sshortcircuit Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 An inverter stores nothing and needs an input either from a solar panel or leisure battery.(or other) Your solar panel only generates electricity when daylight. This electrify can be supplied to an inverter to provide 230volts for a tele. No daylight, no tele. An inverter can also be powered by your leisure battery. When battery discharged, no tele. Solar panels are normally used to charge leisure batteries through a regulator and if you are considering a 600w panel this will be a good output. My panel is 100w and can maintain my leisure batteries, 2@110A/h but then again I do not use a lot of power which is the critical factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 sshortcircuit - 2015-12-11 4:56 PM An inverter stores nothing and needs an input either from a solar panel or leisure battery.(or other) Your solar panel only generates electricity when daylight. This electrify can be supplied to an inverter to provide 230volts for a tele. No daylight, no tele. An inverter can also be powered by your leisure battery. When battery discharged, no tele. Solar panels are normally used to charge leisure batteries through a regulator and if you are considering a 600w panel this will be a good output. My panel is 100w and can maintain my leisure batteries, 2@110A/h but then again I do not use a lot of power which is the critical factor. ____________________________________________________________________ Yes, I sorta understand this, I was under the illusion that inverters stored energy, my panel is a 140 watt running through a basic controller, I thought that a MPPT unit would control a inverter connected directly to its optional load but as it doesn't store energy there wouldn't be any juice in the inverter to watch the TV in the 'twilight zone' many thanks for your clarification..so its back to hookup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Perhaps you were thinking of a UPS inverter. They have small batteries inside them, not any good for our use though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 mentaliss - 2015-12-12 9:21 AM.........................so its back to hookup I'm puzzled as to why you've discounted simply connecting the inverter to your leisure battery. The solar output goes into the battery to charge it. Your consumers are usually connected to the battery, which acts as an energy store. When you need energy (lighting, water pump, heater fan and igniter, etc) it comes from the battery and your solar, alternator, or EHU then put back what has been/is being used - subject to consumption not exceeding input. When consumption exceeds input, the battery charge level will fall, but more slowly than without the input. When consumption ceases the input will, subject to source (the solar panel during daylight, the alternator when the engine is running, and the EHU when connected), then reinstate the battery charge. An inverter is just another consumer. You should ideally position it close to the leisure battery or, if this is not possible, you will need to use substantial cables for the connection to avoid voltage drop. You should also install a switch in a handy place, in the 12V inverter supply, preferably with some visual indication as a reminder that it is on - because the inverter will otherwise continue to draw current (not large, but 24/7) from the battery even when nothing is connected to its 230V output. The distance from the inverter to any 230V socket you install is not critical, as 230V current will not suffer voltage drop over the distances involved in a motorhome. Depending on the rating of the inverter and how much and for what you use it, and on the size and condition of your leisure battery, you may need additional leisure battery capacity to cope with the inverter demand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Many thanks Brian for your input, I suppose the only issue that I didn't understand was the inverter's use, I have looked at installing another battery but there are problems there ..room being the main one, secondly I haven't yet worked out what our 12 volt consumption is as we mainly use hook up or gas, we have never wild camped and have no inclination to do so. I converted all the MH's lights to LED so the 12 volt consumption is minimum...voltage meter on the MH's panel display never drops below 13.6-14 volts..so I suspect at present we don't really need an additional battery :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted December 13, 2015 Share Posted December 13, 2015 On that basis, Larry, why would you want an inverter? Seems it may be a bit superfluous, as it is only really of use when not on EHU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mentaliss Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Yes that's exactly right, travelling back home overnight stays at stopovers anyway seems like I wont be purchasing one anytime soon :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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