Escapees May June 2015 Demo

the inverter. Check the entertainment system, microwave and other appli- ances to see which ones turn on. If the RV has a residential fridge, the invert- er may be dedicated to the refrigerator and nothing else. If your rig doesn’t have a factory- installed inverter, you will need to use either a portable inverter (for small appliances) and/or you will need to install a big inverter for things like the microwave, hair dryer and toaster. In- verters over 350 watts must be wired directly to the batteries and can’t use a cigarette lighter-style DC outlet. Inverters can be either modified sine wave, meaning that they generate an adequate electrical signal that may or may not work for the most sensitive appliances. Or they can be pure sine wave, meaning that they generate an electrical signal that mimics house- hold electricity very well and can be used by all appliances. Beefing Up the Battery Bank Batteries are just a storage place for electricity. Think of the batteries as a big tub, and think of electricity as water flowing in and out of the tub. When you charge the batteries, water is flowing into the tub. When you turn on the lights and watch TV, water is flowing out, draining the tub. The big- ger the tub, the longer it takes to drain it. Turning on the faucet full blast (like having lots of current flowing into the batteries) will fill the tub quicker. To live without electrical hookups

Solar power may sound a little mysterious, but it isn’t complicated to under- stand. It all boils down to two basic systems: one to charge the batteries from the sun, and another to convert the battery power so household appliances like the TV can use it. This article describes the components that make up a solar power system and discusses a few elements of system design.

Getting AC Power out of DC Batteries—Inverters Getting AC power into an RV does not involve solar power. One way is to use a generator, either a built-in or a por- table one. Generators create AC power using fuel. However, you can also get AC power from the batteries using an inverter. This is an electrical device that converts the DC power from the batteries into AC power. Inverters come in all sizes and prices. The smallest ones (around $20) plug into a cigarette lighter-style DC outlet and have one or two of the familiar three-prong A/C outlets that you can plug a small appliance into. Plug the inverter into a DC outlet in your RV (or toad), plug the phone into the inverter, turn the inverter on and the phone will begin charging. Invert- ers can be found at auto parts stores, Walmart and truck stops. Many motorhomes come with a big factory-installed inverter (most trailers don’t). If your RV has one already, turn it on while your RV is unplugged from shore power, and see what goes “live” in the rig. Plug a cell phone charger or other small device into all the wall outlets to find out which ones your inverter powers. For those out- lets, you don’t need shore power, just

Batteries—the Heart of an RV’s Stand-alone Electrical System The difference between a house and an RV is that a house runs on 110- volt AC electricity, while an RV is designed to run (in part) on 12-volt DC electricity. The heart of this 12- volt DC power system is the “house bank” of batteries. These batteries supply power to “the house” when the shore-power cord isn’t plugged in. What Can Your RV Do Now With- out Hookups? Before diving into a big solar pow- er upgrade, it is worthwhile to get a baseline understanding of how your rig functions without electrical hook- ups right now. Begin by unplugging your rig’s shore-power cord. If your RV has a house battery bank switch, turn it on (most trailers don’t, so you can skip that part). Then go inside the RV and see which electrical switches work. If a light or fan comes on, it’s a DC light or fan. If it doesn’t, then it requires AC power. If the refrigerator can run on propane, then it will be function- ing, and when you open the fridge door, the DC light inside will come on. The microwave, TV and AC wall outlets won’t work.

“Inverters come in all sizes and prices. The smallest ones

(around $20) plug into a cigarette lighter-style DC outlet and have one

or two of the familiar three-prong A/C outlets that you can plug a small appliance into.”

14 . ESCAPEES | May/June 2015 | www.escapees.com