Aaron Noel
New Member
Hello everyone, newbie poster, but longtime visitor and reader on this site and on YT. My question or problem I suppose, is one that has been discussed on here plenty I'm sure. About 3 years ago when many prices started to drop on various solar panels and accessories, I finally took the dive and learned as much as I could about solar. Around that time, I had bought a new RV and was certain a 12v system and 100ah batteries was the best way forward for my needs. Due to some life circumstances, this stuff sat for over 2.5 years before I finally got everything on my RV and working in July of this year. Everything works, except I haven't hooked up all my solar panels. I'd like to know from you experts on here if I am doing things to maximize what I have. Currently I have 9 Renogy 100W solar panels on the roof of a 29' Coachmen TT. It was pre-wired for solar with 10AWG cable. I connected a Renogy Rover 60a MPPT controller with a Vevor 3500w Pure Sine Wave Inverter. I have 5 total Power Queen 100ah LifePO4 batteries and a Renogy battery monitor with shunt that I don't have connected at the moment, because I kept getting odd readings, so naturally thought I messed something up. I have used 4 AWG cable to connect the batteries together in Parallel and have used Will's videos to use proper fuses, breakers and such.
Where I start to get confused is the whole series vs Parallel argument and how much I can connect. I actually have 4 more 100w panels on the roof right now that are not connected, because I'm unsure about voltage, Watts, or pretty much everything being too much. What would any of you change about this current setup (besides going 24v and other upgrades, I get it)? Am I able to run that much solar power through the existing wiring in the RV? This RV is one of those that can go below freezing, so it's pretty much impossible to run any new wiring underneath, unless someone has some ideas on that as well. Thanks so much for reading.
Where I start to get confused is the whole series vs Parallel argument and how much I can connect. I actually have 4 more 100w panels on the roof right now that are not connected, because I'm unsure about voltage, Watts, or pretty much everything being too much. What would any of you change about this current setup (besides going 24v and other upgrades, I get it)? Am I able to run that much solar power through the existing wiring in the RV? This RV is one of those that can go below freezing, so it's pretty much impossible to run any new wiring underneath, unless someone has some ideas on that as well. Thanks so much for reading.