Trip Report: First Time with Solar Panels and Inverter

I just finished my first trip since installing solar panels. I was also about 50% done with the installation of my inverter so I had a chance to test that as well. It was the first trip we have ever taken in the TM that did not require the heater to be on at night so I didn't quite have the normal DC load.

In any event, I am very impressed with the performance. We were power positive nearly 12 hours of the day. Our batteries spent very little time under 100% over the entire trip.

The inverter also answered the mail. The only portion of the install that was complete and in final configuration was the 4/0 wiring to the battery. I installed the inverter underneath the curb side settee. I am still tinkering with the AC side wiring and did not have that remote power switch installed during the trip (more on that later). It looks like the inverter parasitic load is about 0.6A. This is not an issue at all given that I have the solar arrays. I did one test with the only high load I had with me: a hair dryer. The hair dryer is not labeled with any information concerning its wattage but according to my LinkLite, I was draining battery at ~90A when I ran it. The actual load may have been even higher but my solar array may have been putting out a handful of amps too. The test worked which is all I wanted to do. After running that for a couple of minutes, the solar arrays made pretty quick work of putting the 3-4Ah back into the battery. It was kind of a pain removing seat cushions to turn the inverter on and off but I didn't have the time to install the remote switch before leaving on the long weekend. (The inverter was installed the night before a trip and I needed to fold up the TM the night before to support schedule).

As soon as I got home from the trip, I got after the installation of the remote power switch. It took about an hour or so to route the cable and about 20-30 minutes to drill a mounting hole under the sink but I am already loving the convenience of the power switch here. It only took about 5-10 minutes to install the optional interlock to the bathroom wall switch so now the inverter will automatically shutdown when the bathroom wall is closed. It works well.

The wife and I will no longer fight over 12V outlets to charge our blackberries/laptops now. The AC outlets all over the rig provide a lot more flexibility. As long as we are in reasonably sunny locations, power consumption should be a non-issue.

The only thing left to do is to come up with a more idiot proof AC side install. Right now I am just keeping the GFI breaker off. Sometime soon, I will be adding a switch but unfortunately I may have to remove the grey water tank to get at the wires I need to so that job may wait a while.