Decided to power your tiny home with the sun? Smart choice! Solar power is now the cheapest most abundant energy source in the world.

Considerations

PANELS – these harvest the power of the sun, in watts.
BATTERIES – these store the power in the form of Ampere hours – usually 12, 24 or 48Volt.
INVERTER – this takes the stored battery power from low voltage (DC) to 240 volts (AC) allowing you to use the same appliances as you would in a regular grid connected house.

Extra Considerations:

Weight of panels
Traditionally, residential solar panels are mounted on the roof, maximizing solar exposure and utilizing unused space. This mounting method is simple and cost effective, however it may not be the most suitable for the tiny house dweller. Mounting on the roof will add weight, and impact where you park your tiny home.

If you choose ground or trailer mounting for your panels you will have greater control over sun exposure, meaning you can park your tiny house in a cool and shady spot in the summer while your panels bake out in the sun. Choosing the best placement for your solar panels is easy using our solar path finder at rpc.com.au.

Weight of batteries
You choose batteries for your tiny home based on the capacity of your solar panels to harvest power, and the amount of power you need access to, based on your household energy consumption. The greater your power consumption, the more stored power you need and therefore the larger batteries required.

Household energy consumption
If you are going tiny after having lived in a standard, grid connected home, you’ll need to consider your power consumption; what is a need and what’s a luxury? Most of us will nominate a fridge, good lighting, phones and computers as essential; a well-chosen power system will facilitate the use of these, and other appliances, ensuring we can live comfortably.

Back-up options
The greatest fear for many looking to change to solar is enduring endless days of rain and power restrictions; your tiny home gives you the edge over permanent stand-alone solar dwellings. An affordable and simple way to ensure back up power for your tiny house is to go hybrid by installing an option to plug in to mains power, alternatively you may consider a small generator and battery charger for back-up.

Living with solar weekend workshops
This workshop helps you to understand the relationship between amps, watts and voltage, allowing you to choose appropriate lighting and appliances to suit your system and your lifestyle. Buying a complete tiny house solar kit from Rainbow Power Company qualifies you for free participation in this informative and educational course.

Rainbow Power Company have designed hundreds of solar systems for tiny homes, most popular are their 2-panel ‘solo eco-warrior’, 4-panel ‘eco-warrior family size’ and the 6-panel ‘eco-warrior deluxe’.

Our tiny home solar kits have been designed to include everything you need to power your tiny house dreams. Installation instructions and manuals are included, as well as full support and after sales care through Rainbow Power Company- your trusted authority on solar for over 33 years*.

*RPC are considered an essential service and we assure our customers that we will continue to be here for them in these challenging times.
Company

(R Ryall) (blog/advertorial)