Quote:
Originally Posted by ftroop82
Looking to get a solar panel for the RV. Question is do I get one with more amps or more volts? 8 amps with 18.5 volts or 5.56 amps with 36.2 volts?
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You can sort of look at it this way: Amps is the "working unit" or the "power" of the electrical charge. Voltage is the "pressure" by which the amps are "pushed" through the wire. Your RV electrical system (battery side) is limited to about 13.5 volts as an average. So any solar array with a voltage greater than about 15 volts would have to be "converted" to appropriate voltage to be stored in the batteries. That conversion process produces heat (lost/wasted energy) and makes the system less efficient.
So, there is a "best mix" to consider, but you'd be more concerned with the amperage than with the voltage. Your battery charger is going to reduce any input voltage from the solar arrays to a voltage that's appropriate for your battery bank. Higher voltage solar arrays would be appropriate where the "amperage" needed to be "pushed" for a long distance to the "storage/conversion site". As an example, you had solar arrays located along a mile of highway, you'd want high voltage developed to push the amperage for that distance. In your situation, you're only pushing for 10-15 feet, so keeping the voltage lower, increasing the amperage at the solar array eliminates the conversion (and energy lost in heat) that would be necessary in your battery charger/converter assembly.
This is very simplistic and not "exactly correct in all terms" explanation of how DC energy works, but is "sort of" a layman's explanation of what's happening. There are "more appropriate" ways to define how amperage and voltage relate, but it would take an engineer to explain/understand it.
I hope this sort of clears up your question.....