Cheap solar system for van

hi guys, hope all is well at midsummer, i wonder if you could help? ive just bought a van to live in for the summer and would like to have solar panels to provide electric, i only really want to run some tunes (small sound system) and my laptop. if you could advise on the best (and cheapest)set up i would be very greateful,
many thanks and blessings alex

Hi Alex,

A lot depends on how many hours a day you need to be able to power your laptop and sound system! Laptops can be quite power hungry. However, assuming it's no more than a couple of hours a day, in the summer you can still get away with a fairly small panel. I would go for something like a Kyocera 50W solar panel kit as a minimum; if you can afford a 65W or 85W kit, then they will give you a fair bit more power.

The kits come with solar regulators and all the wiring you need. You will obviously need a battery - if there isn't a domestic battery already in the van the Elecsol batteries are excellent. That should be everything... unless of course you need 240V power as well as 12V, in which case one of the budget Silverline inverters will give you that.

hope that helps, and enjoy the summer!