Firstly Solar Panels need SUN LIGHT to produce power. Here is a table of the average “SUN HOURS” that apply in regions around Australia with July and January months.
| Locations of Peak Sun Hours by Season assuming no constant rain in the period | ||
| General Region | Winter | Summer |
| Melbourne and the Southern Regions | 2 hours | 5.5 hours |
| Central NSW, Coastal SA or South West WA | 3 hours | 6 hours |
| Ballina to Fraser Island , Perth to Esperence | 4 hours | 7 hours |
| Central Australia | 4.5 hours | 8 hours |
| Broome to Cairns Nth QLD | 5 hours | 6 hours |
Secondly, Solar modules are usually rated in Watts BUT this is not at a 12V rating and so we have to re-rate solar panels to a 12v nominal use capacity to calculate the size required. The size we recommend for the SportsRV is from 100Watts and up.
We sell BP SOLAR Panels that are MANUFACTURED IN AUSTRALIA
We prefer 2 x 50W panels because:
- Each panel is a smaller footprint and easier to handle
- They can be linked together with a 60degree angle between them to capture the sun over an extended period as it rotates. You dont have to move the panels around.
- In the unlikely event you break one, you still have the other
The 2 x 50Watt panels produce a maximum of 6.3Amps at peak output which is the equivalent of 75Watts.
On the other side of the equation is the power your campsite demands:
| Kimberley Kamper Sustainable Energy Items | Watts Rating | Estimated time in hours/day | Estimated Watt Hours |
| Stalk Reading Light left | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Stalk Reading Light right | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| Underbed Storage LED | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Inside Camper Roof LED | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| Outside Camper Roof LED | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| Water Pump | 100 | 0.1 | 10 |
| Total Watt Hours consumed in a typical day no refrigerator | 52 | ||
| Add an AutoFridge 73Liter | in cyclic mode 288 watt hours/ day | 288 | |
| Total Watt Hours consumed in a typical day with a refrigerator | 340 | ||
| No of days of sustainable energy from above table WITHOUT solar power or a generator |
|||
| 70Ah of Battery | 140 Ah | 210Ah | |
| Without a refrigerator | 10 days | 20 days | 30 days |
| With a refrigerator | 1.5 days | 3 days | 4.5 days |
| No of days of sustainable energy from above table WITH 2 x 50W Kimberley Kamper solar panels producing 6.3Amps Peak output |
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| With a refrigerator | 70Ah of Battery | 140 Ah | 210Ah |
| 3 Hours Peak Sun | 4.5 days | 9 days | 13.5 days |
| 4 Hours Peak Sun | 10 days | 20 days | 30 days |
| 5 Hours Peak Sun | indefinitely | indefinitely | indefinitely |
