Just looking to do a stealth camping/other van build which would need to run small fridge, lighting, 12v devices, etc.
I sort of have a basic understanding of the PWM vs. MPPT(higher amps vs. higher volts)when it comes to wiring size/length, efficiency, limitations...that said, am I better off wiring all 5 panels in series into the MPPT(or should I ask, can it be done safely), or series/parallel or just parallel through the PWM for this small solar/vehicle setup?
LOL, I am a noob compared to you, you sound like you have been poking at it a bit.
I have to figure out how to convince my wife I can build something that will work as an electricity backup if the power goes out, and to let me take the money out of savings to do it...she respects me, but...well...probably thinks I’ll cut my fingers off or something.
One of the problems with solar and camping is that in camping weather you usually try to locate yourself into shade.
500 watts is not much power considering you won’t have them at their best angle but it is a whole lot more than nothing. That being said you need to realize that you will not get 500 watts except on very sunny days in cool to cold weather. You will never want to take your batteries past 50% of charge. You can if you are willing to get a short life from your batteries but if you intend them to last you will not.
It would be wise to get a camping refrigerator that uses both cycles, that is electric and propane. During the day when the refrigerator gets a lot of use use the battery electricity but at night use propane. The propane will be slow to recover but can hold temperatures just fine.
Your battery is rated at 20 hours but you should calculate everything based on 10 and subtract 10% off the top for losses. I wouldn’t count on more than about 10KW to get you down to 50%. If your refrigerator pulls 2000W then that gives you about 5 hours of run time without charging the batteries. The refrigerator will run a lot until it gets everything in it cool and then will only run about 25% of the time after that if you don’t leave the door open.
Since you have 500 watts and you could potentially have it 5 hours a day that 2500W total, with losses you should be able to just about keep up on your refrigerator without running a generator to charge the batteries. If you add lighting you will likely have to run a generator a couple hours each day.
If your refrigerator is 12V and your system is 12V you are more efficient and could get a little more than going through your inverter first. LED lighting is the only lighting you should consider, you will be able to do a lot with 20W.
You have enough to do what you want if you are careful, very careful. You must make sure your panels are at the best angle, never in the shade and that you get in and out of the frig quickly and don’t open unless you absolutely have to.
My expectation is that you will probably have to run the generator each day at least an hour or two to make sure you never go below 50% unless you don’t care about the life of the batteries. Most people are more concerned with having a good time than they are managing their electricity.