Whats it cost to get EHU free?
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I think we can all agree that Solar Panels, LED lighting, USB charging and of course Safefill have made a real difference to us. By us, I mean everyone. These things have given all of us a real choice, whether we want it or not, where before, if you were to go off grid, you were reliant on keeping your battery/s charged by what ever method you chose and that could be taking it for recharging by the site, plugging up to the towcar, carrying a spare in the car and running around to charge it etc. Now, with the SP, those actions can be consigned to history. Not only that, the accessories that we use in everyday life now are of little draw on batteries with again, LED lighting, phones, tablets, toothbrushes etc being charged through USB, low wattage heat pumps etc while the Safefill takes the brunt of the hard work providing heating, hot water and fridge- we owe so much to the modern technologies - they did not come easily- the LED for instance was a long and hard road and although the LED was invented in 1927 it was of no practical use. Various improvements were invented from time to time but it wasn't until as late as 1994 that Shuji Nakamura having worked tirelessly came up with the LED we know today - and it was the faith and dedication of that man who bought it about and now look where we are. A tenth of the battery power we used to use and just as bright if not a little better- well done and thank you to that pioneer! and I am, eternally grateful to Safefill for sticking to their guns and fighting hard for the last 7 years against the big boys. They must have felt like giving up at times(Safefill not the big boys 😂) but they haven't and thank goodness they didn't. There is an important meeting this week between SF and Morrisons! Watch this space!!. Since I became a full offgridder, things have got better all the time in the technology field with more efficient SPs but particularly- cheaper SPs! I believe modern techs will continue to improve to a point where even the deepest heel against non EHU will start to slip. We live in a time and with inventions that our forbears could only sit and dream about. Can you imagine talking to your dads and saying "Yes, and there this panel that we can put on the caravan roof or fold out to face the sun and it makes electricity completely silently and all it needs is light! " "Oh and there is a fitting instead of a lightbulb that takes a tenth of the power to light the van" Can you imagine what they would say? I find the new techs very very exciting and the possibilities of them are staggering. Makes me wonder what the next generation will have?? Any (sensible) suggestions?😀
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Lightweight batteries taking up very little space? That solar plane that went round the world must have used something not out here yet? For sure they didn't lug batteries around and weren't always in a position to ground themselves if the sun didn't shine a lot? The panels themselves must have been lighter than most too I should think. I hope my son doesn't read CT he would expect me to know more since he did some training to help one of the pilots with his sleep!
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my brothers new Li-ion golf battery is the same capacity as mine, is half the size, weighs about a quarter of mine but cost around three times as much....
the tech is getting there but its still early days and costs are too high for many.
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Pippah and BB, I think you have a very good point. Battery tech has come on a long way and is still developing. I think it's the major field for development as far we are concerned. I was reading of a Sodium battery the other day but again, the technology isn't there yet but they are getting there with collaboration between the Chinese and the Yanks. What the weight is like I don't know but if they are anything like the Li-Ion weights they will be good. Sodium = Salt= plentiful supply = cheap power= yeah right! Certainly SP tech is still improving and they reckon another 25% efficiency by 2025. - not because there will be more conversion by the panels (although there may well be) but more that the production of the panels will be so much better and will decrease flaws that lose power now. I wonder if new materials will be developed for electric motors for driving pumps etc will improve electrical efficiency? As far as I can see, there are three avenues that will improve our hobby. Better absorption and conversion rates of light through SPs, equipment that takes less amps to run and battery technology improving yet more. What do people think of Li- Ion batteries? On the surface they seem to be excellent at taking and holding charge, Like for like, they are a third of the weight and give twice the amps that a wet 110ah gives. You can completely discharge them and charge them back up again, they are good for 5,000 cycles rather than 400 - 500 in a lead acid battery. They give the same amps through the entire discharge of the battery - they are excellent at storing charge from a solar array apparently- and the best bit, although they have a bigger up front cost, they are cheaper overall to lead acid batteries- call me a cynic - there has got to be a flaw somewhere- what are they not telling us?
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I must of forgotten to mention got a stove stop expresso pot as well as the cafetière. Got a jar of Nescafé as well for the full fake coffee effect as well. But if you need believe that the best coffee comes in a mass produced pod then frankly jog on.
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Meanwhile away from smelling the coffee. After 8 days off grid @£7 per night. Now pay £14 per night and get the use of the microwave. We didn't empty the safefill so estiminated cost approximately £1 per day For gas
Go to the Welsh national rally in a couple of days another 5 nights non ehu.
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Thanks DD. That is an extremely useful bit of info. You are spot on when you say the temptation of DIY is always there. When it comes to electrical work as was the case with the inverter, SP and extra battery, I would much rather pay someone who really knows what they are doing and, more importantly, understands the pitfalls. after all, I don't want to see my van in flames on a site! I am looking at Li Ion batteries as a source of storing the SPs power. Having said that, here on site in the Lakes, it has been overcast for most of the time and still we have had all the power we want and need. We have watched the box for 3 or so hours on some evenings with no indication of low battery power from the monitor. Thanks for your sage advice.
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Definitely worth a read! Excellent. Certainly sounds like a sticking plaster solution. Tesla' batteries certainly seem to be much safer. This article has certainly given me food for thought and I will go into this much deeper now. Thanks DD
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Brilliant tread with lots of information. Makes you think about other options. I went to THS sites 'up North' 4-5 year ago and non EHU CLs with a 80 watt panel and managed for weeks without electricity and watched some telly as well. My current caravan and the need to charge all sorts of gadgeds may need an additional battery.
AD thanks for starting this tread and Merve and others thank you for sharing your knowledge.
CT at its best. 👍
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Sorry DD, I will reply to you and coffeebreak on the other thread. We all seem to be using (me included) Daves thread as the main one instead of the sticky. Perhaps , now that Daves question has been answered we can all move back to the How to thrive thread as some of this stuff could be missed by interested parties? This stuff is informative and important. We need to keep it in front of people. Thanks to all.
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On the CL owners group web page on their facts and figures page, average consumption on a CL pitch has been 12Kwh per pitch per night.. On a forum I have seen a CL owner quote an average of £4.30 per day. Looks to be a wide variance of experience possibly explained as to whether a CL was open all year or not.
peedee
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Just coming late to this one - I know the battery discussion went into new directions but it's still relevant to the long term cost. I'm no scientist, but thinking back to the room-sized computers of the late 20th C which do less than your phone does now, I'm confident demand will mean cheaper reliable new tech batteries will be here before long.
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The problem will arise when electricity cost will vary a lot by the hour. Smart meters will charge the site operator a variety of different rates according to the time of day. Site costs and therefore charges will go through the roof if we all carry on the same as now.
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Looking at past correspondence on this subject, in a post above in response to Boff, I got my figures wrong. The figure of £1000 was for 5 pitches not one. I also note the Club responded to early threads on fitting metering. While they acknowledged a SMART metering system would be the fairest and would undoubtedly reduce their site wide electrical usage and cost to members, Fitting such a system would be prohibitively expense.
What they did not reveal was what system they had costed and how "smart" a system it was. I suspect it to have been at the top end of systems if not at the very top.
peedee
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Going by the IT systems it would be a totally bespoke system that in 12 months' time few could understand and none repair.
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The problem being of course that while members go to club sites in their thousands without even thinking of what they are being charged and what percentage of that is power, do the club really have an incentive to change to smart metering. When the letters and emails start to pile up on Nicks desk regarding charges for power, maybe they will move then- who knows?
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Haven't had a chance to check 12v socket on the motorhome, well i when I went I kept forgetting 😲.
This is our socket, photo below. If I were to get one of these and wire it to a 3 pin socket, to make a sort of extension lead
Can I just plug in the TV, small domestic one and phone charger?
Sorry for the dumbness of the question but I really just don't understand 😀. At present we use an invertor which is clipped to the habitation battery when needed.
My proposed solution would do away with a real extension lead and the need to clip invertor to the battery.
Wouldn't want to change the plug permanently on TV as we do use ehu.
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Bakers, you need something like this adaptor to allow you to plug in your 12v TV, or even other 12v appliances....it just converts ypur old two pin socket into a more modern cigar/type socket.
AH, just saw tour last sentence about 'changing plug on TV.....which must be a 13A plug.
do you know if the TV is mains-only?
if it is, you will need to continue with the inverter.
if its 12v also (dual voltage unit) there should be a seperate lead with a cigar type end on it.
if you have one of these, this is the lead ypu need for plugging intomthe adaptor i listed.
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