Powering everything under the sun!

Hi. I am having a narrowboat built and would like some information on solar panels.  I have set aside an area approx 6ft long on the roof and between 3 and 4 feet wide (chimney). I wish to run a TV/fridge/laptop/printer/ lights/12v w/machine/ induction hob (2 ring)/ combi microwave.  Heating will be by a solid fuel with capability to bake potatoes etc and by diesel c/h. I would also like to be able to heat water with the electrics on days that I do not move.  How many solar panels would I need and how big could my battery bank be? I may also need a little solar panel for the envirolet loo.

Thanks, Kath

Hi Kath,

Some of those appliances use a huge amount of power. Whilst it is relatively easy to power energy efficient lights and a radio by solar power - they typically only consume tens of watts - it's a completely different ball game trying to power an induction hob, which will consume thousands of watts when it's on! Laptop and TV are somewhere in between - definately possible by solar, but it won't be a small array.

I do know one narrowboat owner who cooks by electricity. He has 8 180W solar panels that take up most of his roof, and an enormous wind turbine - and he still has to run a generator every day if he wants to boil his kettle.

On a 6' x 4' section of roof you could fit a maximum of 3 Kyocera 130W panels - so a total of 390W of power. I suggest you play with our solar panel calculator to see roughly what appliances you can expect to be able to run from 390W of solar panels. They will certainly make an enormous difference - but you shouldn't expect to be able to run anything that requires heat on a regular basis from a solar array of that size.

The Envirolet can be wired into the rest of your 12V system; there is little point in having a seperate battery and solar panel for it. But even they are quite energy hungry. Envirolet recommend a 50W solar panel to provide sufficient power.

hope that helps - and sorry not to be more positive! regards, Andy - Midsummer Energy