Solar Panels and Snow Gotcha

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Here's a little technical tidbit you might not have thought about. Any way I didn't consider it when we bought the solar panels and there is nothing on the product sheet to warn the unsuspecting:

'Went out to check on the the battery condition since parking the BF about 2 weeks ago and the battery was down to about 12.3 VDC. This is not a big problem but it was a surprise none the less. It is disconnected from the coach and left on the solar panels. There's about 4" of snow on the roof that's been there the whole time and the panel output is down to about 10.3 VDC - not enough to provide any charging. OK, I expected that.

Before the BF I used to use a little 5w panel which didn't need a controller. It kept the batteries topped off for months; as long as the snow melted off once a month or so and it didn't require much attention.

It takes a few seconds for my old brain to catch up - the charge controller is running off the battery full time (i.e., day, night, snow and sun). And. it is always showing the battery status on those little LEDs. Gotcha!

So the thing that you'd expect to protect your batteries all winter might be the thing that kills your batteries.

I'll have to do a little investigating when I find the time. I'm thinking I might modify the controller to put the LEDs on a push button switch as I suspect they are the major source of current draw. Another idea would be to replace the LEDs with a digital VOM on a push button which would be a lot better indicator anyway.

Another possibility is to disconnect the solar panels when it snows and reconnect when it melts off. (However, one thing is certain. I'm not getting on that BF roof with snow and ice up there - way too slick! )

Safe Travels,
Mike