Alde control panel

I'm a long way from being an expert FG but I'm sure they're just levels of heat. Similar to gas/electric hobs that go up in number thus increasing heat. The KW being Kilowatts. 1 is lowest comfort setting, 3 is the highest(more heat). Dont forget the disclaimer-I'm no expert

The higher the kW setting the quicker the heating and water will heat up . once it's to the thermostat temperature, it will maybe just use 1kw to maintain the heat . We were out in our van in February and I used gas and electric to warm everything up quicker , I think that was the equivalent of 5 kW . Hope this helps .

Paul

I am no technical expert but think this analogy works. Think as your heater as a three bar electric fire each bar being 1kw in power the three settings turn on one of the 'bars' so 1kw uses 1 and 3kw uses all three. 3kw gets it hot sooner but uses more power to do it and uses more amps in the process.

Someone will go into more technical detail but that's how I see it

Rocky , I posted at the same time but , yes Your right 

Thank you so much Paul and Rocky 2 for your explanations. Now I've got it. Happy days.

whilst on an unlimited electric supply, turning the power up to 3kw for faster heating wouldnt be a problem, but as even club sites 'only' have a 16 amp supply you will need to be aware of what other electrical items are being used at the same time...

16 amp equates to a total availability of 3680 watts....or 3.68 kw.....

so, if you have your heating set to 3kw, youve used over 80% of the available supply at the bollard.

try putting your 3kw kettle from home on and ypu will trip the supply.....hence why some turn the heating down to 1kw if other items like kettles or toasters are going to be used....

youll soon get the hang of it....

A good investment, if it is not already fitted, would be the "load monitor" accessory.

This allows you to set the limit of amps for the site and the Alde will automatically adjust its use down and up (if you set it to say 3kw) , to take account of your total use. It will work no matter what you set the Alde to.

However, it only cuts down the Alde, if you use more that the site limit using kettle etc alone, it will not stop a trip.

The above posts demonstrate why some buy low wattage kettles. 800-1000w, for example. 

We always use it on 3kw and we have never tripped the electric. Our kettle is a holiday kettle so it's lower wattage, I vacuum or use my hair dyer and having the tv on!...it's fine.

We drop it to 2kw if on a rally with no electric and using gas.

If you have no electricity, putting on 2kw will do no good!