Community Forums

oakcreekeric · 08-28-2014, 08:50 AM

Hello..

I've done some searching and cannot find what I am looking for...

Has anyone tried to figure out the cost of plugging in their coach while at home?

We do.. we usually keep the fridge on and I am guessing any device in the rig that would keep the batteries charged as well..

The reason I ask this is.. my GF has the RV at her house and she just got her electric bill.. it was high.. higher than it was last year (double the amount of electricity used).. I don't remember if we were plugging it in last year the way we have this year.. but I'm wondering if keeping the fridge on, along with the battery maintainer (if there is one in the coach) would have a significant draw... we use a 110v extension cord..

Anyone have any ideas?

JudyH · 08-28-2014, 09:00 AM

We just got a 50 amp RV plug installed out back, and I am interested to find this out, too. I don't think it would be that much more to add to the electric drain, unless you are running AC. We had 30 amp service at our old house and its cost was minimal.

Dr4Film · 08-28-2014, 09:00 AM

Sorry, but each RV would be different and every location in the country charges a different price per KW so it would be difficult to say what you are finding for your specific location and RV usage.

I did a study on my residential fridge power usage and it came out at 1.81 - 1.83 KwH's per day. I used an inexpensive Kill-O-Watt meter to plug in-between the fridge and the outlet.

Depending on how many things you have plugged in and running you may be able to use the Kill-O-Watt meter and then add them all up.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

D in Davie · 08-28-2014, 09:00 AM

That is a hard question to answer without more info. I am not sure if it makes sense to run the refrig or the A/C as that would increase your electric usage considerably. The Battery chargers drain on your house electric would be minimal or barely noticable. If you live is a cold weather climate you could put a drop light with a 100 watt bulb in your basement next to your water tanks to keep them from freezing. If you are running your refrig so you don't have to empty it after each use then check your bill every month to notice the difference. As a comparison: When I unplugged my home refrig for 2 months while I was away I notice the electic bill only went down $13 a month. I don't think you can get much better efficiency from your MH refrig.

Skip426 · 08-28-2014, 09:08 AM

Don't believe the cost of plugging coach in with just the , converter/charger and fridge running would be significant.
Have you checked to see if the meter reading was correct ? Transposing numbers by a meter reader, has been an issue for me before.
The S & B is now on a " Smart " meter that reports usage daily , and I can compare , day to day use on the power company web page.
On a recent 3 day away from the house , coach plugged in, C/C and fridge on, and only the house fridge and freezer running, cost was $0.80 a day @ 0.085 a kwhr. I don't have a test without the coach to compare to.
There are inline power usage meters available , for 110 circuits , if you care to investigate further.
EDIT: And I see as always , other members have posted while I was typing . Boy I type slow.

**TonyDi** · 08-28-2014, 09:28 AM

Gotta get Skip that Dragon voice recognition software so his typing speed can get faster.

Skip426 · 08-28-2014, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TonyDi

Gotta get Skip that Dragon voice recognition software so his typing speed can get faster.

Right , DW talks to her computer; mostly words that I can't put on a post
; but I type at the same speed I think , so no real advantage.

To the OP, sorry for getting side tracked here, back to topic.

oakcreekeric · 08-28-2014, 09:41 AM

OK...

Didn't really think about the amount that is charged around the country.. I believe we have fairly reasonable rates here in WI... and I guess I don't necessarily need to know the cost.. but to use double the amount of Kw as she did last year.. that is what prompted the question..

We have a Norcold refrigerator and that is all we really have running.. we do it to keep our condiments cold for the next trip.. nothing else runs.. we don't run the AC..

Very baffling !!

Dr4Film · 08-28-2014, 10:18 AM

Eric,

The Norcold uses 12 VDC to run the control board PLUS when on shore power the two 120 VAC heaters use a lot more electricity than an energy saver residential fridge.

If you want to save electricity, run the fridge on LPG. You will still be using a certain amount of shore power to keep your batteries fully charged and also to power the 12 VDC phantom loads that almost every RV has.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

onespotleft · 08-28-2014, 10:24 AM

we have talked about upgrading the plug in front of the house so we can plug in when we have house guests. I would like to know if it will boost the electric bill

mel s · 08-28-2014, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oakcreekeric

Hello..
I've done some searching and cannot find what I am looking for...
Has anyone tried to figure out the cost of plugging in their coach while at home?
We do.. we usually keep the fridge on and I am guessing any device in the rig that would keep the batteries charged as well..
Anyone have any ideas?

oakcreekeric
My "50A"coach is always plugged in, (except when it's moving, we're dry camping, overnighting in a parking lot, or boondocking).

At my home it is plugged into an ordiary 15A receptacle, (via a 50' 12/3 extension cord), with the inverter/charger powered 24/7, (to maintain the batteries),.... and the refrigerator (but only when we are packing for a trip).

When plugged into a 15A, (or a 20A), receptacle, the "amps used", (and the "cost if the power used"), can be automatically measured/calculated with a P3-P4455 meter: http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4455-Power...ref=pd_sxp_f_i http://www.amazon.com/P3-P4455-Power...ef=pd_sxp_f_pt

However, if/when you are plugged into a 30 or 50A receptacle the amp use of each individual appliance has to be measured with the meter, (and added together), to calculate the total used.

Mel
Safari

andy29847 · 08-28-2014, 10:41 AM

I recently stayed at an RV park where the fee for a month included a charge for electricity used. My cost for the 3 weeks we stayed was $51 (the campground owner read then meter). We were living in the RV and used the AC regularly during the day.

Gary RVRoamer · 08-28-2014, 10:51 AM

My fridge draws a steady 4 amps during warm weather. That coupled with the battery charger and other small back ground loads give me a steady 6-7 amp draw all day, slacking off to around 2-3 amps late at night when its cooler. As a rough estimate, I figure 7 amps for 16 hours and 2 amps for 8 hours, so the kilowatt-hours are (16x7x120) + (8x2x120) x 0.001 = 15.36 KWH per day. At my local cost of about $0.15/KWH, that is about $2.30 per day or 69/month. Not exactly insignificant.

Jim28730 · 08-28-2014, 11:06 AM

As others have said, it really depends on where you live. I have my motorhome plugged into 50amp with a separate meter. The coach has a residential fridge and I leave both A/C's on, set at 80 degrees. My electric co-op has a minimum bill of $25 a month and I have yet to exceed the minimum.