Plug & Play System?

I'm living in a 32 foot camper on the very edge of our property (married kids are in the house), which is a bit too far from the electric pole to be practical. I also know nothing about electricity or solar. Can anyone recommend an in-the-box system that comes with everything I would need to set it up? I just want to run lights, charge the phone and laptop, and possibly run a mini fridge. The fridge is totally optional but would be nice.

Thanks!

Cindy Reid wrote:I'm living in a 32 foot camper on the very edge of our property (married kids are in the house), which is a bit too far from the electric pole to be practical. I also know nothing about electricity or solar. Can anyone recommend an in-the-box system that comes with everything I would need to set it up? I just want to run lights, charge the phone and laptop, and possibly run a mini fridge. The fridge is totally optional but would be nice.

Thanks!

Hi Cindy, how old is the trailer? And what kind is it? If it's a travel trailer most of them have a ""solar ready" sticker on them at this point linking wires behind a wall for a charge controller to a spot on the roof or a connector outdoors for panels and then to the battery. A trailer is usually wired for 12 volts and already is a power system.
Cheers, David

Personally I believe an " in the box" set up would be quite a lot of money. Compared to piecing it together yourself. You can even look at plug and play systems and build one yourself. Chances are you can find some solar panels on marketplace/craigslist. Having an off grid system requires knowing a little bit about how solar works. So at least learning what is required to build one, will help in repair/maintenance. When something goes wrong do you want to be calling a solar electrician? Are they common where you live?

Will has very useful information on building your own solar system along with other videos related to solar.


Another option which is convenient is solar generators:

Renogy has a variety of systems sizes. I have used them for my travel trailer and am considering a system for my small cabin. 3 years and no problems.

Cindy Reid wrote:I'm living in a 32 foot camper on the very edge of our property (married kids are in the house), which is a bit too far from the electric pole to be practical. I also know nothing about electricity or solar. Can anyone recommend an in-the-box system that comes with everything I would need to set it up? I just want to run lights, charge the phone and laptop, and possibly run a mini fridge. The fridge is totally optional but would be nice.

Thanks!

Hi Cindy -- don't know where you are so all I can do is tell you what I've done here in western New Mexico, USA.  My first system was a patched-together mess of used components (approx 25 years ago).  Every single thing was used, but it was all I could afford.  I got it from somebody who was upgrading.  Before the person took apart the old system I went over it and drew diagrams and also used duct tape to identify everything and where each thing went and how it was connected.  I had a digital camera and I took photos after I put all those bits of duct tape on and before the system was taken apart.  For the next 24 years, anytime I had to replace any component I followed the same procedure.  

Six months ago I approached a local solar store and asked them to put together a system that would meet my needs (from new components this time!!) that additionally included a small (dorm size) electric refrigerator.  They were willing to do so.  They mounted the inverter, breaker box, etc. on a piece of plywood, already wired together.  They labeled everything plus made a diagram.  Then they hooked everything up & turned it on and off  in the showroom while I watched, and then they watched while I hooked everything up myself following their hand-written instructions that were specifically about my system.  They labeled the breaker switches and even put arrows on the labels so I knew which switch was which (in addition to the numbering on labels and switches!).

When I got everything home it was easy to put together, even for an electrical idiot like me.  I did have someone help me only because it all was so heavy.  

My system is awesome but then almost anything would be awesome compared to what I had before.  I'd definitely recommend finding a good solar store and having them put a system together that meets your specific needs.  Also I paid half when I placed the order and the balance the day I picked it up.  

I'd buy again from them in a flash!

The kits are very over-rated, and typically don't include the best quality equipment.  I think they purposely bundle together the stuff they otherwise couldn't sell.  You'll be far ahead shopping for individual components that can be put together.  It's not that hard, and we can help you through it.

Here's the basics for what you need....

The solar panels of course.  They are actually now the cheapest component.  Although you may want to put together a 12V system, DON'T buy 12V solar panels.  For the scale you are looking at, high-voltage grid-tie panels are what you want.  Far more W/$ than 12V panels.  Look on Craigslist for at least 250-300W panels in your local area, with cash and carry pickup.  Expect to get between 2 to 4 watts per dollar.

An MPPT charge controller.  It acts like a transformer, taking the raw high panel voltage and transforming it down to 12V.  The price goes up as the volts and amps they can handle goes up.  Get something that handles at least 100V and 40Amps.  A controller like Epever's  Tracer 4210AN is a good example.  I'm seeing it on Ebay for ~115$ right now.

Batteries:  CostCo has a good deal on golf-cart batteries right now, 6V, 210Ah batteries for 99$ each.  You would wire two in series to get 12V.  Assuming you don't want to drain the batteries more than 50% for long life, that would give you  210Ah X 12V X 50% = 1,260Wh of power, or 1.26kWh.  If you need more power than that for the refrigerator, you can upgrade to four batteries, and wire two parallel strings of them for 2.5kWh of power.

A 12V inverter.  Get one that is UL listed.  There is a lot of complete junk out there, and one way to spot a quality unit is whether or not it is UL listed.  Get sine-wave if you want to run anything that has an electric motor.  Avoid modified sine-wave or square-wave units.  Samlex is a good budget brand.  You might get by with just 600W or 1000W if you just want to run little stuff.  With a refrigerator, I'd get the 1500W model.  Although the frig may only run on 100-200W, electric motors have what's called "starting surge" which might be 3-5 times higher than the running wattage.  It only needs that for 1 second or so till the motor starts turning, but typically it's the motors starting that stops a lesser inverter in it's tracks.

Lastly, some wire, fuses, and some spit.  You want relatively thin 10gauge wire from the panels to the controller, but typically thick 6-4 gauge wire from the controller to the batteries, and the batteries to the inverter.  You can buy the heavy wire by the foot at Home Depot.

So, all together its....

Two 250W panels: 150$
40A charge controller: 115$
Two 6V batteries: 200$
100W inverter: 425$
Wire, fuses, switches, and stuff 100$
Total: ~1000W

This will be a far higher quality system then any "kit" you can buy.

How about this:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/legion-solar-7-home-ev-rv-camper-power-system#/

I bought this one fall of 2022.  I am happy

https://shopsolarkits.com/products/complete-all-in-one-solar-kit-mpp-lv2424-2-400w-120v-24vdc-800-watts-solar-pv-hbk-2?currency=USD&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A13711705867%3A127006996049%3A530655523179&nb_adtype=pla&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=pla-1457488565996&nb_mi=127247424&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=shopify_US_6624068468876_39422266802316&nb_ppi=1457488565996&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&c1=GAW&source=prospecting&cr2=shopping_-_us_-_all-in-one_kits&kw=shopify_US_6624068468876_39422266802316&cr7=m&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign={campaign}&utm_term=shopify_US_6624068468876_39422266802316&campaignid=13711705867&adgroupid=127006996049&creative=530655523179&matchtype=&network=g&device=m&keyword=shopify_US_6624068468876_39422266802316&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A13711705867%3A127006996049%3A530655523179&nb_adtype=pla&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=pla-1457488565996&nb_mi=127247424&nb_pc=online&nb_pi=shopify_US_6624068468876_39422266802316&nb_ppi=1457488565996&nb_placement=&nb_si={sourceid}&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyracBhDoARIsACGFcS5vvXtHxR6rdXotWtcUvyJq3DLQRAal--C2UUjSPno5kqw3TSWRZ5waAmsuEALw_wcB

Here's a link to the kits from the place I got my kit from (there were a few changes made but mine's basically the 3000W lithium battery option).  I don't live in AZ and I never could figure out how to get the tax credits in NM.  
https://www.wmsolaraz.com/off-grid-solar/

The set up and company that Paul posted looks interesting. Whatever you decide, just be cautious or bypass Renogy.
Our experience was terrible and ended up filing a fraud claim with our credit card company. Long, drawn out stressful ordeal. Maybe someday we’ll try again. Just not with Renogy.
Best of luck to you.

I have installed two of these systems. One in a bus with panels on top and one in an RV with remote panels. They even have an EMP proof upgrade.

https://www.sol-ark.com/