4th RV Solar Install Complete!
It’s taken almost a year to finish, but today we added the final touches to our RV rooftop 1095W solar system.
System Design Schematic
System Remote Control
Control and monitoring our Victron-based system is worth highlighting. For example, we can use the Victron Touch 50 Monitor which is mounted inside our RV or our iPhones or iPads to check on our RV array and to make changes, such as turning our inverter on or off.
NOTE: Remote monitoring only works if our Victron Touch 50 Display is connected to a WiFi network. However, the Touch 50 display can also be accessed via BlueTooth for short-range communication.
Final System Installation
This part of the process involved mounting and connecting our three REC 365W solar panels.
These panels were huge – 41 x 69 inches! However, all things considered, they were fairly light at 44 pounds each.
Solar Panel Install
The single solar panel that was installed across the RV’s roof presented an unexpected issue . . .
Since our RV’s roof is crowned (higher in the middle, lower on each side), the brackets on the panel’s short sides could not be directly attached to the roof. Doing so would have caused the solar panel to bend in the middle and probably would have broken the glass. Bad mojo. So shims had to be used under some of the mounting brackets to level the panel.
Solar Panel Wiring
The solar panels were installed using series wiring. For the most part, we were able to route the wiring under the panels. After drilling a hole in the RV roof, the positive and negative wires entered the RV via a closet.
The solar panel wires went under our fridge, on the back of our entry steps, and into our electronics bay . . .
We purchased the optional display for our SmartSolar Charge Controller so we could see at a glance how the solar system was working (or not).
Previous Solar Posts
Our 3rd RV Solar Installation (January 2022)
Solar, Batwing, and the Vent (February 2022)
Solar Project Update – 2/3 Done! (June 2022)
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