What could be done to green up RV's? Here are Coachmen's ideas.
RV's, or recreational vehicles if you prefer, are a very popular means of transportation, especially when vacation time rolls around. I can remember taking family vacations to such destinations as the Smoky Mountains in our family's own RV. But, as highlighted in this article, RV's in general are built with little mind to environmental concerns. Hazardous plastics and chemicals go into the production of RV's. What could be done to help them "green up" their act? Coachmen, a large company which builds RV's, has two technologies in mind. The first is to power the diesel engine with biodiesel. A good first step, right? The second is to add solar panels to the roof of the vehicle to charge the on-board batteries which power accessories. At this time, a portable generator is the preferred method of battery charging. Sounds like a pretty good second step. As the writer points out, these technologies are already proven effective, so, why would Coachmen need to do a "tremendous amount of testing" before implementing them? Oh well, we can hope that the testing takes place in a timely fashion.
[Source: The Red Post]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michael Hippenhammer 1:48PM (3/21/2007)
I have been installing RV solar systems for 6 years. Some do small systems to keep their batteries topped off and some do systems with 6 volt true deep cycle golf cart batteries and 2000 watt inverters to run their microwaves, hair dryers and coffee makers, TV entertainment, satelite sysems etc. The larger systems are usually 2-125 watt solar panels or 3-125 watt panels. Don't even concider running the air conditioning, they will drain your batteries very quickly and takes days to recharge your batteries or you will have to start the generator and have the inverter/ charger charge them back up. Make coffee and then pour it into a caraffe right away and then turn it off. A coffee maker uses 900 watts per hour. Doing it this way only uses 150 watts. 900 watts/60 minutes=15watts per minute. 15watts x10minutes= 150 watts. Use this at home too! A single 125 watt solar system with charge controller and batteries installed is about $1100. With 3-125 watt solar panels , 4 golf cart true deep cycle batteries, and a 2000 watt inverter charger installed is about $5400. My customers generally do not like crowds or camp grounds and hate generators and use their systems to get away. Each panel I install will save between 100 to1000 gallons of fuel in their life time. Have fun!
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Chris M 7:35PM (3/21/2007)
Hippenhammer, you've confused watts with watthours. It is like confusing miles with mile-per-hour.
900 watts for 1 hour is 900 watthours or 0.9 Kwh.
Since 10 minutes is 1/6 of an hour, 900 wh / 6 = 150 wh = 0.15 Kwh. Right answer, just wrong way in getting there.
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Danny 11:57AM (3/23/2007)
Going Green in the Florida Keys is what I wish to get started.....Have '86 VW Camper Van that needs an electric Motor and solar cells, etc....
Also wish to get '86 Toyota Motorhome to do the same or go Hybrid for more flexibility.....
Those interested in joining the cause please help...I'm danny ( KeyWest MulletMan on my space )
305-896-7015
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