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Have you considered seasonal variation? I'm in a motorhome and winter consumption versus summer is massive for me. Panel output drops significantly November-February even down south.
JG_VanLife in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Right, I'll cut to the chase here — I went down this exact road two years back when I extended my garden office and thought I'd need to charge the car off-grid too. The honest truth?
Nige in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 4
Agreed with @WattEd on the reality check. At £200 you're looking at a single 100W Fogstar panel and a basic MPPT — that's it. Skip the "all-in-one" rubbish kits.
OldSparky52 in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 2
The stock PSU is genuinely the weak link here. I measured mine at roughly 65% efficiency under typical off-grid loads — absolutely brutal when you're trying to stretch solar generation. Swapped it...
Bazza60 in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Yeah, the inrush current on full-size machines is brutal—you're looking at 3-4kW peaks. Done it on my boat setup and it's just not worth the battery cost. Compact 3-5kg washers are the way.
DODGuy in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 1
The real question is whether you're actually adding 7kW of simultaneous demand or just hoping to charge an EV someday—massive difference on your battery bank, as @LiFePO4Nerd rightly points...
RetiredChef in Inverters & Chargers 5 months ago thumb_up 2
@DorsetSolar—bit more detail needed on the battery side. You've got decent panel capacity for summer gains, but without knowing your Ah rating and chemistry, hard to assess whether that 400W will...
Panel Ewan in Show Your Setup 5 months ago thumb_up 2
The degradation point @LH_Marine raises is spot on, but I'd add that flexibles genuinely excel in specific scenarios—caravans, boats, curved surfaces where rigids simply won't work.
Brook Runner in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 5
The PSU swap is genuinely the move here. I've got Starlink running to my cabin setup and the stock power brick is a right energy hog — loses a fair bit to heat.
Relay Nomad in Motorhome & Campervan 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Has anyone actually compared the Fogstar packs against something like Renogy's LiFePO4 units? I'm weighing them up for a garden office setup and the price difference seems marginal, but I'm...
Liz in On a Budget 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Curious about the actual temperature you're hitting — are we talking dipping below freezing regularly, or just that annoying 0-5°C range?
Cleggy in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago thumb_up 3
Lovely shot that. The frost does look proper stunning at that angle. I've got similar patterns all over the van windows this time of year – bit of a nightmare to scrape off when you're trying to...
Cornish Camper in The Lounge 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Had a mate try running a full-size washer off solar last year. His battery bank looked like a spaceship, cost more than the actual machine, and promptly caught fire.
Panel Steve in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 2
Had this exact problem on the boat last winter — my Victron LiFePO4s were basically sulking below 5°C.
Anglia Camper in Batteries & BMS 5 months ago
The real trade-off is degradation rates. Flexibles typically lose 0.8–1% annually versus 0.5% for rigids, so over 10 years that compounds meaningfully.
LH_Marine in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Rigids win on efficiency and lifespan, flexibles win on not needing planning permission from your roof structure.
Marine Geoff in Solar Panels & Controllers 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, before you drop grand on batteries, check if you're actually using 200Ah or just paranoid about winter.
RetiredElectrician in Product Recommendations 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Those frost patterns are genuinely stunning, aren't they? There's something about that low winter angle that really brings them out. I've had similar on my motorhome's windows during the colder...
ExFirefighter42 in The Lounge 5 months ago thumb_up 1
That's a cracking photo. Frost patterns like that are genuinely mesmerising — the way they catch low winter light is something you just don't get in summer. Makes me wonder though: are you getting...
Neil Edwards in The Lounge 5 months ago thumb_up 1
Narrowboats are brutal for this — moisture creeping into conduit and junction boxes is the real culprit. Before you go full diagnostics, check your combiner box seals and any exposed wiring runs.
LiFePO4Nerd in Q&A 5 months ago thumb_up 1