COMPANION 10000068 Owner's Manual page 9

SOLAR CHARGERS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You want to have the fridge running (cycling) 24 hours a day, and the camp lights on for 3 hours each night.
Fridge: 1.5A x 24h = 36Ah
Lights: 1.0A x 3h = 3Ah x 2 lights = 6Ah
Total: 42Ah per day
Your solar mat can supply:
5.5A x 6h = 33Ah each day
Therefore, the battery is being discharged by:
42Ah – 33Ah = 9Ah each day
Although you have a 100Ah battery, it is recommended when calculating run times to allow yourself a buffer and
calculate using only 50% of the battery specification. So, in this case using 50Ah you could run your fridge and
lights for: 50Ah / 9Ah = 5.5 days or just under a week without any other form of charge.
Q: How many Amps do I get out of my 200W Solar Mat and what can I run?
A: A 200W solar charger can supply between 10 and 11 Amps in optimal conditions on a sunny day or for most of the
sunlight hours of the day. There are many variables, but let's assume that we can achieve 6 to 7 sunlight hours in a day,
anymore sunlight hours would be considered a bonus.
Provided it is not too cloudy, the solar mat is moved every now and again to best track the suns path and the solar mat is
kept out of the shade, it is safe to assume that the solar mat can supply between 10 and 11 Amps per charging hour.
So, putting this into perspective, let's assume that the 200W solar mat is charging 2 x 100Ah AGM batteries. You wish
to run a 40L Fridge which draws on average 1.5A over a 24hr period, 2 x LED camp lights which draw 1.0A each when
running and a 1000W inverter with a 600W load.
You want to have the fridge running (cycling) 24 hours a day, the camp lights on for 3 hours each night and the inverter
under load for a total of 2 hours throughout the day
Fridge: 1.5A x 24h = 36Ah
Lights: 1.0A x 3h = 3Ah x 2 lights = 6Ah
Inverter: 60.0A x 2h = 120Ah
Total: 162Ah per day
Your solar mat can supply: 10.5A x 6h = 63Ah each day
Therefore, the battery is being discharged by: 162Ah – 63Ah = 90Ah each day
Although you have a 2 x 100Ah batteries, 200Ah total, it is recommended when calculating run times to allow yourself a
buffer and calculate using only 50% of the battery specification. So, in this case using 100Ah you could run your fridge,
lights and inverter for 100Ah / 93Ah = 1.07 days without any other form of charge.
Note: The above calculations are intended for reference & information only and are based on the cell "peak power" of
the solar mat. It does not take into consideration any expected power losses due to the controller, leads or atmospheric
conditions.
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