by: Justin Gray
What is a "power ecosystem"?
The power ecosystem is the sum of all electrical components working together as a single congruent system. What does that mean and why is it important? Read on!
Why is a power ecosystem important?
Having an electrical system that "communicates" together ensures that everything works reliably and efficiently. This is especially important in automobiles with systems that include any combination of: lighting, refrigerators, solar panel, motorized kits (wheelchair lifts, awnings, powered gates, etc.), winch, trailer power, multiple batteries, sound systems, power tools, appliances, communications, power inverters, and other electrical loads or inputs.
Ok, so what's the "issue"?
Your vehicle is intended to power its factory-installed accessories; not the consumer add-ons I previously mentioned. In order to power those accessories, you need to add an additional power source. Many people will do this with a second battery.
Once a second battery is added, you'll need a way to recharge it. You can directly connect it to the main battery or even add an isolator into the system, but this will never fully charge the second battery which will: shorten it's lifespan, not protect the battery from being over discharged (thus damaging it), and never be able to provide its full output.
Consider one piece of gear that will charge the second battery accurately, fully, and without damage while allowing an optional solar panel to be added to the system; enter the DC to DC Charger.
DC to DC Chargers
The DC to DC charger is an Intelligent 3-stage battery charger that connects your alternator to your second battery. When the battery starts to drain from use, it automatically charges it back up. If you decide to add a solar panel, The DC to DC charger has a smart MPPT Solar charge controller that regulates the solar panel input to the battery for accurate and full charging.
Adding a DC to DC charger allows your power system to provide power to your appliances while having a way to recharge the batteries; thereby completing the power ecosystem.
What is saved by adding a DC to DC Charger?
You don't have to worry about adding external battery chargers or fumbling with individual components trying to make them work together; our DC to DC chargers allow you to use one component that ties all of them together. With the right gear, you can use the power ecosystem to minimize your power usage and turbo charge your adventure wherever it takes you.
This video is great for visual learners:
Links:
Video Transcript:
Hey! Justin here from atop a mountain. Woah crazy.
Just Kidding. I'm here at Wagan Tech to help you understand the POWER ecosystem; What it is, the problems it solves, and how you can personally benefit from it. Let's take a look.
The Power Ecosystem is easy to understand once you understand its components: your car’s main battery or “starter battery”, your car’s alternator, auxiliary battery or “2nd battery”, dc to dc charger, solar panel, and a power inverter.
~side note, you don’t have to use all of those items I just mentioned, your set-up may use only a few of them.
Let’s start from the top-down.
Your car uses power from its starter battery to start the engine. Once the engine is running, the alternator generates power that runs electronics and recharges the starter battery.
This is the basic setup for any vehicle.
Let’s say you're on a road trip, camping, at a tailgate party, or anywhere else you want to power household appliances like a laptop, blender, or even an instapot, you can do it with a power inverter!
A power inverter takes the dc power from your car’s battery and turns it into ac power for your appliances.
Since we’re using more power and don’t want to kill our starter battery (we need to be able to make it home), most people will add a second battery.
How do you charge that second battery? You could add an isolator to go from the starter battery to the second battery, but that won't fully charge the second battery. How about adding a solar panel too? That will fully charge the battery, but then you’d have to add a solar charge controller to ensure you don’t damage the second battery.
Consider one piece of gear that will charge the second battery accurately and fully without damage, and will allow a solar panel to enter the system with the same precision and accuracy to boot; enter the DC to DC Charger!
The DC to DC charger connects and regulates all of the major electrical components in your car.
It connects the solar panel and alternator which charge your batteries, and allows those batteries to feed power to the power inverter for you to use with your devices. This is the Power Ecosystem.
Having an electrical system that works harmoniously together ensures that everything works reliably and nothing is lost or wasted. This is especially important in systems that include any combination of: lighting, refrigerators, motorized kits (lifts, awnings, powered gates, etc.), a winch, trailer power receptacles, multiple batteries, sound systems, communications, power inverters, and other electrical loads or inputs.
At Wagan Tech, we are all about providing the most efficient power for you and your vehicle; with the right gear, you can use the power ecosystem to minimize your power usage and turbo charge your adventure wherever it takes you. Like the mountains.
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