Been running this setup on my motorhome for three years now and yeah, the isolation bit is crucial. @BrambleElla's right about the Victron Orion-Tr—solid choice though I went with a cheaper Renogy...
Yeah, the cheap controller route burned me too. Got some no-name unit for the motorhome setup a few years back — saved maybe £200 upfront but it couldn't handle the battery monitoring properly,...
Yeah, winter's brutal on the boat. Your panel output sounds about right for December — I'm getting similar figures even with south-facing orientation.
The real game-changer for me was accepting I...
Yeah, winter's brutal for this calc. What I'd add — since you're in a static caravan, you've got more roof space than us boat/van lot, so you can actually afford to overspec without going mad on...
Mate, for a 400W Renogy into that Victron MPPT you're looking at roughly 25A nominal, but the key is the short-circuit current — check your panel specs, it'll likely be around 13-14A Isc.
Rule of...
The landlord angle changes everything tbh. If he's actually sound about it, get that roof space locked down proper — won't get a better deal than free south-facing real estate.
Skip the portable...
Heating with solar alone in winter is pretty much a non-starter, I'm afraid. Even down south you're looking at bugger all generation December-February.
What I'd do: size your solar for...
Spot on that testing in the van makes sense. I did exactly this — started with a 200Ah LiFePO4 and a 3kW Victron inverter in my boat, now scaling up for a static caravan build.
Real talk though:...
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