To calculate the solar panel size:
\[ \text{Solar Panel Size (watts)} = \frac{\text{Battery Capacity (Ah)}}{\text{Charging Factor}} \]
Battery Capacity (Ah): The amount of charge a battery can hold, measured in ampere-hours (Ah).
Charging Factor: A multiplier that ranges from 0.5 to 0.7, indicating the power needed to efficiently charge the battery.
Assume you have a battery with a capacity of 100 Ah. The minimum and maximum solar panel sizes needed would be calculated as follows:
Minimum solar panel size (Charging Factor = 0.7):
\[ \text{Solar Panel Size}_{\text{min}} = \frac{100 \text{ Ah}}{0.7} \approx 142.86 \text{ watts} \]
Maximum solar panel size (Charging Factor = 0.5):
\[ \text{Solar Panel Size}_{\text{max}} = \frac{100 \text{ Ah}}{0.5} = 200 \text{ watts} \]
Selected solar panel size for a charging factor of 0.6:
\[ \text{Solar Panel Size} = \frac{100 \text{ Ah}}{0.6} \approx 166.67 \text{ watts} \]