Solar Panel Kits for Motorhomes and Campers

With solar panel kits for motorhomes, the important part is picking the correct solar system for your requirements. This is usually driven by available space and how you're going to use the motorhome or campervan. If you're just doing day trips and rarely wild camp then a simple solar panel and leisure battery kit like the 115-watt campervan solar panels kit is ideal for that.

Please note we advise our systems are installed by a qualified / competent person.

If you intend to wild camp for a few days at a time when you will require a larger array. The size of your solar panel array is usually decided by the available space which can sometimes be limited on a motorhome. So the ideal size of an array of solar panels for campervans is very specific to the space available. 

Take a look a the guide below to get a rough idea on what the suggested sizing is for different types of motorhomes and caravans: 

These solar panel and leisure battery kits are for use in Motorhomes, Caravans and Boats and are designed to provide power to the off grid batteries/leisure battery to help run fridges, lights and inverter etc, whilst wild camping or away from an electrical hook up. 

The way to produce the best results from your leisure battery and solar panel kit is to have as much solar panels for your motorhome that you can fit on the roof and the largest solar panel battery storage as you can fit within the vehicle.  This way you are more likely to run off the solar power produced and will have excess to store in the batteries which can be used in the motorhome during the night. 

Will a solar panel charge a leisure battery?

The power generated by  a solar panel is DC or Direct Current, this is compatible with your leisure battery and will charge it with no problems. If you connect this to an mppt controller this will charge the battery, and help keep the battery health by not allowing it to drain when there isn't enough sun to charge the leisure battery.

Is 100w solar panel enough?

Our solar panel and leisure battery kits start at 115w which is a single solar panel, this is enough to power small devices and appliances like mobile phones, lighting, small fans, laptops. Bigger devices such as heaters, TV's, air condition, high powered gaming computers and other large appliances will require more than a 100w solar panel. 

What happens to excess solar power when batteries are full?

When solar panel and leisure battery kit is connected to a battery, the solar panels will charge the battery during the day when there is sunlight.  When the battery is full the solar panel system will continue to put through energy however it will have nowhere to be stored to so some system will automatically shut this off or if they have a MPPT ( maximum power point tracking) this will try to optimise the charging of the battery by continuing to supply power to the battery however at a lower voltage, this helps to prevent the system from wasting the excess energy. 

Is it worth adding batteries to solar panels?

Whether you should add batteries to a solar panel system or not comes down to a number of different factors. These include but are not limited to: the cost of the batteries, the amount of electricity that the solar panel array can produce, and the energy usage of the motorhome or campervan that is intending to use the system.

One of the main benefits of adding batteries to a solar panel system is that it allows you store any excess electricity that is produced during the day. This electricity can be used at night, at a later date when their isn't as much sun light or a times when the solar isn't producing enough to supply the current demand.  Adding batteries to your solar panels increases the chances of you being able to run your motorhome on completely clean renewable energy, reducing your reliance on grid power. 

Do solar panels work at night without a battery?

Solar panels on motorhome do not produce electricity at night without a battery because they produce electricity by converting sunlight into electricity using a process called photovoltaics. During the night there is obviously no sunlight so the solar panels cannot generate electricity. 

Do solar panels work in the rain?

Solar panels for campervans do work in the rain however the amount of electricity it is able to produce can be reduced. It all depends on how much sunlight is able to make its way clearly to the solar panels on your motorhome. Rain is actually good for solar panels sometimes because it can help clear off the dust and other rubbish they may have collected over time and this can help restore some of their efficiency. 

Campervan solar panel installers near me

We don't actually do campervan solar panel installs however we have built up professional relationships with local companies that do install and due to the nature of our business we have access to a whole network of businesses and people who may be able to the installation for you. 

Is it worth having a solar panel on a motorhome?

Installing a solar panel on your motorhome can be a worthwhile investment. During sunny periods it will keep your battery charged during usage and will refill a battery that has been used. Keeping your motorhome battery charged with motorhome solar panels is a good idea as keeping it charged can help the battery stay in good condition and prolong the battery life.

How many solar panels do I need for my motorhome?

This is entirely dependent on your battery size and usage requirements. For example if you have a 110ah battery which when you're using last roughly a two day trip away. That means you used 55ah on average per day to run whatever usage you were using in the motorhome for those two days. To keep up with this you would need motorhome solar panels that can generate at least 55ah per day. Our semi flexible solar panel kit has an 80 watt solar panel that has the ability to generate that much however we generally recommend going for a more wattage solar panels to produce as much energy as possible.