UK sites with metered electricity

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When we bought our caravan our model didn't come with a solar panel and any way to use timers but certainly our next one will and I think all LVs should be fitted with a SP as standard.

The battery charger would of course have to be turned off for any energy saving. The big plus for us is it gives us power on non EHU Aires and stops the batteries becoming depleted from running the alarm and tracker in storage. I was very  pleased to have them during the lockdowns, when the MH didn’t move for months.

We have both a caravan and a PVC, they both have solar panels. We don't have extra batteries just the one leisure battery per van. 

Our TV runs on 12v, lights, pump etc.

Mains are for the fridge, hair dryer every 3 days usually, though I could take it to the block and plug in there. We were told by our dealer that the fridge we have (same in both vans) doesn't use a vast amount of gas, its not a tall one with a bigger freezer. 

The caravan we haven't used off grid as such but the MH we have. The battery will last easily 48 hours even without a charge from the sun. 

We converted 2 of our spot lights in the vans to spots with 2 usb ports, from these we can charge our phones/tablets also we can run 12v small fans should we so wish. In fact when in Spain we did run them and the solar panel had no trouble keeping the battery topped up, of course in the UK that might not be the same.

If the club thinks it would cost several millions to replace the bollards with smart meters, then surely this could be done by NOT up grading some of the sites for a year. 

I know this wouldn't be a popular choice with some members but it would be with others. Some of the sites that have be acquired and made over and some that were just made over, did they 'really' need to be done. 

Thinking about Cop26 and our future for the environment, shouldn't we all be try to do a little towards saving energy where we can. 

To be honest will we get the club to invest in smart meters, I'm not sure. If you look at what the future is going to be for us with leisure vehicles I don't think so.

Within the next 10 - 15 years most of us 'old timers' will have stopped using them. The way prices are going will our younger generation be able to afford them or even want to. Sites will change, they already are doing with more pods, glamping tents/huts and luxury mobile homes. Not something for us just yet, but who knows what we might use in the future. So would the club be just as well carrying on as they are and investing the 'several millions' into nicer, more modern sites and places that all ages want to use. 

It looks like electricity will be the main power source in the future so it's important it's not wasted. Ideas about going "off grid" might need a re-think. 

That's is certainly true, although when run off gas for weeks in Spain it doesn't seem to be overly hungry....I haven't checked the actual usage..

however, with plenty of solar and the correct regulator, when the hab batteries are full, the regulator can send a signal (the equivalent to the D+ sent by the alternator) to switch the fridge to 12v and keep it there while solar keeps the batteries up...making use of excess solar power which would otherwise have been wasted.

as that excess power gets used and the batteries get pulled down, the controller will eventually see a requirement to top up the batteries and ceases the 'run off 12v' signal and the fridge switches back to gas...

As Steve says, the 'trick' is to turn off the mains charger and let the solar panel charge up the batteries, reducing the 230v input to sockets (and possibly fridge, depending on set up...).

for those with solar, this is exactly what happens with savvy campers when electric is metered, often overseas where sun is plentiful...why use the bollard to charge your batteries and then leave the solar panel redundant?

..but if your van can produce its own electricity??..certainly enough for lights, phones, water pump, and with the rate of change in battery technology, inverters for hairdryers, microwaves, etc...

We have no written policy to reduce our energy and utility costs

(from peedee's earlier post 're the club's responses from 2017)

Surely an organisation the size of the CC should have one of these as a minimum statement within it's policy documents?

It does seem strange that there is no plan. Also thanks to Peedee for reminding us what was said four years ago and there doesn't seem to be any change since?

I suppose the club have three possible options.

1) They can continue to just add any increased utility costs to the site fees. Depending on the volatility of the energy market this could go unseen by many members as there is no correlation between rising energy costs and rising site fees that is published.

2) They could dampen demand for electricity by limiting the number of amps that are available to either 6 or 10. I suspect that would go over the heads of many members and probably cause more work for the wardens in trying to explain why they can no longer use the electrical items they once could. Whilst some members have said they can manage of a lower number of amps, something you are often forced to do when abroad, I suspect many members would prefer the easy life of not having to think about it?

3) They could introduce electricity metering which even the Club acknowledge would be the fairest way of charging for energy. Although in the longer term this would be the best option, logistically it is not without its problems. Even if the Club decided to go ahead it would be impossible to complete the task over a relatively short time so for quite a while you would have differences across the network. So anyone of a tour could encounter both metered and non-metered sites on a regular basis. Whichever way you look at it the cost would be massive and probably drain any refurbishment of sites budget for several years! We also don't know what will happen to our hobby in ten years time, will it be as popular as we get nearer to the point where ICE vehicles start to disappear? So its going to be a brave person who makes that decision?

David

Having just received a proposed new energy tariff that would if chosen see our tariff for electricity rise by approximately 25% I can't see the CAMC absorbing any increase approaching that when their contract expires. 

I know they should be able to barter down any such percentage increase but they haven't always done so with Insurance contracts for example. Site fees will undoubtedly have to bear the brunt of the increase as the management seem to be adopting the Ostrich formula for making decisions.