Hi. I have purchased the new eb70 which can output up to 1000 watts. I am looking to invest in a solar set up for my vw transporter and can’t come up with a solution. I know bluetti do a ready made sp200 foldable solar unit which sounds fine, if not a little expensive, so I have been looking at other flexible solar panels like renogy 175 watt panel and the renogy 100 watt panel because they are still quite portable and work out cheaper than the bluetti foldable unit. I am running in to problems with compatibility with these solar panels and wonder if someone could recommend a flexible solar panel set up that would work with my eb70 considering it’s supposed input constraints. This is proving to be a headache !
The EB70 solar input limit is 200 watts, so any panel that can supply that (up to 28 V at 8 A) with MC4 connectors can charge the EB70. I have an EB55 with the same limits, and I am using two Newpowe 100 W panels in series. They are not foldable but work well. Maybe your VW Transporter can hold one or two fixed panels on its roof.
Thanks for that. Ian looking to go with flexible low profile panels that I could either mount or keep inside the van for versatility purposes. I was looking at the renogy 175 watt flexible panel that has an optimum operating voltage of 19.5v and an open circuit voltage of 23.9v and an optimum operating current of 8.98A - do you reckon this would work ok ?
If the panel uses MC4 cables, it should work, although the EB70 may limit the input to only 8 A.
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I reckon that panel would do right well.
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EB70 can output 1000w? I thought it was 700w for normal and 800w for the s model. Is there an update that wasn’t posted on their site?
I believe the 220 volt European model is rated for 1,000 watt AC output
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Based on my experience, I recommend upgrading to the EB150. We started with the EB70, and found that we had range anxiety pretty quickly. Also, with the EB150, we can keep it super simple, and have absolutely no need for solar panels. Our electrical draw needs are minimal, only an Iceco JP 50 fridge, which draws only 32 W when it’s running. Apart from that, a couple of LED lights. So, no real big deal. No microwave, induction cooktop, or water heater. The fully charged EB150 will run the fridge for 5 to 6 days and somewhere in that time, you’re going to be driving, or at somebody’s house. The only problem with EB150 is that you can’t recharge it from the cigarette lighter because it requires 16 V minimum. So, to solve that I got a $60 regular old 1000w inverter, mounted it under the drivers seat, and wired it to the battery, so I can run the 200 W wall charger unit to recharge the EB150 while driving. We just finished a two week trip, never went below 60%, absolutely no need for the complexity of solar panels. Just my opinion. Upgrade to the big battery unit, less expense overall, less stress. If you stick with the 70, I believe you can recharge from the cigarette lighter while driving, again reducing the need for panels. Another trick to extend battery life is to take your 12 V Jack for the fridge, which is typically plugged into the 70 or the 150, and stuff it into the cigarette lighter anytime you’re driving. That way the battery pack is only running the fridge when you are stationary. In my opinion, throwing solar panels on is asking for all kinds of additional hassles… We did get the RockPals 100w, just because we thought we should have some backup, but it doesn’t put anything near 100 W ($175). Under ideal conditions, maybe 75w. Behind windshield, less. Off angle, less. And, because the cells are all wired in series, it is super sensitive to any disruption of sunlight anywhere on the panel. And worse at the output side. If so much as a leaf or shadow (like from a windshield wiper blade) falls on the panel near where the power exits, output drops to about 15 watts or less. Of course, if you’ve got panels mounted on your roof permanently, you probably have more consistent sunlight exposure. But especially with the bigger battery, I don’t think you’re ever going to need it. Cheers.