dvfreelancer
Member
After drawing up plans for my portable solar power system to power phase I of the new house, I was dealt a setback this week when I started tracking our power usage and was shocked to find out our 5th wheel is drawing as much power as a full size house and that's without running a washer/dryer.
Actually, it's more than our 1,750 sq foot house, with an electric stove, electric washer and dryer, and 1,600 watts worth of sodium arc lights in the garage.
Went back and did some baseline measurements. Running just the electric water heater, inverter, the vampire loads from the TV/VCR and refrigerator we draw 10 Kw hours per day. So 300 Kw hours a month as baseline, running nothing else. Yikes! That was my entire estimated power budget. That's with a gas stove and no clothes washing. Ouch.
Going back and reviewing our power bills we're running 900 Kw hours a month and higher in the summer. That makes this 325 some odd square feet of living space the most energy inefficient I've ever lived in. And that's pretty competitive with the neighbors, so it's not just us.
I was shocked to find out what power hogs RV's really are. That means I'm going to need to rethink Phase I of the solar house construction. The plan was to build the pad, Phase I portable power system, septic tank, water well and water treatment system, then live in the 5th wheel during construction. But building the power system for 900 Kw/hours a month is going to almost double the price. Twice as many panels, more batteries.
There are a lot of good reasons to live in a camper, but I guess going green isn't one of them. That was my own fault for not doing more research ahead of time. I can find a solution, but it won't be living in this beast. Dang.
Actually, it's more than our 1,750 sq foot house, with an electric stove, electric washer and dryer, and 1,600 watts worth of sodium arc lights in the garage.
Went back and did some baseline measurements. Running just the electric water heater, inverter, the vampire loads from the TV/VCR and refrigerator we draw 10 Kw hours per day. So 300 Kw hours a month as baseline, running nothing else. Yikes! That was my entire estimated power budget. That's with a gas stove and no clothes washing. Ouch.
Going back and reviewing our power bills we're running 900 Kw hours a month and higher in the summer. That makes this 325 some odd square feet of living space the most energy inefficient I've ever lived in. And that's pretty competitive with the neighbors, so it's not just us.
I was shocked to find out what power hogs RV's really are. That means I'm going to need to rethink Phase I of the solar house construction. The plan was to build the pad, Phase I portable power system, septic tank, water well and water treatment system, then live in the 5th wheel during construction. But building the power system for 900 Kw/hours a month is going to almost double the price. Twice as many panels, more batteries.
There are a lot of good reasons to live in a camper, but I guess going green isn't one of them. That was my own fault for not doing more research ahead of time. I can find a solution, but it won't be living in this beast. Dang.