--- title: "Solar and Inverter Systems" url: "https://ocrv.vip/services/mechanical-systems/solar-and-inverter" business: "OCRV Center" phone: "(949) 799-3387" address: "23281 La Palma Ave, Yorba Linda, CA 92887" serviceArea: "Lake Forest, Orange County, California" description: "Roof array design and installation, charge controllers, pure sine inverters, direct current distribution, fusing and shore power integration." --- # Solar and Inverter Systems in Lake Forest, CA Solar and inverter work designs and installs the roof array, charge controller, direct current distribution and inverter that let a coach run 120-volt loads without a cord or generator. It also repairs existing installations, corrects undersized wiring and fusing, and integrates the inverter with shore power and generator sources. Category: Mechanical and Electrical Systems Ballpark range: $1,500 to $12,000 and up, 8 to 40 hours Ranges are planning figures. The written estimate is produced after the vehicle is inspected at the shop. ## What owners notice first - Inverter shuts down under a microwave or hair dryer load - Solar controller shows production at noon but the bank never reaches full - Panels installed years ago that have never charged more than a trickle - Inverter buzzes audibly or runs hot enough to be uncomfortable to touch - Some outlets stay live off the inverter and others do not - Roof mounts leaking around the sealant that holds them down ## Sizing starts with what you actually use overnight The wrong way to size a solar system is by counting how much roof you have. The right way is to measure daily consumption first, because the array only has to replace what leaves the bank between sunrise and sunset. A shunt monitor installed for a week produces that number, and it is nearly always different from what the owner estimated. Once consumption is known, the array is sized against realistic production rather than nameplate watts. A flat mounted panel in Orange County produces well in summer and considerably less in December, and it produces nothing at all under the part of the roof shaded by an air conditioner shroud or a satellite dome. Shading matters more than most owners expect because on a series string one shaded panel drags the string down. The layout that comes out of this is a compromise between panel count, series and parallel arrangement, and the fixed obstacles already on the roof. We lay it out on the actual roof with the vents, fans, antennas and air conditioners in place rather than on a rectangle drawn on paper. - Consumption measured with a shunt monitor before the array is sized - Production estimated against realistic seasonal conditions - Shade mapping around air conditioners, domes and vent shrouds - Series and parallel arrangement chosen to suit the controller window - Physical layout confirmed on the roof before any hole is drilled ## Charge controllers and why the tracking type matters A pulse width modulated controller pulls the panel down to battery voltage, which throws away a meaningful share of what the panel can produce. A maximum power point tracking controller converts the panel's higher voltage down to charge voltage and keeps the extra as current. On a cold clear morning that difference can be twenty to thirty percent, and it is the difference between the bank finishing and not finishing. Controller selection also has to match the array wiring. A tracking controller has an input voltage window, and a string wired for a higher voltage than the controller accepts will either shut it down or damage it. Wiring for higher voltage and lower current is usually the better choice because it allows smaller conductors on a long run from the roof to the bay. Programming is the step that gets skipped. The controller needs the correct chemistry, absorption voltage, absorption time and float setting for the bank it is charging, plus a temperature sensor where the bank location runs hot. Units from the mainstream manufacturers all support this and none of them do it by themselves. ## Inverters, transfer relays and pure sine output A modified sine inverter is inexpensive and it will run a resistive load. It will also make an induction motor run warm, upset a residential refrigerator's control board, and put an audible buzz through anything with a transformer. Pure sine output from a Magnum, Xantrex or Victron class unit is what a modern coach with electronics and a residential refrigerator needs. Sizing follows the largest load you intend to run and the surge that load demands on startup. A residential refrigerator compressor, a microwave and a rooftop air conditioner all present a surge several times their running draw. An inverter that is comfortable on running load and marginal on surge is the one that clicks off when the microwave starts. Integration is the part that separates a good install from a frustrating one. An inverter charger with an internal transfer relay picks up the load when shore power drops, and the sub panel behind it decides which circuits stay live. Deciding which outlets and which appliances live on the inverter side, and labeling them, is a design conversation we have before the wiring goes in rather than after. - Pure sine output for electronics, motors and residential refrigerators - Sizing that accounts for surge, not only running load - Inverter sub panel design so the live circuits are known and labeled - Internal or external transfer relay integration with shore and generator - Remote panel and monitoring so the state of the system is visible ## Direct current distribution, wire gauge and fusing The high current side of an inverter installation is where corners get cut and where the consequences are worst. A three thousand watt inverter can pull upward of two hundred and fifty amps from a twelve volt bank, and that current has to travel on cable sized for the distance, not just for the amperage. We size conductors for an acceptable voltage drop over the actual measured run length, then fuse at the battery end of every run because the purpose of that fuse is to protect the cable, not the appliance. Class T fusing is used where the bank can deliver the fault current that demands it, particularly on lithium installs. Routing gets the same attention as sizing. Positive cable crossing a frame member gets a grommet and a strain relief. Runs are separated from data and antenna cable to keep switching noise out of the audio and television systems. Terminals are hydraulic crimped, sealed and labeled so the next person to open the bay can read the system instead of tracing it. - Conductor sizing against measured run length and target voltage drop - Fusing at the source end of every high current run - Class T protection where lithium fault current requires it - Grommets, strain relief and separation from signal cable - Labeled, sealed terminations and a documented one line layout ## Roof penetrations that do not become leaks Every panel bracket is a hole in the roof. On a coach that hole goes through a membrane, a layer of decking and often a foam core, and how it is sealed decides whether the solar install becomes a water damage job in three years. Mounts are set on a bed of the correct sealant for the membrane material, fastened into structure rather than into thin decking where the layout allows it, and then lap sealed over the fastener heads. On a coach where the roof cannot take fasteners in the required location, adhesive mounting systems are used instead of forcing a mechanical fixing into decking that cannot hold it. The roof is also where wire enters the coach, and the entry gland is the most reliably leaky part of a poorly done install. We use a proper cable gland set in sealant with the wire looped below the entry so water follows the drip loop instead of the conductor. This is the same standard applied to every other roof penetration on the vehicle. ## Repairing and rescuing an existing installation A large share of the solar work here is not new installation. It is correcting a system that was installed by a previous owner or a low bidder and never worked properly. The failures repeat: undersized conductors from roof to controller, a pulse width controller feeding a lithium bank, no fusing at the array, and mounts that were sealed with the wrong product. Diagnosis is straightforward with a clamp meter and an irradiance sensible day. We measure open circuit voltage at the roof, again at the controller input, then output current at the battery. Losses show up between those readings and point directly at the run, the connections or the controller. Panel failures themselves do occur, usually as a failed bypass diode in a junction box or as delamination on an older module. Individual panel testing under load identifies which module in a string is dragging the rest, which is far cheaper than replacing an entire array on suspicion. ## Questions ### How much solar do I need to run my air conditioner? More than most coaches can carry on the roof, and the honest framing is worth having up front. A rooftop unit draws roughly twelve to sixteen amps at 120 volts while running, which is well over a thousand watts continuously plus a large startup surge. Running one all afternoon off solar and battery means a large lithium bank, a substantial inverter and a soft start device, and even then the roof array is usually replacing consumption slowly rather than keeping up in real time. Solar is excellent for refrigeration, lighting, water and electronics. Air conditioning is a battery question more than a panel question. ### Will solar hurt my roof or void anything? A properly executed installation does not harm the roof. The risk is entirely in the mounting and sealing method. Brackets have to be bedded in a sealant compatible with the membrane, fastened into real structure where possible, lap sealed over the heads, and the cable entry has to be a proper gland with a drip loop. We inspect the roof condition before quoting, because putting an array on a membrane that is already near the end of its life means paying to remove it when the roof gets replaced. ### Can I add panels to the system I already have? Often yes, but not always by simply wiring them in parallel. The existing controller has a current and voltage limit, the existing conductor between roof and controller has a capacity, and the existing fusing was sized for the original array. We measure what the current system is doing, check the controller headroom, and then either expand within the existing hardware or upgrade the controller and the run. Adding panels to a controller that is already at its limit produces no additional charge at all, which is a common and expensive disappointment. ### Why does my inverter shut off when I run the microwave? Three usual causes, in order of likelihood. The first is voltage sag on the direct current side from undersized or corroded cable, so the inverter sees low voltage and protects itself even though the bank is charged. The second is a bank that cannot deliver the current, common with lead acid at high draw. The third is genuine undersizing of the inverter for the surge. We measure inverter terminal voltage at the moment the microwave starts, and that single reading usually identifies which of the three you have. ### Do I need a shunt monitor if I have a solar controller display? The controller only knows what it produced. It does not know what the coach consumed, what the converter contributed, or what the alternator put in while you drove. A shunt on the negative side counts everything and reports true state of charge. If you are going to spend money on a solar system, the monitor is the component that lets you know whether it is working, and it is the instrument we use for every subsequent diagnosis on the coach. --- All work is performed at the Yorba Linda facility. This business does not offer mobile, roadside or on-site service. It does not perform engine, transmission, drivetrain or DOT inspection work. Contact: (949) 799-3387 | info@ocrvcenter.com | https://ocrv.vip/contact