If you would like to travel self-sufficiently and go on holiday with your motorhome away from campsites, you still need electricity. Fortunately, solar systems have long been established in camping and are a sensible solution.
But how much does the system have to be able to do? HYMER shows you how you can easily find out.
Individual needs influence the required output of the solar system
The starting point for your considerations is always the individual power consumption of all your devices in the motorhome. In addition to the refrigerator, the bill also includes lighting, charging mobile devices, heating and anything else that is important to you and requires electricity.
Therefore, first note down all electricity consumers including the associated consumption in watts per hour. You then determine how long each device is used each day. Then multiply the number of watts per hour by the exact number of hours.
An example: You use the LED light on your bed for two hours a day. It consumes 3 watts, a total of 6 watts are needed per day.
At the end of the overall calculation you will receive a value that shows the consumption per day. This is the minimum output that your solar system should be able to provide.
By the way, this calculation always makes sense - regardless of whether you want to retrofit a solar system into an existing motorhome or purchase a new vehicle with a system from the factory.
Also pay attention to the seasons
A solar system in a motorhome works with solar energy. If you travel in winter, there is of course significantly less sun available than during the summer months. Be sure to take this into account when calculating.
Assuming you need 400 watt hours per day, depending on the season it looks like this:
- In summer you need 80 watts of power for five hours of sunshine
(400 watt hours / 5 hours) - In winter you need the full 400 watts of power for one hour of sunshine
(400 watt hours / 1 hour)
How many watts does a solar module produce per hour?
This depends on the design and the respective model. You can find out what power a solar module in a motorhome can deliver either in the technical specifications or from your manufacturer.
Watt or Watt Peak? An important distinction
Many manufacturers of solar modules do not specify the system's output in watts, but instead use the term Watt Peak (Wp for short). This describes the performance of the system under optimal conditions.
Therefore, please remember that actual performance may be lower. It is recommended to buy a solar system that is approximately 20 to 30 percent higher than the calculated required output.
Important: To ensure that electricity flows even without the sun, you need a camping solar system with storage. Different types of batteries are available here, although their actual capacity can differ significantly from the nominal capacity.
This is especially true for lead batteries, where only around 50 to 60 percent of the nominal capacity can be used. Be sure to take this into account when choosing the battery size.
For our HYMER Smart Battery System 2.0, however, we use powerful LFP lithium cells that can be discharged up to 80 percent. For even more self-sufficiency!
Conclusion: Anyone who calculates cleverly will benefit in the long term
If you take enough time to calculate your camping solar system, nothing will stand in the way of sensible dimensioning.
Be sure to take future travel plans and the sunshine situation in your preferred travel countries into account.
If you still have questions and would like advice, we will be happy to help you.