{"id":659,"date":"2017-12-20T16:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T06:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4wdsupacentre.com.au\/news\/?p=659"},"modified":"2017-12-20T08:37:10","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T22:37:10","slug":"the-4wders-guide-to-solar-part-1-of-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/the-4wders-guide-to-solar-part-1-of-4\/","title":{"rendered":"THE 4WDER\u2019S GUIDE TO SOLAR – Part 1 of 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

10 of the most common solar misconceptions busted by solar industry gurus!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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As the solar power industry explodes in Australia, just about everyone is adding solar to their 12v camping setup. And why wouldn\u2019t you? You get the ability to keep your batteries topped up without having to run a generator or go for a drive, and that means the ability to stay in those epic campsites for longer.<\/p>\n

But just as more solar options means more choice for 4WDers, so too does it mean the potential for more confusion. Across the following few articles we\u2019ve found some 12v solar power experts to ask about the most common misconceptions and errors that people make when adding solar power to their setup.<\/p>\n

Forgive us if you already know a few of these points, but it\u2019s worth going over \u2013 and we guarantee you\u2019ll pick something up along the way!<\/p>\n

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  1. WHAT\u2019S NEEDED TO ADD SOLAR TO MY CAMPING SETUP?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Firstly, of course you will need a solar panel<\/u><\/a>, but you also need a way to regulate the power it produces. Many panels will in full sunlight produce up to 20V of power, which is more than enough to boil batteries. That\u2019s where you need a regulator, which drops power to between 13 and 14v \u2013 safe for the batteries. Some panels come with their own regulator, like the Adventure Kings 160W Solar Panel <\/u><\/a>some other brands do not. Many DC\/DC chargers like the CTEK D250SA<\/u><\/a> have their own in-built solar regulator which negates the need for one installed on the panel.<\/p>\n

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    1. PWM v MPPT REGULATORS \u2013 WHAT\u2019S THE DIFFERENCE? <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Most entry-level solar setups use a \u2018Pulse Width Modulation\u2019 (PWM) regulator<\/a><\/u> which is cheaper to produce than the more-complicated \u2018Multi-Point Power Tracking\u2019 (MPPT) regulator<\/a><\/u>. Both will work absolutely fine in the majority of cases.<\/p>\n

      PWM regulators<\/u><\/a> lower the amount of voltage supplied to the battery as it nears its full capacity to prevent it from being over-charged. MPPT regulators<\/a><\/u> convert excess voltage into amperage, meaning that batteries are charged quicker. In many cases, replacing a PWM regulator<\/a><\/u> with an MPPT <\/u><\/a>one will increase the charging power you get out of the panel.<\/p>\n

      Most regulators that are designed to charge a battery will need to be connected to a battery before they will output. If your regulator is designed to charge a battery, connect it up and measure the current flow into the battery to see if it is working correctly.<\/p>\n

      To be continued….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      10 of the most common solar misconceptions busted by solar industry gurus!   As the solar power industry explodes in Australia, just about everyone is adding solar to their 12v camping setup. And why wouldn\u2019t you? You get the ability to keep your batteries topped up without having to run a generator or go for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123456,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":665,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions\/665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}