Caravans and Motorhomes

Solar panels can be used to keep batteries charged in your caravan or motorhome to give an independent electricity supply without the noise and stench of engines and generators, or the inconvenience of finding mains hook-ups. They mean you can go off grid for a longer period or live in your vehicle full time and because the battery is being kept charged, batteries will need replacing much less often. Over winter, even small solar panels will provide power for low power devices like alarms and trackers.

Solar panels are normally permanently fixed to the caravan or motorhome roof, meaning they can’t be easily angled to catch the sun., but with the major advantages that they don’t take up storage space or need to be transported separately and they are working all day, every day.

These connect to the van storage battery (usually 12V) via a charge controller which stores power for later use. Power can then be used directly to run 12V DC loads such as: LED lighting, TV, radio, pumps, fans, phone charging.

By incorporating an inverter, 230 Vac appliances can be powered such as audio- visual equipment, microwave, vacuum cleaner, satellite system or computer.