Electricity Consumption

[HJen]

How much electricity is used when rv with minimal load is connected to shore power to charge rv batteries? Will this cause electricity bill of home to increase significantly? Much discussion between hubby and I with neither of us knowing the correct answer. I have therefore turned to the collective wisdom of the forum members. Many thanks in advance for replies to help us reach a satisfactory conclusion to this discussion.

[Thomas G.]

I use a KillaWatt meter to test electric consumption. My UHaul draws 15 watts any time it is plugged in. Ten cents every 3 days, here.

Amazon.com: P3 International P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor: Home Improvement

[john warren]

it draws less then you would think, and no you won't see it on your bill.
actually i bet your television draws more while shut off in a month then what it costs to top off your battery.

[Bob Miller]

You can also mention that failing to keep your battery charged will reduce it's reserve and shorten it's useful life. A new battery will cost a lot more than keeping the charger on, but I do hope you have a 3 stage "Smart" charger and don't wind up overcharging the battery. I leave mine plugged in 24/7

[MCDenny]

A dead 80 amp hour battery might take 100 amp hours to charge (charger efficiency 80%)

100 ah at 12 volts is 1200 watt hours or 1.2 killowatt hours. US power average cost is about 10 cents per kwh.

Twelve cents.

[Carol H]

Another option which will avoid the over charging of the battery and having it boil dry is just plug the trailer in a couple of days before you use the trailer to ensure the battery is fully charged before starting out on your trip.

[Joy A]

I keep my Scamp plugged in all winter with a little cube heater keeping the inside temp around 50 degrees, so the battery is kept charged as well.

When I started doing this I watched the electric bill and didn't even see a noticable change. Just the normal month to month variance based on how many lights I had running in the house.

[honda03842]

I always keep mine plugged in when home for 4-5 months in the summer. The solar panels take care of the battery. I keep the AC on to run the fridge believing that the fridge prefers running to being off (it could be a myth.)

Since the fridge is not being opened AC use is really minimal.

When we had two RVs and were away for seven months we kept the rig on all winter and never boiled off the water in the batteries to a damaging state. The batteries, when we sold it this year, were 14 years old and working fine.

[HJen]

I KNEW I would get excellent advice, information, and comments about my electricity consumption question on this forum. Thanks everybody. Hopefully, I can return the favor some day. Jenh