Posted by MarkB_MI on January 12, 2008 at 23:54:41 from (198.208.251.23):
In Reply to: Solar panel/12V Batt. posted by Larry D. on January 12, 2008 at 16:17:09:
Maybe.
You're up against two things: The storage capacity of the battery, combined with the charging capacity of the solar cell.
As I recall, typical deep-discharge batteries have around 70 amp-hours of capacity. But you can probably only use half of that, so figure 35 amp-hours. Also, the inverter is maybe 50 percent efficient, so you're down to around 18 amp-hours, or 200 watt-hours. At 25 watts, that's 8 hours run time. Which means you should be able to run the receiver for 8 hours before the battery is down to where it needs recharging.
Now the 15 watt output of the solar cell is no doubt a bit optimistic. You need 14 volts to charge your battery, and the solar cell is probably rated at 12 volts. Also, there are efficiencies involved in charging a battery. A lot of energy gets wasted in heat. So figure you get maybe 7 watts out of the rated 15. If you have 8 hours of usuable charge time, you get around 60 watt-hours of energy per day. Which is only a little over 2 hours of run time. If you use the receiver more than 2 hours per day, your battery will eventually discharge.
As others have recommended, a bigger solar panel will work a lot better. Even going to 25 or 30 watts will make a big difference. However, if you only use the receiver a few days at a time, you might be able to get away with the 15 watt panel.
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