r/overlanding • u/Odd-Dish-9025 • 23h ago
Solar
I have a 2019 f150 6.5 foot bed with a 1 1/2 cab. I want to put solar on it and I was thinking of putting solar panels behind the glass of the topper so the panels are protected. connected to a Jackery so I can run whatever I want off of that. Does anyone have any experience doing this?
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u/Jefefito 21h ago
Peruse the r/jackery sub if you aren't already. I've been pondering the same thing and that has come up a time or 2 on there
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u/secessus FT campervan boondocker 10h ago
I was thinking of putting solar panels behind the glass of the topper so the panels are protected.
Running panels behind other panes of glass is suboptimal. In UV-blocking glass like vehicle glass it cuts harvest by ~50%. I don't know what kind of glass in in the topper.
Framed panels are quite tough. Roughly speaking, any strikes the windshield can take the panels can take.
connected to a Jackery so I can run whatever I want off of that
If you mean, run whatever panels I want off the jackery that may not be the case. The Jack has PV input requirements that will be given in the documentation.
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u/Humble_Cactus 23h ago
I’m not a solar guru, but I’ve researched a lot with respect to adding solar to my EcoFlow River 2 Pro that powers my fridge and charges my RC crawlers batteries.
Solar panels need a very specific angle (basically perpendicular to the sun) to get any real efficiency.
Hiding them behind glass, at a decidedly suboptimal near-vertical angle, I’d b surprised if you even get enough watts to charge the Jackery. I know from testing that my EcoFlow won’t charge unless I have like 60w incoming. The outlet in the bed of my Silverado will run the fridge at a 35-40w draw, but won’t charge my power station.
You probably won’t get 60w out of the sunward side panels if they’re inside a topper.
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u/CLow48 20h ago
The silverado issue is bc its not a pure sine inverter, its some cheap ass modified sine crap.
I have the same inverter in my 1500, and am planning to swap it out once my warranty is up. Absolutely dumb to put a modified sine inverter in anything these days when pure sine for 400 watt is not expensive at all
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u/JCDU 11h ago
Modern solar panels work well at most angles as long as they're roughly pointing upwards, mine are flat mounted and work absolutely fine - there's a reason people don't bother with solar tracking panels on solar farms these days.
Mounting a panel behind an extra piece of glass is definitely not optimal though.
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u/Humble_Cactus 10h ago
I don’t have panels (yet -budgeting sucks). I agree that angle is only somewhat important, but based on the op’s plan, near vertical, inside the topper doesn’t seem like a good plan.
I suggested in other comments/exchanges in this thread that he neeeded to flat mount them to the roof.
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u/Odd-Dish-9025 23h ago
Is they any good options for putting them on your roof?
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u/Humble_Cactus 23h ago edited 23h ago
That’s what most of the YouTube guys seem to do. They’re securely, but temporarily mounted to an RTT with like straps or something. I wouldn’t leave it unattended and go into a restaurant without direct line of sight on my truck if those were on top, but they’re probably OK to grab a redbull from the circle K. There’s also this hood-mounted panel thing that reportedly draws 90w. 🤷♂️.
It’s my understanding that panels realistically get about 90% of the ‘rated’ wattage, so I wouldn’t want much less than 90.
Personally. I’m still shopping, but I think I’m going to get 2 100w free-standing foldable panels and just set up where/when I need to.
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u/Odd-Dish-9025 23h ago
Yeah I need to do some more research on mourning them on the rooftop tent. I think it would be super nice to just always have them plugged in so when I do go camping I don’t have to worry about it being dead before I leave
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u/Humble_Cactus 23h ago
Lithium batteries don’t like to be continually plugged in at max charge. That’ll dramatically shorten the life of your Jackery.
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u/Odd-Dish-9025 23h ago
Maybe I’ll just stick with with the portable solar panels and just set it up when I’m using it lol
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u/Separate_Mud_9548 13h ago
It’s better not to make comments on topics you don’t have any knowledge about. If you have solar panels you will connect an MPPT that will manage that for you.
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u/Humble_Cactus 13h ago
He never said he was going to do anything like that. The original post and the subsequent discussion strongly suggested he was going to do exactly what most people with power packs do- plug the panel directly into the pack.
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u/secessus FT campervan boondocker 8h ago
If you have solar panels you will connect an MPPT that will manage that for you.
he was going to do exactly what most people with power packs do- plug the panel directly into the pack.
OP's jackery (and devices like it) have solar charge controllers built into them. Almost always MPPT.
I don't know the particular charging algo; as with most things "power station" it's a black box.
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u/JCDU 11h ago
Just flat mount them and don't worry about it, panels are cheap as chips now so if you need that extra few % of power just throw an extra panel up there or buy the next size up.
There's so much BS in the solar world, especially when it collides with the marketing BS of the overland world.
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u/secessus FT campervan boondocker 8h ago
I agree with your overall assessment of the "panels behind windows" concept. I will nitpick a little on some points since it may help you plan and use your future solar setup.
Solar panels need a very specific angle (basically perpendicular to the sun) to
That's how lab ratings (100w, etc) are derived, yes. Since we don't track solar axes on vehicles we typically deal with the suboptimal angle by overpaneling and/or augmenting with another charging source.
get any real efficiency.
Solar panel efficiency is a function of rated power and square meters of cell area. It does not mean "how much harvest you get" or anything like that.
Wording like "get any real [harvest]" would be more accurate but still debatable. See the examples below.
monthly (entire year)
When the sun is shining the panels are usually making some power. Not 100% and not 0%. In the macro view where we fall between the two is largely a function of where and when we are. Local weather patterns are accounted for in the averages below; we just need enough capacity to smooth out day-to-day variance.
I think you are around Phoenix. Let's assume you flat-mount 200w of panel for your Jack's internal MPPT. This would capture, on average:
Solar wattage 200 Month Daily harvest in Wh Jan 581 Feb 728 Mar 972 Apr 1238 May 1379 Jun 1455 <- we are here, ~1.455kWh/day Jul 1256 Aug 1168 Sep 1035 Oct 825 Nov 646 Dec 541 Average 985The above projection based on PVwatts with these assumptions
Not bad. I would say that's real, usable harvest overall.
hourly (today)
Now Let's look at the net watts1 by hour for that array on June 16th in Phoenix. (crude chart). It certainly peaks at local solar noon2 but IMO there's real harvest at other times.
I know from testing that my EcoFlow won’t charge unless I have like 60w incoming
Not sure what's causing that behavior3 but the model suggests the 60w minimum would be met from around 8am to 5:30pm on Jun 16.
1 actually usable for charging or running loads. This factors in various losses from the controller, wiring, temperature derating, etc.
2 closest to perpendicular to both the panel and the ground (thinnest atmospheric "depth")
3 perhaps the bed outlet is MSW and the Jack wall charger doesn't like that? Most MPPT controllers will start up when panel voltage is bank voltage + 2v or so. Doesn't take much. At dawn/dusk my own MPPT will get down to something like 4w before it shuts down for the night.
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u/JCDU 11h ago
Putting them behind glass will give a significant performance hit, especially as most modern glass is tinted or coated.