How Many Solar Panels Do I Need to Power My RV Residential Refrigerator When In Storage

Question:

We have a 2018 FR CC Hathaway 38FBD. We have a roof port. Wanting to keep batteries charged but would like to keep fridge powered while stored. Do you know the solar wiring configuration for our 5th wheel and what if anything we might need to acquire to accomplish what I stated above? We have a residential refrigerator and 2 deep charge batteries.

asked by: Ronnie W

Helpful Expert Reply:

We have just what you're looking for the Go Power Solar AE-6 All Electric System with 2 MPPT Solar Controllers - 1,140 Watt Solar Panels # 342-75011, but you're also going to need to add some more batteries to your setup in order to make sure that the proper amount of power is stored for this application. This is the highest capacity solar package we offer and is ideal for solutions that require over 300 amp hours per day. It's most likely that you already have a Go Power compatible plug in on the top of your 2018 Cedar Creek Hathaway, so this will install directly into those ports which are already wired to your power distribution panel.

In order to properly operate your refrigerator in this manner and run off solar power you're going to need probably 6 total batteries with 200-amp hours per battery to accomplish this; this will supply you with a bank of roughly 1200 amp hours of power. I would strongly recommend upgrading all of the batteries in your bank to either Lithium or at least AGM batteries to provide you with the ability to run down further without requiring a charge.

Why do you need so large of a power bank? When it comes to your fridge, the Everchill # 324-000119 consumes about 11 amps per hour off of your house battery(s), so it's going to consume 264 amp hours of energy per day- so running it all day long is going to completely deplete a single battery and then some without any charging system providing power to it. You've stated that you have a residential fridge, which will likely draw around the same amount, but you will lose power during the 12v to 120v conversion; I'll also note that you will need a pure sine wave inverter on your coach similar to the Go Power # 34275013 if you current inverter is not capable of inverting to pure sine waves.

I've linked some informational articles that we've put together on solar panels that you might want to have a look at as well, but don't hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions.

expert reply by: Erik B