The "all electric" coach is probably a misnomer
A couple years ago when I was placing my order for my new coach, I had to decide if I wanted an "all electric" coach. At first mention, that sounded great -- no more propane use.
After having the coach for a year and a half now, I'm glad I took the "all-electric" option, but there are some negatives and I wanted to talk about the pros and cons.
First of all, the idea that you can use your coach, year round, without burning fuel is a misnomer. The "all electric" appliances will still burn fuel in certain circumstances, but it won't be propane. There are essentially four systems impacted by this option:
ON EDIT: I updated this to add the oven description. Also, I should add that I've got a 600 watt solar array that was not part of the electric package. It was extra.
After having the coach for a year and a half now, I'm glad I took the "all-electric" option, but there are some negatives and I wanted to talk about the pros and cons.
First of all, the idea that you can use your coach, year round, without burning fuel is a misnomer. The "all electric" appliances will still burn fuel in certain circumstances, but it won't be propane. There are essentially four systems impacted by this option:
- Cooktop / Oven - In my old coach, we had a propane cooktop and in the new coach, it's an induction model. While the induction model is usually adequate, I'd say the propane model was much more powerful and easier to control. Sure, it caused more humidity in the coach, but it was easier to cook with and didn't require the generator to be on while boondocking. The induction cooktop is easier to clean and does the job. The electric oven is a GE Advantium Microwave / convection oven. It is a bit smaller than the traditional propane oven. Like the cooktop, I prefer the gas oven to the electric oven. But since RVs typically come with a microwave anyway, the electric ends up being a space saver. Some folks never use their gas ovens.
- Refrigerator - This is the old debate between propane and residential. I think most of you are familiar with the debate so I'll boil it down to more room and better temperature control in the residential refrigerator versus less electric power usage with the propane model.
- Heating / Furnace - The "all electric" option uses an electric heat pump to heat the coach until the outside temperature falls below 40 degrees, then it draws upon the hydrostatic water heater to provide heat. If the temps don't fall too low for too long, the two electric heating elements in the water heater will do an adequate job. However, if temps fall much lower for much longer, the system will need to burn diesel fuel to keep up. This is not a bad tradeoff and probably saves us a ton of money, but it's something to consider. The heating system will still burn fuel in extreme cases.
- Water Heater - Again, the water heater uses the hydrostatic heater in the basement that is heated by electric heating elements or a diesel burner. For short showers with little water flow in warm climates the electric heating elements are more than adequate to provide nearly continuous hot water, but in many other situations, the diesel burner must be activated to heat the water.
ON EDIT: I updated this to add the oven description. Also, I should add that I've got a 600 watt solar array that was not part of the electric package. It was extra.
