A Beginner’s Guide to Caravan Solar Systems: Camp off-Grid with the Comforts of Your Home

Is there anything more liberating than leaving the bustling city life behind only to take in a bit of serenity and some fresh air in the wilderness? Nothing even comes close to that. It’s the perfect way to recharge your batteries and let off some steam after the long week. Leave all your work tasks and household chores behind to enjoy the natural landscape. You surely don’t need any more convincing to go through with it, do you?

With that said, when you’re camping in the woods or any kind of remote area, caravans are your best friend. It’s the home away from home if you will. And if you want to make your next caravanning escape ideal and enjoyable, you’ll have to do everything in your power to keep it in the best shape possible. Sure, that means that you’re required to focus on all the details and relevant accessories but I’ll be focusing on the most important part – finding the ideal power supply for your camping adventure. Seeing as you don’t have that many options, to begin with, I’ll focus on the obvious one – equipping your caravan with a powerful solar system to keep everything up and running at all times.

What Are the Main Parts of a Caravan Solar System?

In order to get the right make and model to match your specific needs and preferences, first I’ll have to go through its main component. The whole system is only as good as its parts, right? It’s where the magic happens anyway.

Solar Panels

I’ll be kicking things off with the most apparent piece of equipment – the solar panels. You can have as many panels as you’d like and each one produces about 200-350 W of energy when exposed to direct sunlight. All of this is made possible due to the large number of cells made up of semi-conductive materials, such as silicone. Whenever sunlight hits these cells, they generate a powerful electrical current which is then used by all of your appliances within the caravan.

Some people assume that solar panels only work when they come into contact with bright sunlight but that’s a common misconception. The truth is, they’re able to produce energy even on days when it’s super cloudy and gloomy. The only difference is that the amount of electricity generated in those conditions is somewhat lower when compared to sunny weather. In any case, it’s a compromise we’re willing to make.

Regulator

Installing a solar system is so much more than picking out which panels you find most convenient. Your next logical step would be to look into a regulator. Essentially, it’s a small, rectangular-shaped box that connects the panels to your battery. It acts as a kind of safety net because it prevents the batteries from overheating by controlling the amount of electrical charge that reaches them. Some regulator models can even provide electricity for all your devices while recharging your batteries at the same time. It’s a win-win situation if you ask me. All things considered, the regular is an essential part of each solar system that keeps everything in check.

Inverter

This is another building block of any off-grid solar system. The whole purpose of an ingenious caravan inverter is to take the DC power that’s stored on your battery and convert it into AC power that you can use to run all of your devices. In other words, even if you do get the best solar panels on the market, they’ll be practically useless to you because you won’t be able to benefit from the generated electricity. When you think about it, what’s the point of setting up a solar system if you don’t have a camper inverter to go along with it?

It’s important to note that inverters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, depending on how much electricity you’re trying to produce. You need to make sure that it’s powerful enough to withstand the load of everything running simultaneously. Make sure you consult with a professional or carefully read the instructions regarding each model’s capacity to get the appropriate inverter for your caravan.

Another important thing to consider is matching your inverter’s voltage with the other devices in your solar system. For example, you can’t connect a 24-volt caravan inverter with a 12-volt battery and vice versa. Unfortunately, the number of volts is fixed so you can’t adjust it to your needs. This is why finding an appropriate match is so crucial to maintaining a steady system. As you can see, there’s a lot of planning involved so you should put some thought into it rather than rush straight into a decision.

Battery

Last but not least, I’ll be taking a look at perhaps the most expensive item of the bunch. Generally speaking, the choice comes down to two main types of batteries – lead-acid and lithium. While lead-acid models are slightly cheaper, their lifespan is also much shorter when compared to lithium-based batteries. Moreover, lithium batteries are a lot safer and easier to manage which is why it’s the preferred option of many caravan owners.

Key Considerations When Installing an Off-Grid Solar System

Now that I’ve gone through all the parts, let’s have a brief look into all the factors you should take into consideration when compiling your caravan solar system.

Size and Placement

To put it simply, the more solar panels you have, the more energy you’ll be able to generate. For this reason, it’s a good idea to think about how much power you’ll need during your camping trip so that you’re not left in the dark unexpectedly.

When you’ve got that out of the way, your next step would be to figure out where you want to place them. Do you want them to be fixed on top of your caravan or would you prefer modular panels that you can adjust to your liking? You need to have the answer to questions such as this one to proceed.

Power Output

This goes hand in hand with the size of your solar panels. Bigger panels have a greater power output that you can benefit from if necessary. Word of advice – always go at least 20% higher than the expected need for electricity just in case you end up using everything up. It’s better to be safe than sorry after all.