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The Solar Setup
I live and work from my narrowboat Thin Lizzy, moored in a marina. This is a low impact way to live already but I have been planning a solar install for a while.
A neighbour gave me two solar panels for helping him fix his internet, so we didn’t need to buy new units. They run into an Anker C1000 portable power station under my desk, which then powers my computers, monitor and phone chargers. The Anker is plugged into the mains and also acts as an ‘uninterruptable power supply’ to protect my computers from power outages. The Anker app allows the power station to prioritise solar over the mains input, which is perfect.
The Anker is a combined MPPT solar charge controller, lithium battery and inverter all in one unit. This is way cheaper and easier than installing all that to the existing boat electrics, and means I can use the same power station in a camper van or outside.
Even in April, the solar covers the daytime usage of my work computer etc!
Tech bit
The Anker can take up to 600 watts of input at 14.5 amps, so allows for flexibility of panel choice. The two 190w solar panels have inline fuses, go into branch connectors and into the boat via a 6mm UV resistant cable through the ‘mushroom vent’ to avoid extra holes in the roof. They then go into a proper DC breaker and into the Anker via an XT60i adapter that can accept higher ampage than the standard XT60 connector.
I previously tried a borrowed EcoFlow portable power station, but it was very noisy in use so wasn’t ideal to have under my work desk! It also didn’t prioritise solar input, so was a faff to keep swapping inputs.
Solar panels installed on Thin Lizzy’s roof
Suppliers
- I bought the Anker C1000 direct from Anker. They are one of those companies on perpetual sale, so don’t pay full RRP for one!
- I also found an Anker discount code from a search engine that got me another few % off.
- The wiring parts were from https://www.craigsolar.co.uk/ who were fantastic to deal with. Cheap wiring parts from Amazon could end in tears (or fire) so it’s not worth skimping on those.
Disclaimer
I’ve done a lot of reading on solar wiring and have a background in 12v wiring. Installing your own solar can be extremely dangerous and result in fire if it’s done wrong. If you’re unsure of what you’re doing, please have solar installed by professionals.