WINTER BATTERY CARE

Of all the resources that are carried on board your motorhome, battery power is probably the most vital. Reduced leisure battery power will mean the heating, fridge, water pump and eventually even the lighting malfunction.

All electronic devices – no matter whether they’re AC or DC – rely on a certain voltage to function and if they don’t see it, they might not work correctly. So it pays to keep your leisure battery properly topped up at all times.

Increasing demand for power

Batteries have a tough time in motorhomes, having to cope with a combination of deep steady drains over long periods as well as high-output spikes of power from devices such as inverters.

These days, given all of the additional electronic gadgets that are packed into modern motorhomes – everything from coffee machines to electric bike chargers – the humble battery has a lot to do, which means that it’s now more important than ever to consider how best to recharge it.

Consider the time of year

In summer, when you’re using your vehicle, you’ll probably be plugged into a mains hook-up or getting reasonable output from your solar panel. In winter, perhaps when the vehicle is laid up, the solar panel output will be dramatically lower.

This is because the angle of the sun reduces that output and daylight hours are shorter. Cloudy skies can also cut output by as much as 90%. In my own campervan, I’ve seen output from the 150W panel fall to as little as 0.5A in winter; this