formulas for energy audit?
Getting ready to a long trip next summer with a few nights boon docking and thinking generator, battery bank, inverters etc and know I need to do an energy audit for my trailer. Trying to put togethe...
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For what it is worth, here is my experience. I have an Escape 17B, a small fiberglass "egg" with a pair of 232 amp/hr 6V batteries, a GoPower 95 watt solar panel & controller, and a 1000 watt inverter. All LED lighting, a furnace that only draws 1.8 amps, and a bunch of electronic junk, including a laptop that draws 8 amps @ 12V, various camera & cell phone chargers, and a combined cell phone amp & router that draws 2 amps. No TV - I prefer to read.
During a 2 week stay in Leadville, CO (at 10,000' so the mornings required about 45 minutes of furnace running even in August), I made a pot of coffee using a 600 watt drip coffee maker every day. The coffee maker uses about 10 amp/hrs, and my overall usage averaged 25 amp/hrs per day. Because i was dry camping for 2 weeks, I only ran the cell phone amp & router as needed, and was careful with electrical usage.
While the cool weather & high altitude probably helped with the solar panel efficiency, I was able to restore the used amp/hrs each day, often by mid day, and always be evening. I don't carry a generator.
During a 2 week stay in Leadville, CO (at 10,000' so the mornings required about 45 minutes of furnace running even in August), I made a pot of coffee using a 600 watt drip coffee maker every day. The coffee maker uses about 10 amp/hrs, and my overall usage averaged 25 amp/hrs per day. Because i was dry camping for 2 weeks, I only ran the cell phone amp & router as needed, and was careful with electrical usage.
While the cool weather & high altitude probably helped with the solar panel efficiency, I was able to restore the used amp/hrs each day, often by mid day, and always be evening. I don't carry a generator.
