Our solar system has been upgraded to 255 watts; wired in series, almost tripling our initial capacity of 95 watts and we've added a 3000 watt modified sine wave inverter. A 50 amp transfer switch automatically disengages the inverter if shore power is detected. We can now power all A/C plugs and our microwave.
LED lights, water pump, furnace fan and our entertainment system were already on the campers 12V system, so this upgrade allows the batteries to be topped up faster when using these systems. Our HW heater is 2-way - 120V/propane. Our furnace is 1-way propane (with 12V used to power the fan). Our refrigerator is 3-way - 12V/120V/propane.
LOAF is truly capable of off-grid travel now ... the only item or appliance that is not able to be powered while dry camping or boondocking is our air conditioner. We rarely use it and have found that our MAGIC Fan, which runs off 12V works well to draw air through the camper.
In the future, we may add another roof panel (small). We have a couple of options for locating additional batteries and when the time comes to replace the AGM's we now have, we may do that. By that time, Lithium batteries may have come down enough in price and that could be another option for us.
New XANTREX 190 watt solar kit (foreground)
JIAWEI 95 watt solar kit (upper right)
New 50 amp transfer switch (lower left)
(2) EXIDE AGM Group 31C batteries, total 200 amp hrs (top)
New GOPOWER 3000 watt modified sine wave inverter.
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Glad we didn't go the noisy generator route!
Crusty
