If you’ve ever thought about RV solar panel installation, a solar RV kit can be a great way to go. One kit comes with everything you need for your RV to be solar powered. We break down with a kit comes with and what everything is for.
The solar panel kit
The solar panel kit itself comes with solar panels, the size of which depends on the kit, and what you intend to use your solar power for. Most kits will come with a mount set, so you can physically mount the panels onto your RV. A harness is a tool that helps run the cables between the combiner box and the controller, and from there to the batteries. With most kits, you’ll receive cables that you’ll need to hook everything up.
Charge Controller
Most kits will come with a charge controller. You might need to add on some monitoring equipment, as all kits might not include monitoring equipment. Charge controllers are used for regulating your solar power output, to deliver more of a current to the battery bank.
Monitoring system
Some kits come with a great feature for monitoring power, like a Bluetooth compatible dongle system. It’s a system that can be synced with your smartphone via Bluetooth, to help you monitor your solar power input on your cell phone.
Roof Combiner
This is a smaller box that houses the cables running from your solar panels. This box monitors your solar panel output, and seals the cables off from roof penetration.
Most kits also come with a form of sealant, one that the company recommends. Most solar panel installation companies will use a form of sealant to seal around the solar panel mounts, the cable management, combiner boxes, and anything else on the roof.
Solar Kits
Most solar kits will feature everything you need to run your solar RV. There are always customization’s you can make to collect more power or run different things. But the kits will help you put the power you collect into a battery bank. Some systems will recommend an upgrade to a lithium battery bank, as there are added benefits to lithium batteries. Kits with monitoring systems that can you can access with your phone, make the monitoring of power collected a lot easier.
If you’re willing to invest in upgrades, you may be able to collect more power and run different appliances. Talk to your local solar RV outfitter and see what’s possible for you.
