Solar panels in the Alps Forums

darach

Can anybody give us first hand information on how many amps per day they have got out of a specific size solar panel in the winter in the Alps. Also how they compare in a sunny day and a dull day in amps?
Also could somebody tell me if I am doing something wrong in working out the output of a 1000 watt generator. I am dividing 1000 by 230 = 4.3 amps but is this correct when charging batteries into 12 volt because it would take 10 hrs to put 43 amps back into your battery?
Grateful for any information
Derek

teemyob · Last edited by teemyob on Tue May 13, 2008 8:21 pm; edited 2 times in total

Hello,

We managed 6amp hours on a sunny day in Norway in December from 2x80w.

For the Alps, If you look on the Forum our very own expert Frank Alias "sallytraffic" has written quite a detailed report including a calculator.

Trev.

teemyob

here you go...............

Click here>

olley · Campsite DB Admin

Hi Derek its 1000watts divided by 12v which equals 83amps, its very unlikely your charger is that big, probably only 10-20amps.

But its more complicated than that as charging is voltage dependant, as your battery voltage rises your charge rate will fall.

Olley

darach

Thanks Ollie, doing the calculation that way makes the generator seem more sensible.
Hi Trev, thanks for your information, i will study that section on the solar panels, but you said you got 6 amps out of 2 x 80 watts, is that for 1 hour or for the day. Also what happened on a dull day.
Derek

teemyob

darach

Hi Trev
I does not seem worth fitting a solar panel for winter use which is what we want to use ours for. Just replacing the bulbs with LEDs would save me more. This is the type of first hand information I was looking for.
How did you cope it the winter or were you on electric hook up most of the time?
Derek