We have a 2016 Expedition and just realized one of our air conditioners (the one that can also be a heat pump) has a small solar panel on top of it.  Can anyone tell me what this is used for and what it is capable of?

Thanks

Steve is correct, I have a new Fleetwood Discovery and it sends a trickle charge to the house batteries.

Kimberley Stokes wrote:

There is a switch that turns off electric to the coach.  Does this effect the solar?  Sometimes when we are parking it for 3 weeks or more we will turn everything off and  turn off this switch. Is this recommended or are we doing it wrong?  When we are traveling again quickly we plug the system into 110 just to keep the refrigerator on.  Any thoughts on this?

I am not aware of a factory provided switch that turns off shore power to the coach.  I believe the switch you are referring to actually turns off power to the inverter.  If you are parking the coach without shore power for an extended period of time, turning off this switch is a good idea.  Otherwise, the inverter will continue to draw minimal power from the batteries, shortening the amount of time before they are depleted an unhealthy (for them) amount.   

Our coach is stored beside the house.  We keep it plugged in to a 50 amp outlet to keep the batteries topped off, the interior temperature from reaching extreme temperatures, and the refrigerator cool and ready to go at a moments notice.  Before we had the 50 amp outlet, I kept the coach plugged in to a120 volt outlet to power the converter, which trickle charged the batteries.  A 15 amp circuit should be able to power your converter (charger) and the refrigerator without a problem.

Same thing here, we have a 2018 southwind. They call the solar panel chill grills in the brochure. Have no way to know if they are working or what the  input is at anytime. Anyone have more info on these?

I understand its a small 5 watt panel. Can it be bumped up to a 10 or 20 watt panel using the existing wiring??