Alternative Energy & New Pictures at bottom of pages

A couple of years ago, I stepped into the Operations Supervisor's office at work to ask a question. Before I could speak, he said, "Hey, you're an engineer. Can't you figure out how to get a couple of gigawatts of power from a drop of water?" I laughed and talked with him for a bit about renewable energy sources. At the time, I knew little to nothing about the subject, but the conversation sparked an interest. I began to read about it and this has now become a bit of a hobby for me. By the way, I left his office that day concluding he was not so much an environmentalist as he was a survivalist. He wanted an energy source after you could no longer buy electricity from "The Man."

I tell this story because, as it turns out, RVs and campers have electrical systems typical of what you see in alternative and renewable energy systems. Renewable energy, RE, is about getting your power from renewable sources - solar, wind, hydro, and so on. Alternative Energy, AE, is about making your own energy rather than just buying from your local power company. AE might use renewable sources but it also might use generators that are powered by petroleum, coal, wood, or whatever.

In an RV, you often need to power appliances, operate your slide-out, retract your awning and so on, when you have no power available. When possible, the RV tries to eliminate the need for electricity to start with. The stove and water heater operate from propane. The refrigerator is usually a dual energy source device. It will operate from electricity if it is available, and automatically switch to propane when necessary. This is important since you need your refrigerator and freezer to work when you are traveling between destinations.

For those things that must have electricity, the RV has a battery system. The battery, or perhaps battery bank, is charged whenever you do have a power connection available or even from the vehicle when traveling. The RV lighting is 12 volt DC so that it can operate directly from the battery. This simplifies things, eliminates the energy efficiency losses of the inverter, and allows the use of a smaller inverter. The inverter, (an inverter converts the 12 volt DC to 120 volt AC) provides power for anything that requires 120 VAC; the microwave, TV, coffee pot, your cell phone charger, or whatever. There are outlets throughout the RV coach just like in your home. There are also a number of 12 volt DC automotive type connections. You can use your automobile cell phone charger and such in these outlets.

Of course, there is a limit to how much power that can be stored in a reasonably sized battery or battery bank. The power hungry air conditioner won't run off of the inverter, at least not for very long at all. Larger RVs usually have a generator so that you can extend your time operating without a power connection or run the air conditioner. The generator uses the same fuel as the vehicle, gasoline or diesel, or in some cases, propane. I suppose propane generators are more common in non motorized campers. Unfortunately, there are a few problems with generators. First of all, they are noisy. It will be irritating to you and your neighbors. Many RV parks limit or ban their usage because of this. Also, they burn fuel pretty quickly. Systems are typically designed to shut down when the vehicle fuel tank reaches one quarter full. You wouldn't want to be so short on fuel that you can't drive to a filling station. And if not well maintained, they can create a carbon monoxide risk. For this reason, there is always a carbon monoxide detector on board.

Enthusiasts who are into boondocking - boondocking is camping without any hookups; I'll talk more about that in a later post - will sometimes install solar panels on their RV. This completes their battery/inverter system, making it a compete solar energy system and allows them to stay out for longer periods.

All in all, the RV's on board energy system is well thought out and very useful. Even if you are not into boondocking, it's nice when you realize you have not retracted your awning until after you disconnected the power hookup or just to run a few lights when you've stopped in a rest area at night while traveling between campsites.....Hardware