Caravan Solar Panel Installation: Roof Mount vs Portable Panels

Fit a roof-mounted solar array if you move often and want charging that happens with no setup, including while towing. Use a portable panel or solar blanket if your camps are shaded, your roof is full, or you will not drill the roof. Most Australian tourers run both: a fixed array for baseline charging and one portable panel for shade and top-ups.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Roof-mounted panels charge automatically and while driving. They cannot be moved out of shade.

2. Portable panels and solar blankets can be aimed at the sun, but must be set up, packed away and watched.

3. Caravan and RV electrical work is governed by AS/NZS 3001.2:2022, not the household rooftop solar standard AS/NZS 5033.

4. An MPPT controller recovers about 19 per cent more than PWM at 25 degrees cell temperature, and much less when panels are hot.

5. Size the array from daily amp-hours and local peak sun hours. One 215W panel yields roughly 60 Ah a day at 4.5 peak sun hours.

6. Every charging source needs exactly one regulator and its own circuit protection on the battery side.

Which Solar Setup Should You Choose?

Choose roof-mounted for automatic baseline charging, portable for shade and flexibility, and both if you travel regularly across mixed sites. Match your situation to the table below.

Your situation	Best setup	Why
You move every day or two	Roof-mounted array	Charges while towing and needs no setup at all
Your usual camps are shaded	Portable panel or blanket	Goes into the sun while the van stays cool in shade
Roof is full of hatches and aircon	Portable panel	Adds capacity without needing roof space
You will not drill the roof	Bonded panel or portable	Avoids roof penetrations entirely
Weekends with powered sites available	One roof panel, 200–215 W	Covers fridge and lighting at the lowest cost
Full-time off-grid touring	Both, with a LiFePO4 battery	Fixed baseline plus shade cover on bad days

The honest answer to “roof or portable” is usually both. A fixed array covers the fridge and background loads without thought. One portable panel rescues the days when the only usable parking in camp is under a tree. Buying a roof array plus one portable panel costs less than discovering later that a single setup does not cover your travel.

Roof Mount vs Portable Solar at a Glance

Roof-mounted solar wins on convenience and unattended charging. Portable solar wins on placement, flexibility and zero roof penetrations.

ROOF-MOUNTED PANELS ✓ Charges with no setup at all ✓ Keeps charging while you tow ✓ Uses no storage or boot space ✓ Very low theft risk ✓ Fixed flat, cannot be aimed ✓ Limited by free roof area	PORTABLE PANELS AND BLANKETS ✓ Goes where the sun is ✓ Tilts and rotates through the day ✓ No holes in the caravan roof ✓ Easy to add to any van later ✓ Set up and pack away each day ✓ Needs watching at unattended camps

Feature	Roof-mounted panels	Portable panels and blankets
Setup effort	None. Charges whenever the sun is up	Set up and pack away each day
Charges while driving	Yes	No
Works with van parked in shade	No	Yes. The panel goes where the sun is
Can be aimed at the sun	No. Fixed flat	Yes. Tilted and rotated through the day
Roof penetration	Usually, unless bonded with adhesive	None
Storage space used	None	Boot or tunnel-boot space per panel
Theft risk	Very low	Real risk at unattended camps
Capacity limit	Free roof area	How much you will carry and set up
Best for	Constant movers, full-time touring	Shaded sites, extra capacity on demand

What Is a Roof-Mounted Caravan Solar System?

A roof-mounted caravan solar system is rigid panels fixed to the caravan roof, feeding a solar charge controller near the battery through a sealed roof cable entry gland. It charges every day the van is outside, including while you tow, with no setup.

Roof area is the constraint. A HiTech 215W monocrystalline module measures 1450 x 760 x 30 mm, so each panel needs about 1.1 square metres of clear roof. Air conditioners, hatches, aerials and awning arms all reduce what is left.

Three mounting methods are used in Australia. Aluminium Z-brackets or corner brackets are screwed and sealed to the roof. Structural adhesive bonds the panel with no penetrations. Clamps fix the panel to an existing roof rail.

Brackets are the strongest method and lift the panel slightly so it runs cooler. Bonded panels avoid holes but sit flat, run hotter and are difficult to remove later.

The cable entry is the part that leaks, not the panel. Use a proper roof cable entry gland bedded on the correct sealant for your roof material. Silicone is not suitable on many caravan roof membranes, so check what your manufacturer specifies.

Browse caravan solar panels and solar accessories at HiTech Power Solutions.

What Is a Portable Solar Panel or Solar Blanket?

A portable solar panel is a folding panel or fabric blanket placed on the ground and plugged into the caravan through an external Anderson plug. It can be stood in full sun and aimed at it while the caravan stays in shade.

Solar blanket. Flexible fabric-backed cells with no glass. Lighter for the same wattage and rolls into a soft case. Needs propping, pegging or leaning to stand up.

Folding solar panel. Rigid glass panels on a hinged frame with built-in legs. Heavier and bulkier, but it stands up on its own and survives rough handling better.

Blankets suit travellers short on storage space. Folding panels suit travellers who want to stand it up and forget it.

Handle a blanket by its edges, do not fold it across the cells, and never drive over it. Creased or delaminated cells are where most blanket failures start.

Can You Run Roof and Portable Solar Together?

Yes. Wire the roof array to its own controller and bring the portable panel in through an external Anderson plug. The one rule is that each source passes through exactly one regulator before it reaches the battery.

Regulated portable panel. The controller is attached to the panel. It must reach the battery directly, not through the roof array’s controller. Two controllers in series confuse each other.
Unregulated portable panel. Raw panel output. It must reach a charge controller inside the van first. Connecting it straight to a battery will overcharge and damage it.

💡 Tip: fit the Anderson plug even if you only want roof solar. An external Anderson plug costs very little at build time and lets you add a portable panel later without opening the walls again. It is the cheapest future-proofing in a caravan electrical system.

Schematic wiring layout, not to scale. Each charging source passes through one regulator and its own circuit protection.

How Many Watts of Solar Does a Caravan Need?

Size the array from your daily amp-hour use and your local peak sun hours. As a benchmark, one 215W panel yields roughly 726 Wh, or about 60 Ah at 12 V, on a 4.5 peak sun hour day.

Step 1. Find your peak sun hours. The Bureau of Meteorology publishes average daily solar exposure in MJ/m2. Divide by 3.6. A site averaging 16 MJ/m2 gets roughly 4.4 peak sun hours.

Step 2. Calculate panel yield. Panel watts x peak sun hours x 0.75 for heat, cable loss and angle. For a 215W panel: 215 x 4.5 x 0.75 = about 726 Wh per day, or 60 Ah at 12 V.

Step 3. Compare against your load. A 12 V compressor fridge drawing 3 A and cycling 40 per cent of the time uses about 29 Ah in 24 hours. Add lights, pump, charging, and a heater fan, and one 215W panel leaves little margin.

Array size	Estimated daily yield at 4.5 peak sun hours	Typically suits
200–215 W (one panel)	About 700 Wh, roughly 60 Ah at 12 V	Weekenders and powered sites with occasional free camps
400–430 W (two panels)	About 1,450 Wh, roughly 120 Ah at 12 V	Most extended free-camping setups: fridge, lights, pump, heater, laptop
600–645 W (three panels)	About 2,175 Wh, roughly 180 Ah at 12 V	Full-time touring, regular inverter use, larger lithium banks

These figures are estimates derived from the calculation above, not measured results. Winter, cloud, latitude and shading all reduce them, often sharply. Check your own appliance ratings and camping locations before committing to an array size.

Two limits decide whether the number works. The battery must be able to store the harvest, and its chemistry must accept the charge current. That is where LiFePO4 pulls ahead of AGM.

Should You Choose an MPPT or PWM Controller?

Choose MPPT for any array above a few hundred watts, for cool or low-light conditions, and for LiFePO4 charging. PWM is acceptable for a single 12 V nominal panel on a 12 V battery where cost matters most.

Victron Energy’s published comparison shows an MPPT controller harvesting 100 W where PWM took 81 W from the same panel at 25 degrees cell temperature, a difference of about 19 per cent. The same document notes the gap narrows sharply at high cell temperatures.

That matters on a hot caravan roof. The HiTech 215W module has a maximum power voltage of 17.5 V and an open-circuit voltage of 20.52 V. With one panel of that type on a 12 V battery, PWM loses less than many buyers assume in summer, though MPPT still wins in the morning, in cloud and in winter.

Choose MPPT when	PWM may be enough when
Your array is a few hundred watts or larger	You are running a single small panel
You want the best return in low light and winter	Cost matters more than the last 15 per cent
Panels are wired in series at higher voltage	The panel is 12 V nominal on a 12 V battery
You are charging LiFePO4 and want profile control	The battery is AGM, and the profile is simple

Whichever you choose, set it to the correct charge profile for your battery chemistry. A controller left on a lead-acid profile will not charge a lithium battery correctly.

Compare MPPT and PWM charge controllers at HiTech Power Solutions.

Where Does Shade Hurt a Roof Array Most?

Shade hurts a series-wired array most, because the shaded panel limits the current for the whole string. Wiring panels in parallel keeps the loss contained to the shaded panel.

Bypass diodes inside each panel reduce the series loss but do not remove it. A single aerial shadow crossing one panel can cut the whole array’s output far more than the shaded area suggests.

Two responses help. Wire in parallel where the controller and cable size allow it. And position panels to avoid the shadow paths of aerials, hatches and air conditioners across the whole day, not just at noon.

What Australian Rules Apply to Caravan Solar?

Caravan and RV electrical installations are governed by AS/NZS 3001.2:2022. AS/NZS 5033, the household PV standard, explicitly excludes vehicles and does not apply.

AS/NZS 3001.2:2022, Electrical installations — Connectable electrical installations and supply arrangements, Part 2, took effect in 2023. It introduced requirements for the safe installation and storage of on-board batteries.

AS/NZS 5033:2021 excludes PV arrays on transportable structures, vehicles and boats. Those fall under AS/NZS 3001 and AS/NZS 3004 instead. Most competing articles get this wrong.

Do You Need an Electrician to Install Caravan Solar?

No for the 12 V side, yes for anything at 240 V. Twelve-volt solar wiring is extra-low voltage, up to 120 V ripple-free DC, and sits outside licensed electrical work.

The inverter’s 240 V output, any AC power points and the mains charger connection are licensed electrician work. Energy Safe Victoria states that unqualified electrical work is both dangerous and illegal. The 12 V side may be done by a competent owner or auto electrician, but it must still comply with AS/NZS 3001.2. Check your own state’s rules and your insurer’s position before starting.

What Components Does a Caravan Solar System Need?

A complete system needs nine parts: panel, charge controller, battery, roof gland, mounting hardware, Anderson plug, circuit protection, battery monitor and, if you run mains appliances, an inverter.

Component	What it does
Monocrystalline solar panel	Generates DC power. Higher watts per square metre than polycrystalline
Solar charge controller	Regulates panel output and charges the battery to the right profile
LiFePO4 or AGM battery	Stores the harvest. Chemistry decides usable capacity and charge rate
Roof cable entry gland	Seals the roof penetration where cable enters the van
Mounting brackets or adhesive	Fixes the panel to the roof and sets how cool it runs
Anderson plug	External connection point for a portable panel
In-line fuse or DC breaker	Protects each charging source on the battery side
Battery monitor or shunt	Shows actual state of charge instead of a guess
Pure sine wave inverter	Converts 12 V DC to 240 V AC for mains appliances

Integrated systems combine several of these in one enclosure. The POWERSYNC 3050 brings MPPT solar charging, DC-to-DC charging, inverter charging, distribution and circuit protection into one prewired unit. POWERSYNC 3680 adds a 2600W pure sine wave inverter and HiTech Connect app monitoring on Android and Apple devices.

Buy Your Caravan Solar at HiTech Power Solutions

HiTech Power Solutions is an Australian specialist in caravan, RV and off-grid electrical and electronic systems, supplying panels, controllers, lithium batteries, DC-to-DC chargers, inverters and integrated POWERSYNC power management across Australia. Talk to the team about matching a panel, controller and battery as one system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do solar panels work on a caravan in winter or cloudy weather?

Yes, but output drops substantially. Panels still produce in cloud and winter, just far less, because irradiance is lower and the sun sits lower in the sky. Bureau of Meteorology data shows southern Australia receiving markedly less solar exposure in June than in summer. Plan winter free camping around a larger array, a bigger battery, or a DC-to-DC charger.

Are flexible solar panels any good on a caravan roof?

Semi-flexible panels suit curved roofs and setups where weight and drilling are the main concerns. They usually have a shorter service life than rigid framed panels, because they run hotter bonded flat to the roof. Photovoltaic output falls by roughly 4.5 per cent for every 10-degree rise in cell temperature, so a panel with no air gap loses real output on a hot Australian roof.

Will a solar panel charge a lithium caravan battery?

Yes, provided the charge controller is set to a LiFePO4 charge profile. Lithium batteries accept higher charge current than AGM, so they make better use of a large array on a short winter day. Do not run a lithium battery on a controller still set for lead-acid.

How do I connect a portable solar panel to my caravan battery?

Through an external Anderson plug wired back to the charging circuit. A regulated portable panel must reach the battery without passing through the roof array’s controller. An unregulated panel must reach a charge controller first, never the battery directly. Either way, the run needs its own fuse or DC breaker on the battery side.

How do I stop a portable solar panel being stolen?

Use a cable and lock through the frame or handle to something fixed, position the panel where you can see it from the van, and pack it away when you leave camp. Theft is the practical trade-off of portability, and it is the main reason travellers keep a roof array as well.

Does a roof-mounted panel charge the battery while I am driving?

Yes, whenever there is daylight on the roof, though output varies with shade along the route. A DC-to-DC charger is still worth having, because it charges from the alternator at a steady rate regardless of weather and delivers far more on a wet travel day. See chargers and inverters at HiTech Power Solutions.