Green power on the go

RVs have a bad rap. They’re gas-guzzlers on the road, and when parked in a campground, their noisy, smelly generators run into the night so their passengers can power appliances like microwaves, stereos, and televisions. Between the audible and nasal assaults, and ever increasing cost of gas prices, Randy Hall was getting sick of it. So he started looking around for another way to keep his recreational vehicle aglow into the night. He installed a solar panel on his roof. And then so did his brother. Pretty soon their neighbors at the lake, where he spends many of his weekends in his own RV, were asking for installations.

“About five years ago, we were sitting around the campfire, going ‘you know, we ought to try to make this a business,’” he said. So, he launched RV Solar Connection (www.rvsolarconnection.com), which specializes in solar-powering people’s play vehicles.

A single 135-watt solar panel installed on the roof and connected to an inverter can power electronics including televisions, refrigerators, stereos and microwaves for up to 22 hours.

“The more solar you have, the bigger toys you can power,” Hall said. He designs custom systems for people based on what they want.

His latest installation, his 55th, was one solar panel on the roof of a fifth-wheeler so the owner could watch television at night whether he was parked at a campground or in a remote destination, away from other vehicles and any power sources.

“More and more people are doing what they call ‘boondocking,’ and looking for quiet, alternative power sources,” Hall said. He’s seen a steady increase in traffic, and hopes to launch his business out of the barn in his backyard, which currently serves as his workshop, and into a shop of its own next year.

“Phone calls are up, sales are up, everything is up, even in a down economy,” he said.

The systems he installs have an output range from 85 watts to 780 watts and cost between $1,200 and $10,000, which includes the inverter that converts the energy from the solar panel to a voltage a household appliance could use. The top of the line system, he said, is for people who live in their RVs and want to replicate everything they could do at home—vacuum, iron, and even use a washing machine. Even the biggest solar panel systems won’t run the water heater, a clothes dryer, and probably not an air conditioning system, he said. But they provide enough power to cut back on propane use significantly and save the vehicle’s battery the wear of running all the way down and powering back up, nearly doubling the battery life.

The investment will also hold up for over 20 years, according to Hall, who mentioned the first solar panel he bought in 1990, which he said still works like it did the day it was new.

Hall uses photovoltaic modules from Kyocera Solar, which he said have about a 16 percent efficiency rating. Once placed on the roof, the solar panels are set to be able to flip up on one side or the other to face the sun and get the most out of the available sunlight. He also can simply tether the solar panel to the rig with wiring, allowing the driver to park the RV in the shade and leave the solar panel in the sun.

While enjoying the freedom of the road will still cost Hall about $3 a gallon, he’ll be enjoying the freedom to park where he wants, free from outlets and the whir of gas-powered electricity.