Solar powered RVing sounds fantastic, doesn’t it? Living off the grid, saving on electrical costs, going green—what’s not to love?
But installing an RV solar power kit is a big undertaking, and you should make sure you know what you need—and whether it’s the right choice for you—before you take the plunge. Here’s the basics on solar power for your RV.
RV Solar Power: What You Need to Know
There are two kinds of solar power setups
- Trickle charging for the house batteries
- Primary electrical
Trickle charging keeps your house batteries at capacity when you’re off the grid for a while. Just like any other battery that’s not in use for a lengthy time, they’ll eventually drain just sitting idle. So trickle charging lets you maintain your house batteries’ life without plugging into a hookup. All you need is a solar trickle charger—installation is pretty straightforward.
You can also use solar cells as your main power source, going completely off-grid. In this case, you’ll need to do some math to figure out exactly how much power you need to generate and what size solar kit you’ll need.
You’ll need it if you’re boondocking for a while
If you’re boondocking, or dry camping, you won’t have any electrical hookups, so you’ll need a power source. Trickle charging won’t cut it—you’ll need an RV solar system as your primary power. DoItYourselfRV has a terrific intro guide to get you started on choosing the right solar kit for boondocking.
It gives you more freedom
Having an RV solar kit means you can camp anywhere for as long as you like, without worrying about whether there’s a hookup available. Solar power is completely silent and odor-free, constantly at work from dawn till dusk, and doesn’t harm the environment. You gain a lot of freedom when you can cut your cords and go off-grid.
Solar powered RVs are an investment
While you can save some money (probably not a lot) using solar power for your motorhome, you should be prepared to make an investment into it. Solar kits range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. And you’ll probably underestimate your energy needs as well as overestimate your energy collection. So be prepared to upgrade after a while.
You can do it yourself
The larger your solar kit, the more work that’s required. But you can do it yourself if you’re willing to put in the work and do plenty of research beforehand. Still, if you’re using it as your primary power source, it can be complicated enough that you might want to consider hiring a pro.
It’s not for everyone
Because solar requires financial and physical investment—and planning—to make it work, it’s not for everyone. It doesn’t always make sense to make the switch, and Technomadia lists a few great reasons why you might want to stick to the grid. So do your research and count the cost before you jump in. But if a solar kit for your RV makes sense for you, you’re gonna love it!
By all means, don’t choose to go solar just because it could save you a few dollars or because it’s the fashionable thing for RVers to do. Make sure it’ll fit your lifestyle and that it makes sense for the kind of RVing you do. But if solar powered RVing is a good fit for you, we hope you enjoy your life off the grid!
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