Escapees July-August 2024

RVSOLAR5 Run Household Appliances Off-Grid: Choosing and Sizing an Appropriate Inverter By DAVID HUTCHISON AND SHARI GALIARDI #161101

T his isour fi fth article in a six-part, RV Solar 101 series, designed to help you size a solar-powered system that will meet your needs. If you missed our fi rst four articles (November/December 2023 through May/June 2024), start there before diving into this deep discussion of inverters. Two Types of Power 1 ALTERNATING CURRENT (AC) 120V-240V generally comes from a “shore power” hookup: an external power source that is connected to the electrical grid. When you pull into a campsite with 30A/50A electrical service and plug the RV into it, the fridge and all of your electrical outlets should run just like at home.

Do you want to boondock and run your higher-wattage appliances like you can at a campsite with electrical hook-ups? Installing an inverter in your RV can make a big di ff erence, but selecting the cor rect type and size of an inverter is key to both the safety of your system as well as your satisfac tion with its performance! With an inverter installed in our rig, we’ve been able to live and work o ff -grid for nearly 12 years while boon docking around the continent.

35

July/August 2024 ESCAPEES Magazine