![]() |
Secure UK on-line accessory shopping |
![]() |
![]() |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
CURRENT FEATURES |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| VeeTech Solar Panels & Rutland Wind Power |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Up to 10% Member Cashback! Click here for info on this excellent 2010 offer. Message of the moment: "Thanks ..., Great service I will keep you as one of my favourites". ED.
PgDn to go
straight to the Solar & Wind power products. See also our other power
pages - leisure batteries, self-energy, fuel cells, also inverters, LEDs,
Gaslow refillables, etc. Please do for help and/or advice - it's one of the services that sets us apart! Independent Power - Which one? A frequent and tricky question! None of the solutions are perfect with each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Solar and wind power are the greenest followed by fuel cells and then LPG & petrol & diesel generators have the biggest carbon footprints. None are completely green of course each having a materials and manufacturing footprint so power conservation is important too.
Beginners Guide to Solar Power: Out of the great mass of information I've waded through recently there seem to be a few solid and useful guidelines for the less technically inclined ... 1. Don't worry about different cell technologies, the 'mono-crystalline' type are the most common for motorhomers because they are more efficient and give more 'bang for your buck' in most circumstances and so suit most people most of the time. With bigger sales volumes they tend to be competitively priced too. They are also said to be longer lived. But - if you really want polycrystalline we offer one below. 2. Whatever size you think you'll need it may not seem enough in practice! This is especially true further north. You can make all sorts of calculations but all have to assume some sort of balance between good and bad weather so in practice you should go for the biggest you can sensibly fit and afford. For general holidaying that will be between 50-100W and probably 80-120W or more in the UK. That said do remember that their fairly modest output is available all the time and the many hours of steady but modest solar charging will usually be adequate for ordinary electrical use. Also with our controller you can start with one panel and add a second if and when you wish to. 3. A good battery bank is pretty much essential because we use power in bursts and generally more of it in bad weather and less in good weather. As a result you will need at least two leisure batteries to make the best of solar power by storing all that good-weather energy for use when the light deteriorates. 4. Flat panels are the most convenient being 'fit and forget' apart from an occasional wash. 5. Quite apart from overall capacity, there is some extra advantage in having two panels rather than one. In practice only those with higher power demands will spend the extra on this in which case point six also comes into play. Maybe these high power users will also consider adding wind power for extra versatility as well as extra capacity to both panels and batteries.
6. You can get four or five or more times the normal
output from a panel by making it constantly face the sun. Auto-elevating
and tracking units claim to provide about 5x the daily charge of flat
mounted panels. They show much greater gains in winter when the panel
elevates to face the low sun. These panels are expensive, often about the same cost as installing substantial twin panels,
7. To complete a kit you need a regulator & wiring and some high-bond Sikaflex sealant and a waterproof cable entry box. Regulators may be fairly simple and cheap one-unit affairs or sophisticated digital units for twin panels, for wet & gel batteries, and for a secondary 'overspill' connection to the starter battery. Our own unit offers all these facilities at an economic price. There are also some very expensive controller-regulators that can improve charge rates in low light. Again technically interesting for winter use but basic charge rates are very at that time of year so that expensive gain is on very little and so is still very little! Unsurprisingly not very popular and not stocked by us. 8. Do try to balance your solar capacity with suitable leisure batteries, preferably 2x80/110Ahr leisure batteries with an 80/100W panel e.g. and maybe four batteries with twin 100/120W panels. Watch your payload though because four x 120Ahr might weigh 150Kgs or more! You can of course add solar to a single 75Ahr battery - you just won't see as much benefit. 150Ahrs is probably a sensible minimum for most people. 9. Comparison with wind power is inevitable. Wind generators have quite high output when the wind is blowing, but generally have to be set up and then stored away for each use. Some can be both heavy to manipulate and quite noisy in use, sometimes irritatingly so for both you and your neighbours. Combining Solar with a lightweight reputable wind turbine like the Rutland 504 can be a very versatile solution. 10. Fuel Cells & Generators are both worth considering. Their relatively high output and full independence from the vagaries of the weather are the main attractions. Generators are notoriously noisy (even silent ones!) but very good at providing bursts of quite high powered mains electricity. Unfortunately they are relatively poor choices for charging batteries because a genny provides more power than can be readily absorbed by most lead-acid batteries, the waste being given off as noise, heat, and pollution! Another downside is that leisure batteries often have shorter lives if maintained by short bursts on the genny. The self-energy lpg generator is a good if expensive solution for many especially if you have refillable lpg tanks or bottles. Fuel cells are much greener and very quiet albeit much more expensive to buy. For all gennies you must buy and manage the fuel to gain that independence - do compare that to completely free solar and wind power. See also - our Leisure Batteries page! See also our Wiring - Cable page! See also Efoy Fuel Cells!
Veetech Charge Regulator: Regulates the charge put in to your
batteries from the Solar Panels. Can be used in conjunction with one or
two panels.
See also - our Leisure Batteries page! See also our Wiring - Cable page! Rutland Wind Turbines: Originally designed for boats - where they remain extremely popular - but increasingly seen on motorhomes.
Fuller specs for both models available on request.
Land Tower Kits PDF Click Here. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Buy now on our secure server - with UK & Ireland credit cards only. All prices include VAT. OK I want to buy but what do I have to do and what can I expect? - What Next? VAT? Carriage? Is it still safe to buy from you during the current crisis? Yes it certainly is, we are well placed as a low overhead business and will still be here to serve you this year and next with great but not stupid prices! Two ways to pay - using a PayPal account login or direct from your credit or debit card on-line or by phone. If you don't get on with PayPal you can also ring with your credit card details on 01789-778825. Click on Add to Basket to add items to your shopping cart / basket. PgDn for View basket. You can delete items in your shopping basket later so you can 'add' just to reserve a choice of items. Secure? - Yes, clicking on an Add to Basket button takes you to a certificated secure shopping page.
We believe these are great deals but if you know of better
-
email us with the detail and we'll try to better!
All these are normally stock items but their popularity does mean that we run out very occasionally so do remember to buy early for that special trip! |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DISCLAIMER BROWSERS SEARCH LINKS SITEMAP CONTACT FEEDBACK PRIVACY HOME |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© All material copyright Motorcaravanning.co.uk and/or Neill & Dilys King 1999 - 2010 unless otherwise stated. |
2010 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||