Solar, Version 2, The Plan

Last September we had a solar panel and controller installed along with an inverter, a gel house battery, and some wiring. The 100w panel was able to power our ARB freezer for weeks, so we were quite happy.

Until it didn't. We noticed that the ARB wasn't staying as cool as we wanted, and it seemed that the battery wasn't staying charged. After some testing, we determined that the panel had failed (thank you, Stephen). We also confirmed our belief that Camping World of St. Augustine is surprisingly ill-equipped to deal with correcting their installs. A bit of research also revealed that the panel they installed is well known for failing within the first year, and the eventual replacement often failing even sooner.

Rather than continuing with Nature Power, we decided to go with a Renogy 160W flexible panel, and a Renogy Solar Charge Controller. The beauty of flexible panels is that you don't have to drill holes into our fiberglass roof, and it lies flat on the roof with no airflow issues. Renogy's panel is just over 60" long, 26" wide, and just 0.08" high. With a 15.75% efficiency, it isn't the most efficient unit available, but with a 25 year power output warranty at 80% (and 95% for 5 yrs, 90% for 10), they clearly stand behind their product.

I spent way too much time on YouTube seeing if a retired software geek was up to the task. RVwithTito proved to be my final source that this was doable. If you want to see where I'm coming from, you might want to watch

• Flexible Solar Panels - What to Look For
• How to Install a Flexible Solar Panel on an RV
• Install Flexible Solar Panel on RV with No Drilling
• One Year After my DIY Flexible Solar Panel Installation

The install will consist of:

1. Renogy 160 Watt 12 Volt Flexible Monocrystalline Solar Panel
2. Renogy Rover 20 Amp MPPT Solar Charge Controller
3. Renogy Solar Adapter Kit
4. EternaBond RoofSeal White 3" x 50'
5. Dicor 501LSV1 Ivory Lap Sealant

The plan was straightforward:

1. Remove old panel.
2. Seal up any holes in the roof from the old panel except where the wires go in.
3. Position the new panel. 
4. Apply the tape and sealant carefully on all edges.
5. Run wiring down through hole in roof.
6. Seal that hole.
7. Replace the old controller with the new one.
8. Connect the wires, and chill!

What could go wrong?