Solar panels in Food Truck

SOLAR PANELS FOR A FOOD TRUCK

Food trucks are becoming more and more popular in Poland. Vendors from mobile restaurants offer coffee, candy, hot dogs, ice cream, and other culinary products. Unfortunately, the preparation of food products always involves the consumption of electricity for refrigerators, coffee machines, vending machines, lighting, etc. The most popular solution to this problem so far has been a power generator. Unfortunately, a generator causes a lot of noise and consumes a lot of fuel, which is not very environmentally friendly. Also, they are often stolen since they are always placed a long way from the vehicle to reduce noise.

The solution to this problem is to mount solar panels on the roof of the food truck to generate electricity and transmit it via the charging regulator directly to the battery. Energy from the battery is collected by voltage converters, which converts it into sinusoidal alternating voltage, such as in an electrical socket or from a power generator. A properly selected photovoltaic installation can provide electricity to a food truck all day long.



Selection of solar panels and accessories for a food truck

We should choose the right amount of solar panels and batteries depending on the amount of energy we need. A frequently used solution is two 320W solar panels and two 220Ah batteries connected in series to 24V for a voltage converter with 2500W of continuous power. What does this mean in practice?

Starting in the morning at 8:00 am with full batteries, we have 5.2 kWh at our disposal. Working until 6:00 pm, we can count on recharging another 5.8 kWh of electricity, so we will have 11 kWh of electricity at our disposal throughout a sunny day. However, if the day is cloudy, we can count on about 6-7 kWh of energy. This amount of electricity is enough to power refrigerators, coffee machines, and other cooking machines. Of course, in the event of energy shortages, we can use a generator to recharge the batteries or draw energy from directly. In practice, however, it turns out that it is possible to meet the energy demand from solar panels alone without major problems.

For each food truck, the specific photovoltaic system should be selected based on the energy needs. It is also worth considering the installation of rigid solar panels because they are significantly cheaper than the flexible modules used in motorhome tourism.



What devices can be powered by solar panels?

We can supply solar panels to any device powered by a generator or the network. This is the same electricity as from a power plant. The only limitation is the continuous power offered by the voltage converter. For 2 220Ah batteries, 2500W continuous power is suitable. However, if we want to achieve even higher powers, it will be necessary to use larger batteries and a larger voltage converter. It should also be borne in mind that we do not use a voltage converter with constant power all the time. Full power consumption should be momentary and occasional, rather than continuous.

Recharging the batteries with an external generator.

However, if the energy consumption of our food truck is so large that we have to use additional sources, it is worth equipping ourselves with an additional battery charger, which can be powered directly from a generator. Then, in bad weather or during periodic high usage, you can save yourself with a power generator.

Recharging batteries from the mains.

As with a power generator, if we have an external battery charger it is possible to recharge the batteries from the mains. On the other hand, if our food truck is not used every day or if we end the sales day early, our photovoltaic system may charge the batteries at the end of the day and at the beginning of the next day before we start using them. 
If you need more detailed information or would like to design your own system, please contact our office at 22 646 46 92. Below are all the components needed to install on a food truck as described in the above article.