Understanding Power Usage?

[Pam]

So very uninformed about anything electrical, power, batteries, generators or solar power. BUT, trying to learn.

In planning the remodel of a '67 Caravel, I am looking at batteries, inverters and solar panels. I have gone and done a rough calculation on power usage as follows; 55 watts/hour for utilities that are mostly consistently on, and 35 amps/24 hours of intermittent short bursts of usage that average 10amps here and there.

My question? Does this sound right to you all?

[Jammer]

Pam

In most cases a trailer shouldn't have any electrical loads that are "mostly consistently on," except maybe the propane detector and the controls for the gas fridge, which together shouldn't add up to more than 5 watts. Perhaps you're including the furnace, or the vent fan, in which case the 55 watt figure makes sense.

With solar much depends on the time of year. A setup that is barely sufficient in the late fall will work just fine in June. The difference is in hours of daylight and in how much you run the furnace.

We find that we can get through one late fall night quite comfortably with our two group 27 batteries, or a 3 day weekend in the summer, with our 30', though that has a larger furnace motor than most trailers.

[Pam]

Thanks for the input. We are going from a 35' Diesel Cutter, with generator. Running things has never been a problem. As I look at the Caravel, I wanted to think about worst case. I am sure my numbers are high.

A friend also recommended that I look at it in reverse; how many and what size batteries will we carry and how much usage can they support, then figure out what it would take to recharge those with solar panels. My husband is also talking about carrying a very small generator that will take care of recharging the batteries if need be.