Solar and led

[edwin sandel]

I have (1) 12 volt solar panel mounted on top of rv temporarily that hooks to a 12 standard car battery. The solar panel has automatic cut off when the battery is charged. I also have a 400 inverter that I hook to the battery to operate 2 led lamps that run all night. I put the alligator clamps from the solar panel to the battery during the day and night i take them off and hook the alligator clips from the 400w 12v to 120v inverter and run the lights all night . My question is: Would it work if I hook the solar panel to the battery AND the inverter at the same time. That would take the sun to charge the battery and the inverter to power the led light bulbs and i could add a photo cell if I wanted to. Or do you think the inverter would burn up soon. I am cautious about hooking the solar panel and the inverter at the same time. As of right now , using the solar panel to charge the 12 v battery during the day and disconnecting at night and then hooking the inverter up to 2 9 watt led lights work just fine. The led lamps burn all night no problem.

[wahoonc]

I would get some 12v LED lights and get rid of the inverter. Then if you want you could run a photocell with them.

Aaron

[edwin sandel]

Yes getting rid of the inverter is an option but what if we want to use the inverter to power our 120 radio or fan or even our laptop?? So any thought about leaving the solar panel connected to the battery and the 12v - 120v inverter at the same time?? Kind of sounds like perpetual energy . The solar panel charges the battery and the battery is hooked to the inverter and the inverter gives me 3 amps of 120 ac power.

[persistent]

Originally Posted by edwin sandel

Yes getting rid of the inverter is an option but what if we want to use the inverter to power our 120 radio or fan or even our laptop?? So any thought about leaving the solar panel connected to the battery and the 12v - 120v inverter at the same time?? Kind of sounds like perpetual energy . The solar panel charges the battery and the battery is hooked to the inverter and the inverter gives me 3 amps of 120 ac power.

Having both inverter and solar charger connected at the same time is not a problem.

However, that said, both units will probably have a small parasitic load when not being used. The solar charger could consume a small amount. The inverter will consume a small amount. The photocell would consume a small amount.

Your plan should still work. Monitor the battery voltage with a digital voltmeter ($10 at Walmart). By the end of the charging day you want more than 12.7 volts. Otherwise you will need to supplement charge for 14 to 18 hours periodically. Maybe once per week.

[edwin sandel]

What you post sounds logical and I am going to try it . I will post the results later. It it works i will certainly want more and more solar charger panels and led lamps. That is about as green as you can get.