Doing a Solar Audit::?

Ok thanks for all the great info..

Audit without kill-a-watt: multiply 12V amps on daily hours of use.
If it's 12V device, 12V Amps = Watts/12.
If it's 120V device, 12V Amps=Watts/10.

Ex, old 18W bulb draws Amps=18W/12=1.5A. 2 bulbs on 4 hours a day, 1.5A*4*2= 12 AH.

Ex, TV says 50W on the nameplate, Amps=50W/10=5A. Watching TV 4 hours a day, 5A*4=20 AH.

Total for lights and TV: 12+20=32 AH.

And so on.

This math will work with devices up to 150-200W.

CA Traveler wrote:
Plug the 4400 into a pedestal and your shore cord in the 4400. Do a normal 24HR dry camping test and the 4400 will tell you the usage.

The kWh then needs to be converted to equivalent battery draw. With the TV and CPAP your usage may be higher than expected.

Careful with this, the 4400 is only rated for 15 amp. And it's not weather-proof.

Plug the 4400 into a pedestal and your shore cord in the 4400. Do a normal 24HR dry camping test and the 4400 will tell you the usage.

The kWh then needs to be converted to equivalent battery draw. With the TV and CPAP your usage may be higher than expected.

Lights, fridge controls (even on propane), water pump are all examples of the 12 volt stuff. Your CPAP may even have the option to run on 12 volt, not all do. The reason to look into whether it will or not is the reduction in efficiency running an inverter to produce 120, just to reduce it back down via a cord power supply. As noted in the other thread, you don't have a very large energy piggy bank (battery bank), so you'll have to be judicious with the withdrawals you make.

Hey D&R, anything electrical is my weakest subject.. Not totally understanding the 12/120 thing? So when I plug in my tv that's a 120 right?
What would an example of the 12 be and why do we have both?
I guess because when we are boondocking, we use batts which are 12 and
when we are on shore power 120?

Plug the Kill-A-Watt into a receptacle, plug device into it. Best bet is to run it for an average day's use, for 24 hours. Kill-A-Watt will give total energy used, in a few formats, such as kWh, ah, etc. Do this for any 120 volt devices you want to use. The 12 volt things, you'll have to estimate the total time used in a day, multiplied by the wattage or amp load of the device.