Portable power for your vehicle - dual battery systems
When choosing a solar setup for your vehicle there are a few things that you need to factor in to determine what size of products you will need. It is not advisable to rush down to your local camping / battery store just because they have a sale on and buy before doing your homework as you may be wasting your hard earned money on buying incorrect components.
The things you are going to need to know are :
- What devices you are going to run off your battery
- For how long each of your devices will run for
- We will calculate the draw estimates once the is power of each device is provided for each specific device.
- We also need to establish if you are wanting to run your set-up on just solar as an independent power source say for free camping that could be limited by sun exposure. Weight and manoeuvrability is also key to speccing the right solution.
- Or if you are going to incorporate a second battery and a DC-DC charger to charge your auxiliary battery from your alternator while you are driving. This is know as a dual battery system.
- Another consideration is whether you want fixed roof panels or portable panels or a combination of both.
All these factors are going to determine what size solar panels and battery size and battery chemistry are going to best suit your purpose and budget. In general, you always want to make sure you are pumping more into your battery than what you are taking out because at night you will be discharging your battery without recharge.
Come in and see us at Warners Bay Auto Electrics as we are more than happy to discuss and helping you out with setting your vehicle up for the weekend trips with the kids or to travel around the country for months on end. Doing it right is money well spent so you can keep your food fresh, your drinks cold, your phones and computers charged and lights running.





