mike616
New Member
I just finished my first solar build on my RV a few weeks ago and drove across the country with it. We are currently boondocking at my sister's house.
I have 2x 3kW Growatt inverters, 3.2kW of PV panels, and 10kWh of 24v LiFePO batteries.
Over the last two weeks, I've discovered that I do not have enough batteries to run the AC for very long during the night and be able to recharge them fully the next day while also running the AC if it is over 95 degF outside. That's in full sunlight. Where we are parked is very shady and I doubt I'll get more than 50% of my PV power rating during the day. But it's very humid and stays quite warm at night.
I could fit one more of the EG4 24V 200Ah batteries in my rig but there are two downsides to this: they are around $1500 plus shipping each and that only really gets me about 2 more hours of AC runtime at night.
The other option is to go with a generator for supplementing the nighttime use. I feel like an idiot for going this route because for the money I spent on this solar system, I could have bought a great generator. Plus I may not be able to use it while boondocking at other Harvest Host sites on the way home.
I'm considering a something like the Honda EU2200i (or the Harbor Freight equivalent) but this will only be able to provide power to one of my inverters. They are configured to run in split phase and I think they'll only work if both inverters are getting shore power.
Or, I could use the generator to power a 24V battery charger and hook that up to my battery bank. This should offset my power drain during the night. I don't know if this is feasible but it's an idea I had.
Any advice you all have on supplementing battery power with a generator is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
I have 2x 3kW Growatt inverters, 3.2kW of PV panels, and 10kWh of 24v LiFePO batteries.
Over the last two weeks, I've discovered that I do not have enough batteries to run the AC for very long during the night and be able to recharge them fully the next day while also running the AC if it is over 95 degF outside. That's in full sunlight. Where we are parked is very shady and I doubt I'll get more than 50% of my PV power rating during the day. But it's very humid and stays quite warm at night.
I could fit one more of the EG4 24V 200Ah batteries in my rig but there are two downsides to this: they are around $1500 plus shipping each and that only really gets me about 2 more hours of AC runtime at night.
The other option is to go with a generator for supplementing the nighttime use. I feel like an idiot for going this route because for the money I spent on this solar system, I could have bought a great generator. Plus I may not be able to use it while boondocking at other Harvest Host sites on the way home.
I'm considering a something like the Honda EU2200i (or the Harbor Freight equivalent) but this will only be able to provide power to one of my inverters. They are configured to run in split phase and I think they'll only work if both inverters are getting shore power.
Or, I could use the generator to power a 24V battery charger and hook that up to my battery bank. This should offset my power drain during the night. I don't know if this is feasible but it's an idea I had.
Any advice you all have on supplementing battery power with a generator is greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
