that having more solar on your RV will provide better charging, however if you have maxed out your roof space, or don’t want to chase the sun with a plug in portable panel, or you just don’t want to spend any extra money, this is a technique you can use to get the most out of what you have.
The first thing is to understand your system, to do this you should discuss how it works in detail with your installer, and/or do some good research on the components. Without this knowledge the understanding will be flawed and you may not achieve the best result.
Scenario… You’ve woken up in the morning with 50% SOC in your 600Ah of batteries. You have 600w of solar on your roof and it’s going to be a good sunny Summer day but you’re not doing any driving. You can expect to have your batteries fully topped up by early-mid afternoon. Once the batteries are charged, any remaining solar energy goes nowhere and you simply miss out on it. So the idea is to use as much energy as you can to not quite reach full charge.
To do this, use your energy intensive items such as air fryer, induction cooktop, hot water heater (if it’s electric), kettle, hair dryer, microwave, Travel Buddy oven, bread maker, etc etc during the day before you reach full charge. Cook the roast chicken during the day instead of after sunset. These items will primarily be powered by the solar coming in, and if they need more, the batteries will supply the extra. If the item doesn’t draw as much as the solar is supplying, the batteries will still be getting charge.
The same goes while travelling. If you have a DC-DC converter, it will be putting in 20-50A or maybe even more while you drive, and if your batteries are already full, you will waste this possible energy. Consider running the aircon while you’re driving to keep the van cool.
So within the limits of your specific system and your travel style (which you will need to learn over time), use as much energy during the times when you have the most energy coming in. During sunny days, while driving, or when parked up at a caravan park or friends driveway is the time to do this.
Also remember that your system won’t be the same as anyone elses, even with the same components they may have different usage and different incoming solar due to location. So you can take “this works for me” comments with a grain of salt, especially if you haven’t clearly and concisely explained the whole scenario.
