Questions and Answers for Grape Solar 100-Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel for RV's, Boats and 12-V Systems

A:  Thanks for your question! These panels are manufactured in Indonesia.

A:  Look like Oregon. USA

A:  Short answer, no. This is a 12 Volt Direct Current (DC), 100 Watt panel. Your appliances are 120 Volt Alternating Current (AC) and typically require more than 100 Watts. Off grid (not on utility power), you'd need additional panels, an inverter and possibly deep cell batteries, if you desired to operate the system during no sun hours. Best thing would be to contact a solar company locally or online with folks like Northern Arizona Wind and Sun. You'd need to develop a list of appliances, the wattage of each and how often they would operate each day. They could then define your power requirements and ultimately a system.

A:  A single 100 watt panel would never produce enough energy to charge the batteries it would require to run those appliances.

A:  No

A:  No. The 100W panel's output is MC4 type connectors, they should plug right into the MC4 to XT60 solar cable that comes with your power station, and ready to charge.

A:  The camper manual should be able to help you out. None can answer without knowing the max wattage required for the fridge and the lights. Also, solar can only power devices when the sun is shining, so I assume the RV has a battery system that the panels charge up. 

A:  I would run your fridge on propane. Much more efficient and puts no draw on your battery. I can keep my battery charged with a hundred watt panel, but if you have bad weather or are in a shady spot it can be tricky to get enough sun. I primarily use battery power only for light and water pump. I have 30 feet of cable so I can move my panel around to keep it in the sun.

A:  Determine how much power you'll be using. Once known, you can figure how many panels you'll need. Additional panel adapters can be purchased to add on more panels.

A:  Solar panel can put out 18v with no controller 

A:  You can use this for your fish pond and you should use a controller to monitor to monitor the operation.

A:  First assuming that your pump runs on 12 volts dc the answer would be yes/no. Most 12-volt solar panels produce around 17 volts in full sun. Also, without a battery your pump would not run at night. If it were mine, I would use a simple charge controller and a deep cycle AGM battery. Your Marine battery will work but if it is not AGM, it will require monthly maintenance (adding water to cells) Next you should figure how much solar you need, you would need to know what the amperage draw of the pump is, how many hours you want it to run per day and your average sun per day. (How often is it cloudy, can the panel or panels be installed in full sun) If done correctly your solar setup will give you years of trouble-free service. Feel free to email me if you need more info system sizing/component help.

A:  A controller and battery of some kind is required.

A:  To answer your question for the set up I would highly recommend using a controller and battery. It doesn’t have to be a marine battery but in order to have a charged system to work after the sun goes down or any brief interruptions. The solar panels max output is 14.2ish Volts there for you could technically hook it straight to the 12volt pump with out causing any damage. I also recommend building a stand for the solar panel to keep it elevated along with at least a shaded cover for the battery and controller. 

A:  The problem with connecting it directly is there will be a lot of time it will be low voltage. Rainy and cloudy days, every morning and evening. It is best to use a deep cycle battery and a charger. A direct connection the pump would only have enough power from 9 AM to 3 PM on sunny days.

A:  Mark, Thanks for your interest in our product. In theory you can use a panel without a battery, but you still need a controller. Also, you need to check the power rating of the pump to make sure that the output power from the solar panel is adequate to drive the pump. It is a great idea to "use a battery to 'even out' the power fluctuations". If you do not have a battery, your pump will only run when there is enough sunlight, and will not run as smoothly as you like, as the output power from the solar panel depends on weather conditions and season. With a battery, your pump can run 24/7, assuming the panel and battery kit can handle the pump's power consumption. Please refer to the power rating of your pump and calculate if the 100W solar kit is adequate to power your pump. Thanks.

A:  Unless your heat source is gas and you only need power for the fan, it's probably not going to work. Think about it like a light bulb. A 100w panel will probably run the equivalent of a 80w light bulb depending on where you live. This depends on the size of the battery bank you have assuming you want the heat to work at night. So if an 80w light bulb will give you enough heat then it could work.

A:  Nope.  Electric heaters use lots of power.  Most are 1800 watt (even the small ones).  So you need a good size solar set up not just a small panel. 

A:  Please reach out to support@grapesolar.com for assistance in sizing a system.

A:  You need 3 100w solar panels, one 20A charge controller and a 100Ah 12v battery to run a 180w small 12v dc heater (e.g. from Harbor Freight tools) in a very sunny day to run it overnight. It's impossible in a rainy day.

A:  Probably not. A 100w panel will output about 90w max with direct sun and perfectly angled. The smallest space heater pulls about 1000w. Just as important, the output voltage of a single panel is less than 50 volts DC. Most space heaters work at 110volt AC.  So more electronics such as inverter and battery along with many more panels. 

A:  I use mine to charge a 12 v deep cycle battery for lighting in my shed. Works great

A:  100 watts is twice the output of 50 watts. Should charge approximately twice as fast.

A:  A small microwave will use 700w of power per hour of use. An air conditioner at least 1000w per hour. A single 100w panel will produce about 85w per hour so practically speaking you would need more panels than you can fit on a van. Would also need a large battery and at least a 2000w inverter.

A:  I think it would be, but why not just add the 100W to the 50W, giving you a total of 150W.

A:  If 50 watts has been enough for your needs a 100- watt panel would be great. Just make sure your charge controller is capable of the 100- watt input.

A:  I have had one of these panels now three years and it works great comes with waterproof connectors you will need to get matching lines which you can do on the Internet. I highly recommend it

A:  Jackery stations require barrel connectors. I recommend reaching out to Jackery to see if they provide some MC4 to barrel adapter.

A:  Energy demands vary by customer, and not all RVs have the same pre-installed solar connections. Please reach out to support@grapesolar.com for assistance with system design.

A:  It depends on the power requirements of the heater. The nominal power of this solar panel may be 100 watts, but its effective power is somewhat less -- probably more like 60 to 70 watts. If you don't have battery backup then your heater will only work in full sunlight.

A:  The short answer is “No, but .. “ A solar panel won’t directly have enough “horsepower “ to drive a heating element. But .. a battery bank (two or more batteries) and either a DC heater or an AC unit via an inverter COULD be an option. The panel charges the battery, battery supplies juice to a heater, mutt’s happy. Be sure to rate your battery bank toward the amperage draw of the heater, multiplied by the hours needed to operate. A charge controller, used to limit over charge & under drain, is recommended. Google & YouTube have plentiful resources for projects like this.

A:  That may be hard. You only get close to the 100W under ideal conditions (summer, sun overhead, blue sky, panel well aimed, etc.) for a few hours around noon. You probably don't need the heat then. Winter you get less, cloudy days you get very little, and 18+ hours a day you get nothing. If you add a controller and battery, after a perfect sunny day you might be able to run a very small (15W?) heater for the other 18 hours.

A:  No most small heaters are 1300 -1500 watts. You would need a large battery bank ,a 2000 watt inverter and depending on where you live and how long the heater would run you would need upwards of 1000 watts of solar panels. So no solar is not a good option.

A:  It's unlikely that a single 100W panel will be able to power a heater for very long. Please reach out to support@grapesolar.com for assistance with sizing a system.