More information about Power Generators
[TEMPLATE]phpbay top 3[/TEMPLATE]
RV Living: Why You Should Consider Solar Power
Author: Bill Revill
Half a lifetime ago, when my wife and I first got a taste for remote RV living, we decided very early on that solar power had to be the way to go. Despite rapid advances in solar technology -- even way back then -- many fellow travelers were surprised when they learned our RV was "solar powered".
Granted, that tiny house-on-wheels was getting on in years, and there was still a general belief among caravanners and motorhomers that solar power was "too expensive" and "too technical". But whatever their reasons, I'm here to tell you that solar-charged 12 volt battery power was then, and still is, worthy of serious consideration -- regardless of the size or age of your traveling rig.
In fact, even the most basic system -- such as ours was then -- provides not only a significant boost in self-sufficiency, it also saves enough money to recover your outlay in under three months. Even today.
For example, a 30-watt, self-regulating solar panel costs around 0 to 0 here in Australia. If you then factor in a no-maintenance, deep-cycle battery of at least 75 amp-hour capacity -- to be installed in the RV -- at maybe 0, plus suitable cabling, a salable plastic battery box (vented to the outside), and miscellaneous hardware for, say, more, your total outlay shouldn't be much over 0.
After that, every night you make use of your on-board power, on a "no hook-ups" campsite, you stand to save between and on tourist park fees. Sometimes more. On those figures, the whole set-up pays for itself in maybe 30 nights or less!
True, sufficient power would normally be available from your towing vehicle's standard battery over one or two nights, but if the vehicle doesn't move for two or three days the engine will almost certainly need a run for an hour or more to "top up" the charge taken out of the battery. And with single-battery set-ups, there is always a risk of over-using your power, resulting in a flat battery!
On the other hand, if you prefer the overnight security and companionship of a tourist park, an unpowered site -- those nice, quiet spots down the back -- saves maybe - per night. Which means you could still have your investment back in the bank within six months.
No matter how you look at it, solar was -- and is -- the way of the future. It's clean, efficient, silent, and requires almost zero maintenance. And once the initial outlay has been covered, basic power needs from that point on are free.
However, there is a downside. (Isn't there always?) A fixed solar array -- on the RV roof, for instance -- needs to be receiving the sun's rays long and strong to adequately replenish the battery's charge. Parked too long in the shade, or suffering through a lengthy stretch of rain-filled skies, can knock out a single-battery power supply in two or three days, even with judicious use. For that reason, some travelers have an additional, portable solar panel that can be constantly repositioned to catch the sun's most direct rays, for as long as possible.
Nevertheless, in the four years we owned that well-traveled little van we had very few problems. (Mind you, we have always carried "conventional" backup in the form of a small petrol generator, and our vehicle has always been dual-battery equipped to share the campsite power needs.)
And about that tricky technology? Well, if a techno-slouch like me can have the whole system installed and operational in under two hours, anybody can!
What we did was: (1) mount the solar panel directly onto the RV roof (with sealant carefully applied in and around the screw holes), then (2) run the panel's cabling down into the van (through the corner of the all-seasons hatch) into a cupboard. Being a self-regulating solar panel, a regulator was not necessary between panel and battery, so the cables were fixed directly onto the battery.
The battery was housed in a robust plastic storage bin with a close-fitting lid, which I further sealed with silicone. Two lengths of 6 mm plastic hose vented the box to the outside through the caravan floor (inside the cupboard). Battery terminals were fitted with heavy-duty extension straps that passed through the side of the box to the outside to facilitate normal connection via alligator clips, a portable 12 volt socket, or sometimes a low capacity inverter. All holes in the floor and the battery box were fully sealed (both sides) with silicone sealant.
As for maintenance, all that's required is an occasional wipe-down of the solar panel, and a general examination of wiring and seals from time to time. I also put a multimeter across the battery terminals every so often to see how it was tracking. (Of course, this reading is only accurate after the battery has "rested" for a half hour or so, i.e, no charge in or out.)
OK, we've learned a bit more about solar power since then, so we did some things differently second time around. But these differences were, essentially, because our fulltime travel now needs more than twice the power, with quite a lot more in reserve. So gizmos and gadgets are scattered throughout. But when we think back on that tiny, "drag-it-anywhere" caravan, with its most basic, D.I.Y. solar power set-up, we still get to feeling warm and fuzzy. (Self-sufficiency in the bush will do that!)
For our money, solar power and RVs are made for each other; it's impossible to imagine a wandering life without either.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/rv-living-why-you-should-consider-solar-power-294449.html
About the Author
Bill Revill is an Australian freelance writer, fulltime RV traveler, and remote lifestyle expert. For further information go to: http://www.livingontheroad.com http://www.authorsden.com/billrevill Copyright 2007 by W.V. Revill.
[TEMPLATE]phpzon[/TEMPLATE]
[TEMPLATE]phpbay[/TEMPLATE]
What are your energy needs?
If you simply need power for lights and a fan, running a gen all night longs makes no sense at all. Doesn’t the RV have battery powered lights as well as AC lighting? If you have a refrigerator, does it have an LP gas option? If not, that might be an option to explore and probably cheaper than running a gen in the long run.
If you need power for air conditioning then you are out of luck since these are huge power users and will probably kill a battery (using an inverter) in a very short period of time.
Running a gen is very expensive and not very efficient. We ran our house for ten days one winter when the power was out. We ran the gen 8 hours a day, 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the evening. This kept the deep freezer (huge power hog) at an acceptable temperature and provided lighting for the evening hours. We carried water and ran a wood heater to reduce our dependence on electricity.
I would advise the same strategy for you. Determine what you really need electricity for and switch everything that you can to other forms of energy. This may allow you to downsize your generator to make it more economical to run and run it less as well.
Run as much as you can off the 12V battery at DC rather than using appliances designed for 120V and requiring the use of an inverter. It is more efficient and will allow you to use a small solar panel to help with the battery charging. When you are running the gen you should also use it to help keep your aux battery charged and a second aux battery may be justified. You might be able to use a solar panel to charge one battery and swap it out with the other when it becomes depleted.
The key is analyzing your energy needs, reducing them as much as possible, using alternative sources of energy where practical, and optimizing your use of the gen. If you think about it, this is the world’s challenge as well…
You can use an inverter if you really want to. Unfortunately, converting 12 VDC to 110 VAC consumes a lot of battery charge. You’re increasing the voltage by a factor of 10 and to do so you also increase the current draw by a factor of 10. An item that takes 100 watts or about 1 amp from 110 volts will take the same 100 watts but this means about 9 amps from the battery. A 900 watt microwave would take more than 75 amps from your battery. A TV will take more than 10 amps. If you have a couple of good sized, deep cycle batteries to run the inverter you can do the basics. A TV, stereo, DVD player, that sort of thing. You could run a microwave but a propane powered oven would work better in this situation. It might take a little longer but it won’t drain your batteries. I’m sure your RV has propane tanks for a furnace and stove. Just run your generater during the day to recharge the batteries and don’t expect to have the use of all electrical your appliances at night. If your RV doesn’t have 12 volt lights and maybe other 12 volt options then it was simply meant to be parked at an RV park or site where shore power was available.
Charge controllers that are meant for Solar charging are significantly different to Battery Chargers meant to be used on AC. I suggest using an Automatic battery charger and adding a Solar charger controller at a later date.
Since you won’t want to be running your generator for many hours, get a reasonably beefy one. e.g. if you were to base the charge rate on the C/20 rate your 115 A/h battery would take 20 hours to charge at 5.7 Amps (+ a bit to allow for conversion efficiency) (assuming full discharge, which you don’t want).
well that’s gonna suck some electricity too. Try a electronic parts store, like EPO http://www.epo-ecp.com/ they will be able to help you either buy one or design one if thesable or practicle.
I have a system similar to that which I put together.It’s really pretty simple,some people are overwhelmed and scared to try.
Keep the 12 volt leads to the inverter from the source as short as possible and don’t expect miracles out of the inverter because they consume power even at idle.Here’s a good website to glean some information from.
http://www.oynot.com/solar-info.html
Where can i get a cheap Power inverter? or build one?
I would like to know where i can get a power inverter for the cheapest price. I need it to be at least 3 Kilowatts (3000 watts) and at maximum it should be at 5 Kilowatts (5000 watts)or otherwise can someone tell me how to make a power inverter? i know that this one of those things that YGWYPF (You get what you pay for) but i still would like to get it as cheap as possible
I am planning on powering my RV with it, i have a generator but that uses too much gas.
All suggestions relevant to this question are appreciated
I plan to hook up a large inverter to an electrical circuit w/ an extension chord..will it work?
making my own rv out of a schoolbus..have a generator, converter box to change 120 v to 12 v when necessary, solar panels to hook into system, and a 2500 watt inverter. Most of the appliances are 120 volts..only the water pump is 12 volt. I need someone to help with hooking up this system…
Thanks,
Jess O. Adkins DVM
What Size Charge Controller for Generator—>RV Battery?
I recently bought a cabin with no power connection. I am planning on a 2000w generator—>charge controller—>RV Battery—>inverter. (I will add solar a bit later.) Seems sensible to add a battery, rather than having a generator running all the time.
I’m clear on the generator and the inverter, but I am not understanding what size charge controller I need. I was planning on a DieHard 12v RV battery – reserve capacity 200 min, 115 amp hours at 20 hour rate. The charge controllers I am seeing are as small as 7 amps and up to 30 amps (and seem to be intended for solar, rather than a generator charge).
How do I choose what charge controller I need for this battery and generator?
If I am using a 5500 Watt Generator for RV, should I use inverter? So confused…?
I’m a young guy trying to live in an RV. I have a 5500 WEN generator. It is an early 70′s model RV. Should I get something that can store the power i’m producing to last through the night, or should it just charge my accessory battery? Someone just explain in laymen’s terms what I should do to conserve and produce the most energy with my generator. Even if it means using solar panels.
WEN is the brand name, it has 120 output, I have it converted to use the 4-prong plug thing, sorry im dumb when it comes to this stuff.
What can you do if you can’t use rv generator before 10am and not after 8pm to use any electric appliance?
If choosing Solar panel, what size, wattage, etc. When using a marine battery, can I hook up an inverter on the outside parking and plug an extension cord to it and run it inside the motorhome?
at a campsite for electrical appliances, like tv, microwave, etc.