January 16, 2018

January 16, 2018

Today I was going to make cookies since it’s a cooler day in Yuma. But as with almost every day, the best laid plans don’t often materialize. So here I am filling my time writing on our blog.

When we arrived in Yuma, in November, it was a very hot day and several days after were quite hot as well. With all intentions of using our solar, the heat kept us from doing so. When the temps reach into the 90’s and you live in an RV or trailer, you really do need the a/c. Temps inside can climb pretty high when the sun is baking away all around you.

The electricity, here, costs 18¢ per KWH, so we try and use our solar as much as possible. Some days the sun doesn’t cooperate  or our needs outreach the supply. That is when we rely on shore power to charge the batteries.  Our first electric bill here was not too bad at all at just under $30 for the month. With the 90º days behind us we were able to use the solar much more. 

We can run on solar from midmorning one day to evening the following day.The following night we use shore power to get the batteries back to full charge.  The charge on the batteries is never left to go any lower than 50% charged. The use of the micro wave is not an option since it is a big pig when it comes to usage of power. We later found that my ice maker is also a bit of a gluten. It’s amazing how quickly you can learn to do things without the use of the oh so nice modern appliances.  And you really appreciate them as well. hehehe Anyway, the next electric bill was down to only $18.90. Some of our neighbors had electric bill of $80 and higher. 

Mark put in a new, larger controller this week, so we have been able to use the solar somewhat longer than previously Evenings, from about 4 or a bit later, the sun is going down and we lose the solar energy. That is also the time we are spending more time inside, either on the computer or watching tv.  So we use more power. To minimize the power usage we turn off the computer when not in use and use the low voltage lights or a battery light that is in the kitchen. By morning after the sun has risen the batteries are charging nicely and we continue with the solar power. By evening of the second day we need to switch back to shore power to charge the batteries back to full. And the following morning we go back on to solar. Mark would get more technical with the description, but I think this is good enough. 

The weather today is nice and cool but the sun is in and out so we are forced to use shore power most of the day. That meant that Mark got bacon for breakfast. hehehe. To make the bacon I use my George Foreman grill, another power pig. Using a fry pan makes to big of a greasy mess that I hate having to clean up. And I’m the one that has to clean up the mess, so no bacon when on shore power, unless we go out to eat. LOL

As always it’s an adventure.