TurnThePage
North ID
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I'm very near to picking up a new travel trailer that I intend to pack with solar and LiFePO4 batteries. It's a 30A 120VAC RV. I understand the electrical wiring advantages of the higher DC voltage configuration, but what does everybody do with their 12v appliances?
I'm hoping for around 1500 watts of solar and no less than 1000Ah of 12v batteries. Is there a good reason not to stick to a 12v configuration?
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rk911
DuPage County
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what DC appliances that use other than 12-volts are you looking at?
Rich
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TurnThePage
North ID
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None. The trailer comes with a 12v compressor fridge, and the usual other stuff, like 12v water pump, 12v controls for the furnace, etc.
And that's my point. Why go with the more efficient, yet non-conforming higher voltage systems? I only ask because my learning process includes videos of people that have made beautiful systems, come back and say if they could do it over, they'd opt for 24v or 48v.
I could see it in a bigger rig maybe, but that's why I'm asking. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer and don't want to make an expensive mistake.
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2oldman
NM
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Victron 48 >12v converter. I got the 30a size to handle slides and jacks
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rk911
DuPage County
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i'm an old fart and have always tried to live by...keep it simple, stupid. the more wonky a system, the more headaches it will cause.
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TurnThePage
North ID
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rk911 wrote:i'm an old fart and have always tried to live by...keep it simple, stupid. the more wonky a system, the more headaches it will cause. I absolutely agree!
2oldman wrote:Victron 48 >12v converter. I got the 30a size to handle slides and jacks THAT'S the info I was looking for! Thanks! I figured stuff like that was available, but was in danger of drowning in data when perusing their website.
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wa8yxm
Davison Michigan (East of Flint)
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in high power installs (Say house 120 volt back up) higher voltages = smaller wires but in an RV the wires are not that long... There may be other issues too but I'd stick with 12 volt cause that's what you eat.
Arguing against other configurations: IN order to feed your 12 volt stuff including Control power for Fridge, Water heater and AC as well as lights (You can buy other voltages) fans (Theroatically you can get other voltages) and the Furnace (12 volt) and water pump (12 volt) you will need to "Convert" the higher voltage down.. There are several "Conversion" methods which range from wasteful to WASTEFUL!!!! of energy... None are 100%.. so your most effieicent install will be 12 volt all the way.. Well. 13.6-14.2 but but we still call it 12.
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WNYBob
Tonawanda, NY
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Here's a site with good information.
Samlex America (no affiliation)
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2oldman
NM
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wa8yxm wrote:so your most efficiecent install will be 12 volt all the way.. I have 835w of solar so I don't care about efficient. Conversion losses are tiny compared to my usage.
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time2roll
Southern California
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I have 675w solar, 1000 AH battery and 2000w inverter all at 12 volts. Works great. Large battery is not a big deal but a larger inverter and solar starts to be impractical. With 1500 watts solar may need 2 or more controllers at 12 volt. Inverter maybe 3000w would be 12v maximum and even that would be better at 24v.
Equipment at 36v is fairly thin. I would avoid this. Equipment at 48v is probably overkill unless powering a 50 amp RV with two A/C and probably 2kW+ solar.
Charging from the vehicle needs a step up converter, powering existing 12v items needs a step down converter. Step up for charging may not matter much with 1500w solar. Step down need enough power to run the slide, emergency braking, and leveling system if equipped. Some of these 12v items can be high amp draws and exceed the rating of most equipment.
Post a list of primary equipment for evaluation before purchasing.
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