RV Podcast Ep 231: The truth about solar power for the RV

This episode of the podcast looks at solar power and asks the question, has the RV industry over sold solar power? Just how effective is it? We’ll hear from an industry insider who says while solar power is certainly beneficial for RVers, it just may not deliver all that some RV manufacturers and sales people have claimed. The truth about solar will be the topic of our interview of the week, coming up in just a few minutes. Show Notes for Episode #231 Feb 27, 2019 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK Our Meet and Greet at the Beach JENNIFER Once again, we come to you this week from the beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida, where we are hanging out for another week or so before beginning a big trip west. MIKE Speaking of hanging out, we want to give a big shout out to all those who came to our Meet and Greet on the Beach this past Sunday at the Gulf Island National Seashore near Navarre Beach, Florida. We had a great turn out of more than 30 RVers who showed up, a great mix of locals as well as snowbirds down here in the Sunshine State escaping that brutal winter up north. JENNIFER Also this week, we are very excited to announce the publication of our latest project: Mike & Jennifer's 7 Day RV Adventure Guide to the Michigan UP.This is the first of what will soon be a growing series of special 7-day adventure guides around various regions of North America. We have a whole list of them that will be coming,  but this first guide is of one of our absolute favorite destinations - Michigan's wild and beautiful Upper Peninsula. MIKE This ebook is a seven day guided exploration of the Michigan UP. We provide a suggested route and itinerary, links to multiple campgrounds and boondocking spots, and the best spots to see along the way. Don’t plan your trip to the Upper Peninsula without it!  You can hit everything in seven days, do a whirlwind weekend tour, or you can take your time and explore the area over a 2+ week period. Cost is just $7, you can get more info and download instantly at https://rvlifestyle.com/UP RV LIFESTYLE NEWS OF THE WEEK MIKE Forest River safety record skewered in local TV investigation A local TV station serving Elkhart, Indiana has released results of a year-long investigation into RV manufacturer Forrest River, documenting a fast-paced work culture filled with alleged drug use and lax safety practices. The records show the company has been hit with $250,000 in fines by the government for safety violations, way more than other RV makers or suppliers in the area. There was no comment from the company. JENNIFER Texas may see biggest wildflower display in a decade this spring  If you are anywhere near Texas, officials are predicting the biggest wildflower bloom in a decade this spring thanks to above average rainfall. We thought the Texas bluebonnets were gorgeous last year (see our report here) and are looking forward to heading back to the state in the next few weeks. MIKE After wolves from Banff National Park legally killed outside park's boundaries, some urge passing of buffer zones  At least two radio-collared wolves were legally hunted on federally owned land just outside Banff National Park recently, triggering concern among some in Canada about the need to have a buffer zone surrounding national parks. The story reminded me of a similar one we shared a few weeks back about a beloved wolf legally killed just outside Yellowstone National Park recently. JENNIFER Reservations to camp at bucket list Alaska's Katmai National Park to open March 2 Reservations to camp at Brooks Falls Camp in Alaska's Katmai National Park will open March 2 at 12 pm eastern and spots at the bucket list site where giant brown bears feast on salmon are expected to be booked within hours. The reservation dates are delayed this year because of the federal government shut down. To see a report we did on the famous Katmai bears and their webcams, click here. MIKE North Carolina developer wants to open retro-style drive in movie theater with up to 75 camping spots   Increasingly we are hearing about campground owners centering their RV parks on unique experiences, like a story we saw out of North Carolina last week. Near Graham a developer plans to open a retro 1950s style drive-in movie theater with up to 75 camp spots as soon as this summer. This part of the podcast is brought to you by RadPower Bikes, an electric bike manufacturer offering direct to consumer pricing on powerful premium electric bikes. Now with free shipping  LISTENER QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK  We had a listener share yet another RFV factory tour we should take this one at Tiffin Motorhomes in Alabama. And a listener asked us about heating for the Leisure Travel Vans Wonder RTB we are currently testing out. RV INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK Frank Kolasinski from Advanced RV Time now for our interview of the week segment and this one is going to bring a lot of controversy. So please listen carefully: I do believe in solar panels for an RV. I do believe they help, especially with boondocking. They especially help in offsetting parasitic drain. From your house batteries from things like the inverter and sometimes even the fridge.  But as we attend RV shows around the country, we sometimes hear over-eager salespeople oversell solar. And to be sure, some pretty outrageous claims are being made to get people to sign on the dotted line. So again… I like solar. I will always want it on whatever RV we have. But solar is not nearly as efficient as many people think… at least the amount of solar that can be mounted atop most RVs. To help us clear the air and get a realistic idea of what solar will do – and what it won’t -  my guest this week is Frank Kolasinski, the Customer Liaison tech for Advanced RV near Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most respected builders of custom made Sprinter RVs in all of North America. On a recent visit to the ARV factory, Frank and I had a – excuse the pun – frank discussion about the benefits of putting solar panels on your RV. Here’s a full transcript: Mike Wendland:           Frank, tell me the truth about solar. That's what we're going to call this interview. Frank K:                        Okay. Mike Wendland:           Because there has been so much claimed by many different RV manufacturers and many other proponents of it, that 600 watts of solar, I am off the grid forever. What's the sad truth about solar and the RV world? Frank K:                        There's a few things. In our case, we have limited real estate on the top of the coach because we're building on a sprinter platform. So, there's limited spots to put solar especially once you put air conditioning on and max fans and all those kinds of things. Solar in general though, their capacity ratings that they give you when you purchase a panel can be a misnomer. Reasoning for that is, solar panels, each individual wafer cell puts out a very little power.                                     So, what they have to do is they have to connect them in series. And what happens is, if any of those solar panels, those little wafers have the sun interrupted, they not only don't produce energy, but they'll actually mitigate energy passing through them. So, solar panels, it's shading is really a problem for solar. So typically in your RV world, what you want to do is you generally want to park under a tree and not be in the direct sunlight. So that in general really causes some complications with the solar. Mike Wendland:           Now, I have been told by some that even like a jet contract in front of the sun can limit that capacity and enough to have a significant drop. Frank K:                        It can, it can. And again, and when you go back to the limited amount of solar we can put on the top of the coach, that is a big deal. And if you limit by half because of clouds, con trails, branches, you're going to lose a lot of your solar. Mike Wendland:           Now, then there's the factor of the angle of the sun. Really, am I correct that the only time you get full capacity is with a cloudless sky, and the sun directly overhead? Frank K:                        That is correct. Mike Wendland:           And that lasts for about a minute? Frank K:                        Well yeah, at high noon in Arizona is your best bet to get solar. But yeah, so many of the other factors make it very difficult, and off an access from the sun, you lose a lot of the energy transfer to the solar. We don't have the ability to have solar trackers, like [crosstalk 00:03:05]- Mike Wendland:           Which would automatically keep the panel in the right angle towards the sun. Like you see sometimes on these ground stations, you [crosstalk 00:03:12]- Frank K:                        Correct. Mike Wendland:           These solar farms, yeah. Frank K:                        Exactly. Mike Wendland:           So, at the most I've seen on like a class B is 650, 700 and that's using everything with an air conditioning mounted underneath. So typically it's 400, maybe 200 watts of solar. Does that accomplish much at all? Frank K:                        It doesn't. Especially since we talked about the off access. The other things that come into play is that air conditioner we were talking about, if the sun's off access and the air conditioner is causing shading on a solar panel, that's another problem. So, being that tight and having that little real estate up there makes it very difficult. Mike Wendland:           And when you say the sun off access, what that means is the sun's not directly overhead [crosstalk 00:04:05]- Frank K:                        Right, right. Mike Wendland:           It's off to a slight angle and there's a shadow cast. So, solar does help that little, right? I mean there's some trickle charge, or is it so negligible that we can better use that space for other things like more fans?