With this fan, we do not need air conditioning, thus saving a ton of energy.Īdditionally, we charge our phones, camera batteries and other small devices right from two DC USB outlets built-in to the inverter. This little fan removes cooking fumes and cools our trailer at night.Įven in warm, muggy conditions we can close all the windows in the trailer except the one next to our bed and keep a cool breeze flowing over us all night long. We run our Fan-tastic Vent fan directly from the battery and it has been the best single upgrade we made during our renovation. There are many RV appliances made to run on DC. ![]() The battery supplies Direct Current (DC) at 12-volts. “My alternative to using pro would be to drive back out to cell service”. The Dyrt Pro lets you download maps and campgrounds without cell service. Prepare for your next adventure by downloading maps. We lost our first battery after leaving it in our rig in the mountains of North Carolina while we traveled abroad to volunteer for a few months. ![]() If you’re going to store your camper over the winter, remove the battery and store it somewhere like a basement or garage. One thing we learned the hard way is that batteries don’t like bitter cold. Many charge controllers also have an integrated display which indicate the battery’s charge. The charge controller is an important device which prevents the panel from overcharging the battery. The solar panel connects to the battery via a charge controller, and we use just one 12-volt deep cycle marine battery to power our lives. We harness the solar power during the day and store it for later use when we need to run lights, a fan, or to charge up our phone, laptops, or rechargeable batteries. And, we might want to consider why we’re in Ohio in February! But, if we happen to be in Ohio during the perpetually grey days of February, we might need to plug in to shore power. If we are in the southwest, we can collect all we need and then some in just a few hours. However, if we are intentional, we can collect an adequate amount of energy during the winter months, depending on our location. Naturally, the best time of year for solar is summer, when there’s more sunlight hours and the sun is at a steeper angle to the northern hemisphere. We used to have an 80-watt panel, and while that functioned fine, we have certainly noticed the benefit of the extra 20 percent in terms of charging performance. We use a 100-watt folding solar panel with an integrated stand made by Renogy, and we try to optimize its location by moving it around to the best spot throughout the day, whenever we can. Three things affect the amount of flow: the size of the panel’s output, the number of panels linked, and the availability of unobstructed sunlight. When sunlight hits a solar panel, electrons start flowing. Solar powered systems are built upon 3 stages: collection, storage, and usage. We challenge you to get rid of your gas powered generator! Over the past 6 years of living on the road, we’ve become passionate advocates for solar power and downsizing energy needs. We selected a portable panel over a permanent roof installation for a couple of reasons: we were afraid to put a large panel bracket on the roof of our 60-year-old vintage trailer, and we wanted to be able to park our trailer in the shade without wasting valuable charging time - we simply remove the panel and place it in the sun. ![]() By making our solar panel visible, we’re encouraging dialogue about our use of solar power, and we love to educate people about the sustainability of this power source.įor the past six years, we’ve run our mobile lives nearly exclusively on solar power. But we also placed it to make a statement about our choices. We intentionally set up our panel on our camper where it can readily collect energy. Lots of people we meet on the road are curious about how we use solar power to camp full-time. This week, they’re sharing how they power their life with solar power from Renogy. Every Thursday, they’re bringing us stories from the road. Shari and Hutch live on the road full-time in their vintage “canned ham” trailer.
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