Recently, someone asked me about installation and usage of these devices. I suggest the use of an amp-meter in the instruction guide for our Portable Solar Kit. In other words, an amp-meter tells you the real story of how much power is reaching your batteries. You can see the real impact of your solar panels, minus the power you're using. It's like the power meter on your house, keeping careful track of exactly what you use.īecause an amp-hour meter counts the power going in and out, it's great for people with solar. It uses a little device called a shunt which very accurately measures every bit of electricity that goes into or comes out of the battery. The amp-hour meter is a totally different animal than a voltmeter. People who rely on solar frequently–such as those who like to camp without electrical hookups–use an amp-hour meter to monitor their power usage and understand how much power they've got to work with. So, what's a solar power loving Airstreamer to do? It's like trying to weigh a cat that doesn't want to sit still. Further, the voltage reading on a voltmeter goes up and down depending on a lot of factors (that's a whole separate blog post). You're basically left to guess, based on your experience. But a voltmeter is not very useful in determining how much usable power you have left, or how much power you're using at any given time. Modern Airstreams are equipped with a voltmeter that tells you the current voltage in the batteries (you'll find it on the "SeeLevel II" panel in late model Airstreams). When you're relying on solar power to keep your Airstream charged during a trip, the question that's always in the back of your mind is, "How much power do we have left?"
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