RV Fuel Cells

Gone are the days of cold, drafty caravans with nothing but stove and a small light. The modern van allows you to travel almost anywhere with the same comforts that you would expect at home. Warm, light, comfortable with fridge, radio and even TV!

All this comes at a price – and that’s power.

Whilst driving, your batteries will get nicely charged by the engine. As soon as you park up though, the the drain will start almost immediately if you have a fridge running. If you’re in an RV site, chances are you will have mains power and this won’t be a problem. But what if you want to experience somewhere more wild?

A fuel cell offers a great alternative to running the engine or generator, and is more reliable that solar and wind.

How does it work?

Power is produced via a chemical reaction using Methanol and Oxygen. The output from this is water and small amount of CO2 therefore you can install the fuel cell inside the cabin of your van, or in an external locker. Once installed and connected to your battery, all you need to do is make sure there is enough fuel and the unit will look after itself. It does this by monitoring the battery voltage. When this drops below 12.3V, the fuel cell will start up and deliver charge until the voltage reaches 14.2V. The unit will then return to a standby mode until it’s needed again.

Which Fuel Cell do I need?

Our most popular fuel cell for motor homes is the EFOY unit from SFC, which come in a three sizes. To help you work out which size you require we’ve put together an energy calculator. The idea behind the sizing is not your peak power draw, but what your average consumption is  over the day. The allows you to use a smaller model than you may think you need. If you have the TV on for a few hours in the evening, the fuel cell won’t be able to power it, but the batteries will, and they will be depleting at a much slower rate. Si once you switch off and go to bed, your battery will charge up overnight ready for the next day.

Please visit our shop to view the range of EFOY fuel cells in more detail.