Charging My Pontoon Boat With Solar

Question:

I am looking to add solar to my electric pontoon boat. I have a torquedo 48v motor connected to (4) 12v batteries. I also have a seperate 12v battery just for the boats accessories (lights, radio, fish finder). Other people on the lake have converted to solar and stated 400 - 450W is the magic number. I am just starting to learn about solar for my boat, and looking at the E-flex 170 vs the GSC175.  The daily output is almost double. So would I then need only 200W of solar? - James

Answer:

Hi James, thanks for reaching out regarding a solar array for Red Skies.  Sizing your array is typically based on your daily load consumption and in this case depends if you are looking to recharge the 48v system or 12v system directly?  

For example the Gioco 175 watt solar panel has a max voltage of 20.88vDC, the 48v system would require at least 3 of these panels wired in series to recharge your batteries and needs to be connected to an MPPT controller which regulates the voltage to the battery, in the same way a shore power charger works.  

We would be more than happy to help with sizing out your array and the components required.