Solar Panels on Symbol

Hi,
I have been asked about the solar panels on my 'van so I'll try to explain.

2 40watt panels have been fixed to the roof with stainless steel screws & sealant, previous to this a pilot hole is drilled up in a corner of the wardrobe through the roof & the panel cables joined up & passed through this hole with plenty of sealant.
A Steca 10amp regulator with LCD display is fitted to the front of the wardrobe & the panel cable fixed to the solar panel contacts on this regulator.
A cable is then fixed to the battery contacts on the regulator & then run down the inside corner of the wardrobe, through the gas locker & through one of the ventilation holes on the floor of the gas locker & then underneath the 'van & up through the hole that houses the Truma drain tube.
The cable is connected via a fuse to the second 85a leisure battery I have fixed in this compartment, obviously this battery is connected by heavy duty cables to the leisure battery under the driver's seat. This battery should be in a battery box but there is no room for this in the compartment, but the example I have chosen is totally sealed & can be used upside down, according to the supplier.
All the cabling is hidden, most of it in the extreme corner of the wardrobe unit. If Autosleepers did the installation, they would run the cable behind panels, which means removal & expense. The way I have done it is Quick, Effective & Cheap.
The panel sizes are both 635mm x 540mm although in the photo they look different.
Having these panels on the roof means no room for a TV aerial but this doesn't worry me, the amount of mindnumbing garbage on the idiot box these days, I can well do without it. I suppose a sat dish or aerial can be fixed on an extension if you have a bike rack.
The output from these panels can handle all the usual load in a campervan, although in continuous overcast conditions one has to be careful but the regulator keeps you informed.
I think I've covered everything, if not I will be pleased to answer any questions,
Mike.

Mike,
Thanks for that. I shall slowly look it over.
squip

Neat job Mike - how much clearance do you have between the roof and the panel for cooling?

That arrangment of the panels is worth remembering for other vans, not just panel van conversions.

We tend to think there is plenty of room on a coachbuilt roof but it is not always the case and Mikes solution could be a help

dandywarhol wrote:Neat job Mike - how much clearance do you have between the roof and the panel for cooling?

Hi,
I didn't have a clue on the clearance as I used standard brackets, But I've just been up a ladder & measured the gap & it's approx 15mm.
Mike.

That should be fine - overheating panels don't produce good results

Hi Mike.
Could you tell me how much the total conversion cost? I like the idea of being able to do without a 240v hookup as you can stay on cl's or wild camp with no restrictions.
At present all we have is the standard 85ah battery under the drivers seat which is'nt going to last long in the winter if we have the diesel heater on with no hook up.
A nice neat installation, well done.

Tim.

Hi dogseal,
I can't remember the total price, it was two years ago, but I think it was in the region of £500 for the whole set-up. Prices of solar panels have dropped, I noticed 40w units on ebay for 90 quid each & you can buy a much cheaper regulator than the Steca.
You will need a second leisure battery & it will have to be a totally sealed unit as there is no room for a battery box in the heater cupboard.
It is definitely worth doing, my panels have paid for themselves, on a recent 8 week trip to France & Spain I only spent 2 nights on a campsite & that was only because there's a fantastic van-wash at the Santa Polar site & an excuse to use my ACSI card.
Also, I save a small amount of money at home as I connect my van set-up via an inverter to power saving lighting in my house.
Regards, Mike.

Hi Mike

Nice set up.

I have a 65W panel on the roof of my Symbol and it is surprising the output even when light levels are low and working underneath my van cover (with clear plastic above the panel).

I see that your Steca is able to supply a load to an external device (other than your battery) during the day. What interests me is your last sentence –

…” I save a small amount of money at home as I connect my van set-up via an inverter to power saving lighting in my house.”

-to run your lights at home when your pv is ‘sleeping’ do you charge up an additional battery during the day, or use the Symbol’s habitation battery, to supply the inverter, which in itself can be power hungry? What type of house lighting and power is your inverter supplying?

Regards
Keith

Hi Keith,
One of our living rooms is quite dark even during the day as it has only a small window. I have connected a 150W inverter to the 12V socket in the van which powers 2 x 18W energy-saving bulbs (both giving off 100W worth of illumination) which helps to light this particular room.
I don't use this system so much at the moment as the sun is getting lower in the sky, but during the summer, it's great.
I realise the Steca controller has a load outlet which enables one to connect a device direct to the solar panels but I've never used it.
Kind regards, Mike.

Hi Mike

Thanks for getting back to me.

After making the post I decided to do a little research and in the process answered my own question!

A quick look through the Steca manual indicates that the load is unavailable during the day and is only available when the solar module detects that it is dark, so in this way it is acting as an automatic night light. It is also good that it offers deep discharging protection as excessive deep discharging will shorten battery life.

The Steca controller looks like a very nice controller with plenty of feedback information about what is happening ‘down under’ for the owner and a multi-stage charging programme to ensure that your battery is fully recharged.

Regards
Keith

mikemelson wrote:Hi dogseal,
I can't remember the total price, it was two years ago, but I think it was in the region of £500 for the whole set-up. Prices of solar panels have dropped, I noticed 40w units on ebay for 90 quid each & you can buy a much cheaper regulator than the Steca.
You will need a second leisure battery & it will have to be a totally sealed unit as there is no room for a battery box in the heater cupboard.
It is definitely worth doing, my panels have paid for themselves, on a recent 8 week trip to France & Spain I only spent 2 nights on a campsite & that was only because there's a fantastic van-wash at the Santa Polar site & an excuse to use my ACSI card.
Also, I save a small amount of money at home as I connect my van set-up via an inverter to power saving lighting in my house.
Regards, Mike.

Hi Mike,
I finally got round to fitting a 60w solar panel in the same place as your rear panel. I had a problem mounting it as the roof is slightly curved,
but I found a caravan enthusiasts website ( Wizard ) and used some brackets from B&Q.

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I used sikaflex to mount the brackets to the roof of the van rather than bolt them down, the brackets were drilled through & the frame of the solar panel was drilled & tapped so the panel can be removed if need be. I used a 2 way feed gland mounted on the roof above the wardrobe to get the cabling inside the van.

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So far so good, We've just come back from 2 weeks away in Pembrokeshire & had just 3 nights where we had a 240v hook up!
Thanks for your original post.

Tim.

Great thread - we're considered a solar panel but were looking to get it professionally fitted as we thought it would be quite complicated.

People seem to mention that their leisure battery is under the drivers seat... but ours is under the bonnet. Is this ok? As for a second leisure battery being needed - where would you put it in a Ford Duetto and how would you wire it in?

... I think we might have to go down the professional route after all.

I shoved a couple of 40w panels on my roof, made 8 x 'corners' by cutting & bending off-cuts from a spare piece of UPVC window-sill, these 'corners'

were about 100 x 100mm & gave the panels a 10mm air-gap. All Sticker-flexed (PU) , no screws & provided all is well cleaned with meths, they will NOT

come adrift. The power cable enters the van from under one panel (well sealed) & is fed into the back of an overhead locker.

All wiring completely hidden behind wall/panels etc. & none can be seen anywhere, & all done in a day (a dry sunny day, remember those)

sharloid wrote:Great thread - we're considered a solar panel but were looking to get it professionally fitted as we thought it would be quite complicated.

People seem to mention that their leisure battery is under the drivers seat... but ours is under the bonnet. Is this ok? As for a second leisure battery being needed - where would you put it in a Ford Duetto and how would you wire it in?

... I think we might have to go down the professional route after all.

Are you sure your leisure battery is under the bonnet? if so, this means you have TWO batteries in the engine compartment. The best place for a second leisure battery, in my mind, is under the sofa on the right hand side in with the Truma boiler & the Eberspacher heater. That's if the layout of the Duetto is the same as the Symbol. I had to fit a couple of short lengths of 2x2 to raise the battery to stop it fouling the boiler drain tube.
It really is a simple operation, but you'll have to wait for it to stop raining!

Didn't we fit these panels for you Mike?

At Malvern show 2010?