> I have been thinking of installing solar panels. Mostly for keeping
>the noise down while boon docking.
>Can they be used to replace the Onan mostly for a weight savings?
>Will they still power some of the A.C. equipment with the use of a good
>inverter?
>Know of any sites that are informative other than a sales co.?
>Etc.?
You can use solar panels to supplement your Onan but not completely replace
it unless you are willing to live strictly within a relatively limited
power budget. The best panels that I've seen are manufactured by Siemens
and produce 100 watts per panel when oriented correctly. 75 watts is the
more normal figure for the high performance panels, and many are in the 50
watt range. NOTE: the size of the panels is a bit different but not in
strict proportion to the wattage and is determined under ideal conditions.
Although the manufacturers all give wattage ratings, you can't count on
that amount of power during all day light hours. And, the amount of power
that can be generated depends in part on where you use the coach (sun days
and all that).
A few sites that have reasonable information include:
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com/
http://www.homepower.com/
http://www.solar-electric.com/
You'll have to wade through some sales stuff.
It's certainly possible to use solar panels to extend time between charging
your batteries. And you can run many AC loads from an inverter. Depending
on the inverter, you'll have various inefficiencies to deal with. Also, the
higher your drain on the batteries the lower the absolute amount of energy
you can get out of the batteries.
It would be helpful if you could tell us what you want to run on AC.
Henry
