![]() ![]() They convert 12 volt DC power into 120 volt AC power, also known as 'house current.' That's what's available at every electrical outlet in your house in town! If you are not in the USA, inverters are available worldwide for every different electrical scheme, you just have to buy the right one for your country. In the last 5 years, 'power inverters' have dropped dramatically in price and become widely available-the internet, truck stops, the local NAPA auto parts shop, everyone sells these gadgets now for cheap. ![]() That's why most 12 VDC lights and appliances are very small.a typical car cigarette lighter plug and outlet can't handle much power before becoming hot from electrical resistance and melting your dashboard, or (hopefully) blowing the fuse first. Problem is, 12 volt power has lots of losses in the transmission, and to reduce the losses things need to be wired with very thick, expensive wire that's hard to work with. That's why the 'Sally Ann' is powered only by (silent) solar power, with the option of a (again, silent) shore power connection.ġ2 volt DC versus 120 volt AC power systemsĪ few years ago, just about everyone that powered a camper (or small cabin, for that matter) from solar used a 12 volt DC (12 VDC) system-that's a direct feed to your cigarette-lighter-plug gadgets off of a 12 V battery or bank of batteries. Perhaps we are Luddites, but we do like our peace and quiet. They put all this stuff right in their campers! We are boggled by this attitude towards wasteful power use, and the noise, fuel cost, and maintenance factors of running an infernal combustion engine at the edge of the wilderness. ![]() There have been other people at certain campgrounds we've stayed at recently who seem to need satellite television dishes, big screen TVs, electric Mister Coffee machines, electric refrigerators, and all kinds of other stuff that we are trying to get away from. If we bring our vintage Grumman canoe, we do use some serious power with the electric trolling motor-more on that later. Bright lights are essential if we are tying trout flies in the evenings. We need lights at night, a portable radio / CD boombox, and battery chargers for our 2-way radios, digital cameras, and GPS units. Not a whole lot for us-we go camping so we can flyfish, and get away from all the modern contraptions and their noise. Since DanF's Dad has a vintage 1968 Starcraft pop-up camping trailer available for use, DanF figured that installing a simple solar power system in the "Sally Ann" and writing a web page about it would be a great way to catch the late summer damselfly hatch near Walden, Colorado and the October caddis hatch in Lowell, Idaho and still pretend that he was actually working the whole time! System design considerations (and how we addressed them) In reality, our servers are located along the North Platte river in the stretch between Seminoe Resevoir and Pathfinder Resevoir in Wyoming, often called the "Miracle Mile."Īccording to the best medical research available, the only sure cure for these fatigue and 'googly eye' afflictions is a few days of fishing. He apologizes sincerely to them for trying to convince them last fall that our company web server cluster facility was located on the shores of Hohnholz Lakes on the Laramie river for better security, and that weekly trips up there were required for regular servicing. That means that at certain times of the year, he is 'unavailable' for work because of a particularly nice insect hatch on our home waters here in Northern Colorado, or indeed anytime all his hours spent staring at a computer screen start turning his brain into mush and making his eyes go googly.ĭanF's employers, who are probably now reading this new web page, are particularly advised to note how often this problem occurs. Unfortunately for his employers at, DanF is a trout bum. Our vintage 1968 Starcraft pop-up camping trailer, the "Sally Ann." It was the shakedown cruise for our new old pop-up camper and its new solar power system. Yep, that's a ring from a rising trout in the lower righthand corner! We caught and released over 200 trout on that 2-day camping trip. Hopefully I've eliminated most of the jargon, and at least explained all the jargon that's used. This article is my attempt to explain the basics of it for a complete beginner. I receive a ton of email each week with questions about the basics of designing RE power systems, ranging from tiny systems for a camper trailer to large home power systems. I am a professional renewable energy (RE) author and avid flyfisherman, and I've lived 12 miles off the power grid for the last 15 years, powering my home entirely from solar and wind power. ![]()
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