I remember the formula because the A has one sharp point, the V has one sharp point, so you multiply them together to get W with 2 sharp points (in the same direction). Just a little mnemonic I use. 1 point and 1 point = 2 points. A * V = W
@@DiffEQ Listen bro... I'm going to need you to stop commenting. I've had to delete all of your other dumbass comments demeaning my work. If you feel that you can explain this stuff better, click the 'upload' button and make your own video. You're just wasting your time commenting on my videos where I'm having to delete all of the misleading info you are spreading.
Nate, your ability to explain with clarity blows me away. I am an electrician and industrial maintenance technician and know this stuff like the back of my hand, yet when I try to explain it I'm falling all over myself. Hats off to you, my man!
Thank you!! Ive spent the weekend on the road listening to youtube educators. This would have to be the easiest and straight forward explanation I've seen.
great channel i have since built my own 24v 6,6kwh 1.4kw solar ,after learning from this channel ,panel wiring ect ect been running great for over 18 months ,runs most the house
I have 2 electrical Journeyman cards and a degree in industrial technologies. I am always looking for the most straightforward way to explain these concepts. VERY WELL DONE! You win at explaining!
6:28 Clarification regarding "Running appliances at a higher voltage". I should have said: "Choosing appliances that operate at a higher voltage". We don't really get to pick and choose what voltage an appliance operates at aside from choosing a different appliance (12v DC air conditioner vs 120V AC air conditioner vs 240V ac split phase air conditioner) ➤Shop the EXPLORIST.life store: shop.explorist.life ➤Shop Battle Born Batteries: battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=explorist_bb67 ✅Use code 'explorist' for $50 off per battery.
True, though some motors can be wired for either 120 or 240, which can be handy should you be able to upgrade a workshop or such from 120 to 240 in the future.
Well... I am going back into PV and I can only comment " I agree with all comments below" can't say anything new. You did a great job conveying the knowledge. Thank you,
I absolutely LOVE that you’re able to break these kinds of things down to simplicity that even an idiot like me can understand. I was able to build my solar system with confidence thanks to the solar video you did like this. Thank you so much!
You don't just help people to build camper vans. Here in England, you've also been a great help to this retired plumber (and electrical dumb-ass!) putting a solar battery charging system on his narrow boat (canal boat). Thank you very much.
Good explanation. I always use "watt hours" to describe the capacity of my batteries, and most people dont actually know anything about electricity beyond what they see on TH-cam, so they are always confused when something other than "amp hours" gets mentioned. "Amp hours" used in discussion is only generally relevant if you ASSUME the battery bank is 12v. My bank sounds much smaller than it actually is when I say I have 540Ah (because its 24v)- I always have to caveat, in 12v terms, its actually 1080Ah.
Great video - I'm trying to figure this all out right now. I purchased two 280ah batteries with a 24v inverter. I will be using solar to charge the batteries via a victron controller. This helps me understand what I can run and what I can use through the night when there is no solar charging. Very helpful. I'm going to use this in my spreadsheet to hopefully make it all make sense.
Great Video. I remember the basic formula's (Ohm's Law) as E=IxR and P=IxE where E=voltage, I=current, R=resistance and P=power in watts. It would have been nice if you had explained that what you did there resulted in about one hour battery life (120Ah battery) and if you add batteries you double the time use of the load. Its also easier for the novice to understand if you use 12V, 120V and 1200 watts. I also like that you explained why 24v and higher systems are used: lower current = smaller wire size = money saved. Explaining any electrical or electronic theory is tricky and you did a great job!
The simplicity in which you have explained these things is very helpful for simple-minded people such as myself. Nate, you are a blessing brother! And I look forward to watching more of your videos to get a better understanding of electrical in a camper.
I knew the concepts discussed before but am not convinced that it was the best way to explain it. Once you got into watt hours and power the 1200W space heater, things got a little murky. I had to replay parts to understand what you were saying and if you were saying something I didn't know.
Yeah, so when you already know something, you will be watching my video from a perspective of self-validation instead of learning. Ultimately, you aren't my target audience here. If you think you've got a better way to explain things, you can always upload your own video. I know that takes a lot more effort than just leaving a comment talking shit. 🙄👍
Finally - I hope everyone watches this video. Describing your battery system in amp hours is like saying you get miles per gallon. You are missing an important part of the equation and illustrates to someone with knowledge that you have no clue what you are talking about. As we move into Lithium, another key item to know is 3.2v per cell - this makes battery sizes 12.8v, 25.6v & 51.2v. I have a 600 amp hour system at 25.6v - so 15,360 watt hours of capacity on my coach. Nicely done video - thanks!
I Absolutely LOVE your style. You are so clear and concise. I've literally watched dozens of videos that give some of the same information but still did'nt quite get it. After your video one time it fit all the pieces together and answered all of my questions. Most people who explain this formula neglect to add the point that by adding "hours" to the amps and watts that you can figure out anything you need to. I appreciate what you're doing and I'm a big fan. Will be watching many more of your videos.
Wow! Mind blown! I honestly thought I would have to take an electrical class at a community collage to understand W=AxV. Well.. I will need to watch this a few more times but this is SO HELPFUL! Thank you!! The voltage! All I thought I wanted was 600 amp hours with a 3 to 5,000 (amp or watt) inverter. With 1,000 watts of solar. Apples to apples… I think I pulled something
I love these videos! I think you guys make up 2/3 of my van build resources playlist haha. I definitely need to come back and rewatch some of your electrical ones, they're worth a couple repeats!
I like to think of it like this: Imagine workers carrying batches of electricity through a hallway (which is the cable). Wattage: how much electricity needs to be carried Voltage: how strong workers are; how much electricity each worker can carry. Amperage: how many workers are needed to carry the electricity. So, the lower the voltage, the less a worker can carry; which means you need more workers. More workers need more space in the hallway (cable) to be able to walk together, so lower voltage electricity needs a thicker cable to be carried. At a higher voltage, each worker can carry more electricity, so fewer workers are needed, and therefore, the hallway (cable) doesn't need to be as wide to accommodate them.
Exactly the video I was looking for. Somewhere my college physics professor from yesteryear is shaking his head disappointment at my lack of retention. Thanks for the great video!
I have just started doing my van conversion and am on the insulating stage this week, so I have some way to go before i get the electrical. The one thing that is making me think I have made a huge mistake is all the wiring I need to do. Your videos are helping me a little, but it is still very overwhelming, and the kit you use is very, very expensive. I am looking at 5 amg batteries at 120ah each backed up with 900watt of solar. I need to run 3 sets of 12v lights, two 12v fans, one 12v water pump. I need to run 2 hot water heater 240v (shower+hot tap), a 240v fridge, a 240v TV, a 240v induction hob and my oven will be a 240v air fryer. Then I will have 3 wireless phone charger pod with two 240v sockets with 2 USB built in. This all sound like a lot to have but obviously will only be running one or two things at once like the TV and lights or the air fryer and lights but I have no idea where to start. Am I better to go with a higher volt or amp set up (series/parallel)???
Nate thanks for the tutorial on the electric, I have been building Vintage looking Teardrop campers for a while and I am glad to find this extra knowledge
New subscriber here. My goodness FINALLY a comprehensive simple explanation of power compsumption. I wish I had seen this a week ago. THANKS so miuch for this video.
Thank You,for a very informative and easy to understand vid. I am not an electrician (more of a Jack of all Trades), but my son-in-law wants to run underfloor heating from solar panels/ battery banks/inverters. So your vid is going to help me tremendously with my calculations.
thanks so much for breaking this down to all the beginners out there. now I have something to share with my friends that are interested in basic electricity and electronics.
Nice job explaining. One good thing about going in series with 24 volt is wire size. I go for 12 volt and spend more money on wire and save on things that run on 12 volt.
Obviously the W=AxV breakdown formula for determining the amps works, it's just so against my natural tendency to commonize the denominator. Dividing the structure of watts by the structure of volts, in my broken head, looks like 100 Apples divided by 12.8 Bananas ;-) I would attempt to make it 10 x's harder just to end up getting it wrong :-/ SERIOUSLY appreciate your videos brother (& the misses ;-), you've been a wealth of edification in this new addiction here, I'm immensely thankful, keep it up 🙏👍
Finally, a video that doesn't use water as a reference. This makes sense. Thank you very much. I had a general understanding of electricity but not the full function of power transfer from a power storage. Do you have any videos on the difference between 12 - 48v lead acid batteries and so on. I can really do with that knowledge
Awesome explanation and straight to the point. I prefer these videos over my college courses of 3 hours of pure blah blah blah blah. By the way, I would have prefered to use 12V instead of 12.8V to make the calculations easier.
Nate, hats off to you. This is the best video I've seen on the subject because of its clarity and simplicity. I just bought 4 new 12V batteries for my semi. I believe they have 100ah each but I'm not sure. So let's assume they do. They use a parallel connection. So I was wondering if you could do a video illustrating WHY semi trucks (as well as other big vehicles) use a parallel connection instead of in a series.
Very good I'm as green as a frog in solar newbie you made the simple formula easy for me now to understand what all those and why all those guys said what they did about smaller wires costs down 48v vs 12v thankyou now I know what I need to do to plan my families basic solar unit in Philippines because it's always brownouts for days. Thankyou
Nate, I’ve watched some of your other videos on this stuff and didn’t under stand anything. This was the first one I was like hey this makes sense! Thanks man! I can tell this is your favorite part 😂
I’m currently trying to upgrade a system that was already built into this little cabin. The battery bank needs an upgrade and I am considering switching from 12v to 24v
This video really, really helps. Thank you so much for breaking this down like this. I keep having to come back to this video because I forget the formulas. Extremely helpful, thank you!
Great channel man this helped me understand a lot. Actually learned a lot of that in welding school so many years ago but for got a lot of the book stuff. I always remembered more volts = less amps
This is such a massively misunderstood topic. Thank you for taking the time to diagram it. The only thing I think could be better would be to demonstrate it with physical equipment and put multimeters on the equipment as you move through each step. On the topic of "higher voltage reduces amps and permits smaller cables", electric vehicles being built these days are typically either 400v battery systems or 800v battery systems (or there abouts). For the sake of high speed charging we desperately need them to all move to 800v systems so that the cables at the high speed charging facilities can be reduced in size. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case with big companies like Tesla. Hopefully that will change in another generation of cars.
Great Video! In summary your optimal battery bank voltage should be tuned to your loads. Why? To reduce the cost/amount of copper between your source and your load, and to reduce the risk of fire from too much current passing through the wire. Of course, you have to make sure your load is capable of handling a higher voltage, otherwise your could damage the appliance. alternatively you can convert to a lower voltage near the load.
The "Ah Ha" light is starting to flicker. My old brain is wrestling with this as I am trying to build a system for my teardrop trailer but thanks to your help I am seeing some hope and faint memories of 10th grade electronics class. Thank you.
Hey Buddy, thanks for the Vid. You definitely taught me some stuff & you can explain it better than I can. I did notice one thing that could of just been an mis-write, in the beginning of the vid there were (2) 12volt parrelled batteries, the positive & negative wires were both wired to one end of the battery bank instead of negative on one end of bank & positive on other end of bank for even/equal current flow. Thanks again for the video bro!
See any of our full installs videos or wiring diagrams for more info on how to actually wire a battery bank. I also didn't show any lugs, fuses, wire sizes or heat shrink in the 101 level concepts-only video. Don't nit pick me on off-topic stuff like that. 🙂👍
I've noticed that some of the all-in-one power units (Bluetti, Ecoflow, etc) are starting to label systems/batteries in watt-hours. Just seems to make more sense and easier to calculate run times or percent usage from power loads.
I find that cheaper brands and cheaper devices tend to rate things in a way to make it more confusing (On purpose). What ever number sounds better to an amateur.
I shared this video to a FB group that I'm the admin for. People always seems to get confused on terminology about amps and amp hours. They will say "my space heater draws 100 amps per hour instead of "100 amp hours." Telling them they are wrong in saying "amps per hour" is an exercise in futility. This idea of using the phrase "amps per hour" instead of "amp hours" is not a new thing. People have been saying that since time began. I remember hearing it from old timers back in the 90s when I worked as a tech support person for a major inverter manufacturer. People don't understand that saying "amps per hour" does not explain how many "amp hours" have been consumed from the battery bank, it just defines how much power is flowing to the given appliance. In fact, the phrase "amps per hour" is a meaningless terminology. Think about it like this: Saying 100 amps per hour is the same as saying 100 amps per minute or 100 amps per second. If your space heater draws 100 amps of power to run it, it draws 100 amps period. It's pointless to say "100 amps per hour". The term AMPS defines how much power is "flowing", not how much power is being consumed over time. People take the "time" phrase of "per hour" and attach it to the "amps" unit of measurement and think they are now measuring "amp hours" and they are not. There is no such measurement unit called "amps per hour" and people don't understand that. It flat out drives me nuts when people in the group I run start talking about power systems and throw out the meaningless phrase of "amps per hour" If you could come up with a way to explain this in a video, you'd win a Pulitzer Prize!
Thanks for the share! I think this is the next most useful video that explains basic terminology like amps/amp-hours/etc: th-cam.com/video/hn6xpMji59g/w-d-xo.html After that, this is a full playlist about system sizing that will really nail the concept home: th-cam.com/play/PLmvhcyi4n0TVEQCWqGvT0Q0vd8BCbrGfj.html But yeah, I definitely understand the frustration with people being un-willing to learn. But all we can do is provide the education/information and it's up to them to be willing to apply it.
hey Nate great vid again. However in the parallel system Positive and Negative should be taken off different batteries not the one battery, Current needs to flow through the whole system, not just the end battery. Keep up the good instruction, I still learn heaps from you
Of course! And that's exactly what I show in all of my diagrams at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams as well as all of my full system installations here on this channel. This video was more about the theory of amp hours and not to where/how to actually connect wires. I also didn't draw in any fusing, lugs, heat shrink or any of that other stuff you'd need to actually make connections.
@markpashia7067 Yep! This is a 101 level discussion and I purposefully omitted things like inverter losses, pukert exponent effects & the differences of inverter losses between inductive and resistive loads to keep the video easier to understand for my target audience.
The formula that you used is called 'Ohms Law'. I'm sure you are aware of this. I just wanted to add that here so anyone can do a search and find a lot of material for reading and learning. Great Video. Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
I have three 1200 watt heaters and I do believe the space heaters I bought them from Walmart last year when I needed to get my house warm when I was working all the time and was home very anytime to burn the wood for my wood stove it kept my kid warm I also use two 1500 w space heaters and a couple 900 watt space heaters.
Thank you so very much. This really did bless me I’m going to save it. It’s going to take a bit of study for me though. But thanks to your excellent teaching, I’m going to be a lot farther than I was.
I like to use W/60xT ( watts divided by 60mins x time appliance is used in minutes ) this gets me my Watt/min ..makes battery anxiety much easier to handle!lol 👍🏼
When I explain this it's mostly to other ebike riders who all use different voltage batteries with different amp hours. It gives a realistic comparison between batteries in watt-hours... mostly it lets me explain how a 58.8V 35Ah (2058Wh) lithium pack is about 3 times the watt hours of most production ebike. We all have Georg Simon Ohm to thank.
Weird that you did this today because this morning I seen a Bluetti power station that said it was 18,432Wh and I was trying to search and figure what that was in amp hours. I’m old subscriber of yours so it’s not like my search brought me to you either. Crazy coincidence.
Yeah! There is a pretty popular portable power unit manufacturer that lists their 'amp hours' as a function of 10.8V, which makes their amp hours 'technically' true, but is misleading IMO when their target market is trying to compare capacity to a battery listed at 12.6V.
One bit you might want to talk about is the peukert affect. The harder you pull (more amps) the less ah you have available. A typical lead acid is rated at C20, so if it's a 100ah battery, then you can pull 100/20 = 5 amps for 20 hours (well no, more like 10 hours, 50% depth of discharge is considered dead). if you pull harder, the ah capacity drastically drops. This is where Lithium batteries have the edge over lead acid. Their C rate is closer to C5 and their Depth of discharge can be 80-100%. Given this, you can pull 20 amps for just under 5 hours, or 5 amps for just under 20 hours. Perfect for those occasional high amp loads. Battery voltage will not sag as badly, causing inverter cutout.
This is a 101 level discussion though and adding advanced topics like inverter inefficiencies, power factors, peukert effect and such just add additional confusion for those just being introduced into this topic. I appreciate you watching, though!
@@EXPLORISTlife Your video here is awesome for me, a newbie, but I would have liked to see the end of the video finished with a lingering question which is "So why and when should you convert to a higher voltage? Why not just leave everything as-is. And why and when should you run your batteries in a series as opposed to in parallel." You taught the concept now I want to see how that knowledge is used as a tool. It's like you taught me how to multiply but you didn't teach me why I would want to multiply. I'm sure your other videos cover this but I felt that would have been a better segway into learning more and getting into the more advanced topics.
@@DiffEQ I Know why you are retired, your colleagues evicted you, Let the man explain in common english, If you don't like it, leave! (Non Retired Electrial Engineer)
I appreciate your clear concise explanation in all your videos. Certainly helpfull. I'm exploring the new ecoflow power kits that seem full proof for those who don't want to cut, strip, crimp, heat shrink. Those are advertise as kilowatt systems, (5, 10, 15kwh). My only concern is the AC/DC Smart Distribution Panel that comes with their kit appears to limit the gauge wire it will accept. No doubt they have enough power but how do you connect larger appliances such as air conditioning unit with large gauge wire?
I don't have much experience with the logistics of setting one of those types of portable power units up, so I can't answer that question. I would hope that would be something that the user manual of the device would clarify (or their tech support channels). It's pretty straightforward with the systems like I teach on this channel with individual components, though.
Assuming you are running the large appliances off the AC side of the distribution panel, you dont need to worry about 'large' gauge wire in the same way you would on the DC side. An Air conditioner should be on the AC side and therefore need no larger than a 10AWG wire.
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newb but watching 1000 videos explaining this is slowly starting to sink in. thanks!! :)
I remember the formula because the A has one sharp point, the V has one sharp point, so you multiply them together to get W with 2 sharp points (in the same direction). Just a little mnemonic I use. 1 point and 1 point = 2 points. A * V = W
🙂👍
I love this mnemonic but 1 * 1 = 1
@@DiffEQ Listen bro... I'm going to need you to stop commenting. I've had to delete all of your other dumbass comments demeaning my work. If you feel that you can explain this stuff better, click the 'upload' button and make your own video. You're just wasting your time commenting on my videos where I'm having to delete all of the misleading info you are spreading.
@@DiffEQ Actually... I'm just going to mute you on the channel so that when you comment/reply, only you will be able to see your reply.
That is fantastic!! Electrical apprentice here; I’ll use that when explaining this to newbies.
Nate, your ability to explain with clarity blows me away. I am an electrician and industrial maintenance technician and know this stuff like the back of my hand, yet when I try to explain it I'm falling all over myself. Hats off to you, my man!
Wow, thanks so much! 🙂🙌
@@EXPLORISTlifeIs the max charge rate the same as max discharge rate of a battery? Thanks
Not usually.
Me too, all my life been playing with the electric arts. I normally explain it nicely to others but im still welcome to seeing how others explain it.
Hi,Nate,So I bought ADCBATT 12V 100AH Lifepo4 battery, W=1280? Is that how it is calculated?
You are doing the Lord's work by educating us...we appreciate it.
Thank you!! Ive spent the weekend on the road listening to youtube educators. This would have to be the easiest and straight forward explanation I've seen.
I love ❤
you shame all other people attempting to explain this stuff. simply excellent
I agree, Nate is a natural teacher with a great delivery. This finally helped me understand why everyone is talking about watt hours these days.
Hey, @mymobile5014! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
great channel i have since built my own 24v 6,6kwh 1.4kw solar ,after learning from this channel ,panel wiring ect ect been running great for over 18 months ,runs most the house
I have 2 electrical Journeyman cards and a degree in industrial technologies. I am always looking for the most straightforward way to explain these concepts. VERY WELL DONE! You win at explaining!
Right Good Tech. Here
6:28 Clarification regarding "Running appliances at a higher voltage". I should have said: "Choosing appliances that operate at a higher voltage". We don't really get to pick and choose what voltage an appliance operates at aside from choosing a different appliance (12v DC air conditioner vs 120V AC air conditioner vs 240V ac split phase air conditioner)
➤Shop the EXPLORIST.life store: shop.explorist.life
➤Shop Battle Born Batteries: battlebornbatteries.com/?afmc=explorist_bb67
✅Use code 'explorist' for $50 off per battery.
True, though some motors can be wired for either 120 or 240, which can be handy should you be able to upgrade a workshop or such from 120 to 240 in the future.
One of the most educational video I’ve ever watched
As I work on my camper this makes me feel more competent to get it right I will be watching many more videos Thanks
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
As someone just learning about batteries, solar and different uses this helps my understanding. Thank you. Bill
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Well... I am going back into PV and I can only comment " I agree with all comments below" can't say anything new. You did a great job conveying the knowledge. Thank you,
I absolutely LOVE that you’re able to break these kinds of things down to simplicity that even an idiot like me can understand. I was able to build my solar system with confidence thanks to the solar video you did like this. Thank you so much!
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
If you built your own system you are in no way an idiot. :) well done sir!
I have watched many videos about this topic just didn't understand.
From your video everything became crystal clear.
Glad it was helpful. Cheers!
You are one in a million who is dealing a blow to ignorance. Keep it up
You don't just help people to build camper vans. Here in England, you've also been a great help to this retired plumber (and electrical dumb-ass!) putting a solar battery charging system on his narrow boat (canal boat). Thank you very much.
Cool 😎
Nate, it amazes me that your subscriber numbers are not higher. Your explanations are easy to understand yet provide the right amount of detail.
Hey, Ump T. Squat! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
Electrical apprentice here. This is extremely helpful. You clarify this stuff quite well.
Glad it was helpful! Cheers!
Good explanation. I always use "watt hours" to describe the capacity of my batteries, and most people dont actually know anything about electricity beyond what they see on TH-cam, so they are always confused when something other than "amp hours" gets mentioned. "Amp hours" used in discussion is only generally relevant if you ASSUME the battery bank is 12v. My bank sounds much smaller than it actually is when I say I have 540Ah (because its 24v)- I always have to caveat, in 12v terms, its actually 1080Ah.
Thanks for helping my feeble old mind while I plane my RV battery replacement purchase! You are an outstanding TH-camr!
Great video - I'm trying to figure this all out right now. I purchased two 280ah batteries with a 24v inverter. I will be using solar to charge the batteries via a victron controller. This helps me understand what I can run and what I can use through the night when there is no solar charging. Very helpful. I'm going to use this in my spreadsheet to hopefully make it all make sense.
Great Video. I remember the basic formula's (Ohm's Law) as E=IxR and P=IxE where E=voltage, I=current, R=resistance and P=power in watts. It would have been nice if you had explained that what you did there resulted in about one hour battery life (120Ah battery) and if you add batteries you double the time use of the load. Its also easier for the novice to understand if you use 12V, 120V and 1200 watts. I also like that you explained why 24v and higher systems are used: lower current = smaller wire size = money saved. Explaining any electrical or electronic theory is tricky and you did a great job!
finally something useful and applicable in the real world. Great job on basic electrical systems
The simplicity in which you have explained these things is very helpful for simple-minded people such as myself. Nate, you are a blessing brother! And I look forward to watching more of your videos to get a better understanding of electrical in a camper.
I appreciate that!
After watching and reading tons of stuff about voltage..wiring..electrics - you're the one that's making a lot of it finally click. Thanks!
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
I knew the concepts discussed before but am not convinced that it was the best way to explain it. Once you got into watt hours and power the 1200W space heater, things got a little murky. I had to replay parts to understand what you were saying and if you were saying something I didn't know.
Yeah, so when you already know something, you will be watching my video from a perspective of self-validation instead of learning. Ultimately, you aren't my target audience here. If you think you've got a better way to explain things, you can always upload your own video. I know that takes a lot more effort than just leaving a comment talking shit. 🙄👍
THANK YOU finally someone who has explained this properly
Glad it was helpful. Cheers!
Finally - I hope everyone watches this video. Describing your battery system in amp hours is like saying you get miles per gallon. You are missing an important part of the equation and illustrates to someone with knowledge that you have no clue what you are talking about. As we move into Lithium, another key item to know is 3.2v per cell - this makes battery sizes 12.8v, 25.6v & 51.2v. I have a 600 amp hour system at 25.6v - so 15,360 watt hours of capacity on my coach. Nicely done video - thanks!
Well explained video, exactly what I was looking for before investing my money to go off grid
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
I Absolutely LOVE your style. You are so clear and concise. I've literally watched dozens of videos that give some of the same information but still did'nt quite get it. After your video one time it fit all the pieces together and answered all of my questions. Most people who explain this formula neglect to add the point that by adding "hours" to the amps and watts that you can figure out anything you need to. I appreciate what you're doing and I'm a big fan. Will be watching many more of your videos.
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
You are a great teacher. Even non-math person like me got it. Thank you sir.
You are most welcome! Cheers!
You are a good lecturer,now I am to connect my batteries…5 star ⭐️to you
Hey Musa Ngubeni, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Flipped my switch and the lightbulb came on..Thank You VERY well done
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Wow! Mind blown! I honestly thought I would have to take an electrical class at a community collage to understand W=AxV. Well.. I will need to watch this a few more times but this is SO HELPFUL! Thank you!! The voltage! All I thought I wanted was 600 amp hours with a 3 to 5,000 (amp or watt) inverter. With 1,000 watts of solar. Apples to apples… I think I pulled something
A 5000w inverter* :)
If it was 5000 amp, it would be a really incredibly powerful and Big Heather
I love these videos! I think you guys make up 2/3 of my van build resources playlist haha. I definitely need to come back and rewatch some of your electrical ones, they're worth a couple repeats!
Awesome! Thank you!
Mr. Camper your this video ANSWERED a lot of confusion that i had....thanks
I like to think of it like this:
Imagine workers carrying batches of electricity through a hallway (which is the cable).
Wattage: how much electricity needs to be carried
Voltage: how strong workers are; how much electricity each worker can carry.
Amperage: how many workers are needed to carry the electricity.
So, the lower the voltage, the less a worker can carry; which means you need more workers. More workers need more space in the hallway (cable) to be able to walk together, so lower voltage electricity needs a thicker cable to be carried.
At a higher voltage, each worker can carry more electricity, so fewer workers are needed, and therefore, the hallway (cable) doesn't need to be as wide to accommodate them.
You're explanation just EARNED you another subscriber. I just started learning this stuff and you make it so easy to learn. Thank you!
Welcome aboard!
@@EXPLORISTlife Me Too New Sub
Exactly the video I was looking for. Somewhere my college physics professor from yesteryear is shaking his head disappointment at my lack of retention. Thanks for the great video!
Glad I could help!
I have just started doing my van conversion and am on the insulating stage this week, so I have some way to go before i get the electrical. The one thing that is making me think I have made a huge mistake is all the wiring I need to do. Your videos are helping me a little, but it is still very overwhelming, and the kit you use is very, very expensive. I am looking at 5 amg batteries at 120ah each backed up with 900watt of solar. I need to run 3 sets of 12v lights, two 12v fans, one 12v water pump. I need to run 2 hot water heater 240v (shower+hot tap), a 240v fridge, a 240v TV, a 240v induction hob and my oven will be a 240v air fryer. Then I will have 3 wireless phone charger pod with two 240v sockets with 2 USB built in. This all sound like a lot to have but obviously will only be running one or two things at once like the TV and lights or the air fryer and lights but I have no idea where to start. Am I better to go with a higher volt or amp set up (series/parallel)???
BEST DIY show on the internet!! I've learned soooo much! Thank you.
Hey @Pro4Sound, Thanks so much! Cheers!
Nate thanks for the tutorial on the electric, I have been building Vintage looking Teardrop campers for a while and I am glad to find this extra knowledge
New subscriber here. My goodness FINALLY a comprehensive simple explanation of power compsumption. I wish I had seen this a week ago. THANKS so miuch for this video.
Thank You,for a very informative and easy to understand vid. I am not an electrician (more of a Jack of all Trades), but my son-in-law wants to run underfloor heating from solar panels/ battery banks/inverters. So your vid is going to help me tremendously with my calculations.
thanks so much for breaking this down to all the beginners out there. now I have something to share with my friends that are interested in basic electricity and electronics.
Great! Glad it helped.
@@DiffEQ Thanks so much for that explanation. It was easy to absorb. I am putting this in my notes for future reference.
Agreed
Absolutely love this video and how you kept the math simple and practical at the same time. Good job.
Nice job explaining. One good thing about going in series with 24 volt is wire size. I go for 12 volt and spend more money on wire and save on things that run on 12 volt.
Obviously the W=AxV breakdown formula for determining the amps works, it's just so against my natural tendency to commonize the denominator. Dividing the structure of watts by the structure of volts, in my broken head, looks like 100 Apples divided by 12.8 Bananas ;-)
I would attempt to make it 10 x's harder just to end up getting it wrong :-/
SERIOUSLY appreciate your videos brother (& the misses ;-), you've been a wealth of edification in this new addiction here, I'm immensely thankful, keep it up 🙏👍
Many thanks for this. I think the visuals finally gave me a better idea of what's happening on the configurations
Finally, a video that doesn't use water as a reference.
This makes sense. Thank you very much.
I had a general understanding of electricity but not the full function of power transfer from a power storage.
Do you have any videos on the difference between 12 - 48v lead acid batteries and so on.
I can really do with that knowledge
One of the best explanations and in general videos on youtube, period!!! I was so confused prior to watching this video, 🙏🏻
Awesome explanation and straight to the point. I prefer these videos over my college courses of 3 hours of pure blah blah blah blah. By the way, I would have prefered to use 12V instead of 12.8V to make the calculations easier.
Nate, hats off to you. This is the best video I've seen on the subject because of its clarity and simplicity. I just bought 4 new 12V batteries for my semi. I believe they have 100ah each but I'm not sure. So let's assume they do. They use a parallel connection. So I was wondering if you could do a video illustrating WHY semi trucks (as well as other big vehicles) use a parallel connection instead of in a series.
Very good I'm as green as a frog in solar newbie you made the simple formula easy for me now to understand what all those and why all those guys said what they did about smaller wires costs down 48v vs 12v thankyou now I know what I need to do to plan my families basic solar unit in Philippines because it's always brownouts for days. Thankyou
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
Nate, I’ve watched some of your other videos on this stuff and didn’t under stand anything. This was the first one I was like hey this makes sense! Thanks man! I can tell this is your favorite part 😂
Hey, Bryan Evans! I appreciate that. Thanks for watching! 🙂😀
keeping it simple and stupid -
Thank you so much me who is completely new to solar and power banks
Huge thanks for this video as I'm using AGMs in series and now I know how much I've got ☺️
Glad it was helpful. Cheers!
Thanks! I needed a refresher on this amps ,voltage,watts subject.
I’m gonna have to watch this a few times to really get it down. Good video thou
Thanks! 🙂🙌
Man , you are the best instructor out there. Where were you in my school days :)
Hey Random Guy, Thanks so much! Cheers!
I’m currently trying to upgrade a system that was already built into this little cabin. The battery bank needs an upgrade and I am considering switching from 12v to 24v
This video really, really helps. Thank you so much for breaking this down like this. I keep having to come back to this video because I forget the formulas. Extremely helpful, thank you!
Thank you so much, you just solve a problem for me. This has been confusing me for a while. Your solution is just so great and easy to understand ❤
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
This is the first video that I see that clearly explains how Amps work on batteries 😁 the other videos I’ve seen were to confusing 😂
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
.... on every single video I watch, to thank you in a way that actually helps. 🙏
Great channel man this helped me understand a lot. Actually learned a lot of that in welding school so many years ago but for got a lot of the book stuff. I always remembered more volts = less amps
This is such a massively misunderstood topic. Thank you for taking the time to diagram it. The only thing I think could be better would be to demonstrate it with physical equipment and put multimeters on the equipment as you move through each step.
On the topic of "higher voltage reduces amps and permits smaller cables", electric vehicles being built these days are typically either 400v battery systems or 800v battery systems (or there abouts). For the sake of high speed charging we desperately need them to all move to 800v systems so that the cables at the high speed charging facilities can be reduced in size. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case with big companies like Tesla. Hopefully that will change in another generation of cars.
🙂👍
Great Video! In summary your optimal battery bank voltage should be tuned to your loads. Why? To reduce the cost/amount of copper between your source and your load, and to reduce the risk of fire from too much current passing through the wire. Of course, you have to make sure your load is capable of handling a higher voltage, otherwise your could damage the appliance. alternatively you can convert to a lower voltage near the load.
Thanks, you make this stuff easier for a old guy. keep up the good work
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
The "Ah Ha" light is starting to flicker. My old brain is wrestling with this as I am trying to build a system for my teardrop trailer but thanks to your help I am seeing some hope and faint memories of 10th grade electronics class. Thank you.
great video, I adjusted my inverter and switched to series, and it worked perfectly! thanks !
Glad it helped!
Greetings from the LooseNatural farm in Andalusia Spain
Hey Buddy, thanks for the Vid. You definitely taught me some stuff & you can explain it better than I can.
I did notice one thing that could of just been an mis-write, in the beginning of the vid there were (2) 12volt parrelled batteries, the positive & negative wires were both wired to one end of the battery bank instead of negative on one end of bank & positive on other end of bank for even/equal current flow.
Thanks again for the video bro!
See any of our full installs videos or wiring diagrams for more info on how to actually wire a battery bank. I also didn't show any lugs, fuses, wire sizes or heat shrink in the 101 level concepts-only video. Don't nit pick me on off-topic stuff like that. 🙂👍
Thanks, this is exactly what I'm looking for.
I've noticed that some of the all-in-one power units (Bluetti, Ecoflow, etc) are starting to label systems/batteries in watt-hours. Just seems to make more sense and easier to calculate run times or percent usage from power loads.
I find that cheaper brands and cheaper devices tend to rate things in a way to make it more confusing (On purpose). What ever number sounds better to an amateur.
I shared this video to a FB group that I'm the admin for. People always seems to get confused on terminology about amps and amp hours. They will say "my space heater draws 100 amps per hour instead of "100 amp hours." Telling them they are wrong in saying "amps per hour" is an exercise in futility.
This idea of using the phrase "amps per hour" instead of "amp hours" is not a new thing. People have been saying that since time began. I remember hearing it from old timers back in the 90s when I worked as a tech support person for a major inverter manufacturer.
People don't understand that saying "amps per hour" does not explain how many "amp hours" have been consumed from the battery bank, it just defines how much power is flowing to the given appliance. In fact, the phrase "amps per hour" is a meaningless terminology.
Think about it like this: Saying 100 amps per hour is the same as saying 100 amps per minute or 100 amps per second.
If your space heater draws 100 amps of power to run it, it draws 100 amps period. It's pointless to say "100 amps per hour".
The term AMPS defines how much power is "flowing", not how much power is being consumed over time. People take the "time" phrase of "per hour" and attach it to the "amps" unit of measurement and think they are now measuring "amp hours" and they are not. There is no such measurement unit called "amps per hour" and people don't understand that.
It flat out drives me nuts when people in the group I run start talking about power systems and throw out the meaningless phrase of "amps per hour"
If you could come up with a way to explain this in a video, you'd win a Pulitzer Prize!
Thanks for the share! I think this is the next most useful video that explains basic terminology like amps/amp-hours/etc: th-cam.com/video/hn6xpMji59g/w-d-xo.html
After that, this is a full playlist about system sizing that will really nail the concept home: th-cam.com/play/PLmvhcyi4n0TVEQCWqGvT0Q0vd8BCbrGfj.html
But yeah, I definitely understand the frustration with people being un-willing to learn. But all we can do is provide the education/information and it's up to them to be willing to apply it.
Very helpful video. Thank you for making what many see as intimidating easier to grasp. Keep doing this good work!
Excellent Mam. Very lucid explanation.
hey Nate great vid again. However in the parallel system Positive and Negative should be taken off different batteries not the one battery, Current needs to flow through the whole system, not just the end battery. Keep up the good instruction, I still learn heaps from you
Of course! And that's exactly what I show in all of my diagrams at www.explorist.life/solarwiringdiagrams as well as all of my full system installations here on this channel. This video was more about the theory of amp hours and not to where/how to actually connect wires. I also didn't draw in any fusing, lugs, heat shrink or any of that other stuff you'd need to actually make connections.
@@EXPLORISTlife Noticed you skipped the real life inverter losses as well.
@markpashia7067 Yep! This is a 101 level discussion and I purposefully omitted things like inverter losses, pukert exponent effects & the differences of inverter losses between inductive and resistive loads to keep the video easier to understand for my target audience.
The formula that you used is called 'Ohms Law'. I'm sure you are aware of this. I just wanted to add that here so anyone can do a search and find a lot of material for reading and learning.
Great Video.
Ya'll Take Care and be safe, John
This information and circuit diagrams knowledge was just what I needed to know. Amps and watts can be confusing.
Wow! This is so nice 😊. I was stack at calculating the number of batteries for a certain solar panel but am good now
I have three 1200 watt heaters and I do believe the space heaters I bought them from Walmart last year when I needed to get my house warm when I was working all the time and was home very anytime to burn the wood for my wood stove it kept my kid warm I also use two 1500 w space heaters and a couple 900 watt space heaters.
Neat!
Thank you so very much. This really did bless me I’m going to save it. It’s going to take a bit of study for me though. But thanks to your excellent teaching, I’m going to be a lot farther than I was.
Glad it was helpful. Cheers!
Very clear and informative video. I highly appreciate and recommend your job. Thanks a lot.
arrrrrgg, Math! Great job breaking it down and making it look basic. I'll still need to watch this a few times. Thank you.
No problem. Happy to help! Thanks for watching!
I like to use W/60xT ( watts divided by 60mins x time appliance is used in minutes ) this gets me my Watt/min ..makes battery anxiety much easier to handle!lol 👍🏼
Nice and thorough explanation. Even after knowing most of this, I did learn something about the gauging of the wires, Thank You.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you! - Finally I found a video that explained it well in a easy and straight forward way.
Glad it was helpful. Cheers!
Easy to understand and very well explained even for at total beginner thanks.
Nice explaination I had to Google everthing and finally went with 24 volt for easy wiring
When I explain this it's mostly to other ebike riders who all use different voltage batteries with different amp hours. It gives a realistic comparison between batteries in watt-hours... mostly it lets me explain how a 58.8V 35Ah (2058Wh) lithium pack is about 3 times the watt hours of most production ebike. We all have Georg Simon Ohm to thank.
Weird that you did this today because this morning I seen a Bluetti power station that said it was 18,432Wh and I was trying to search and figure what that was in amp hours. I’m old subscriber of yours so it’s not like my search brought me to you either. Crazy coincidence.
Yeah! There is a pretty popular portable power unit manufacturer that lists their 'amp hours' as a function of 10.8V, which makes their amp hours 'technically' true, but is misleading IMO when their target market is trying to compare capacity to a battery listed at 12.6V.
One bit you might want to talk about is the peukert affect. The harder you pull (more amps) the less ah you have available. A typical lead acid is rated at C20, so if it's a 100ah battery, then you can pull 100/20 = 5 amps for 20 hours (well no, more like 10 hours, 50% depth of discharge is considered dead). if you pull harder, the ah capacity drastically drops. This is where Lithium batteries have the edge over lead acid. Their C rate is closer to C5 and their Depth of discharge can be 80-100%. Given this, you can pull 20 amps for just under 5 hours, or 5 amps for just under 20 hours. Perfect for those occasional high amp loads. Battery voltage will not sag as badly, causing inverter cutout.
This is a 101 level discussion though and adding advanced topics like inverter inefficiencies, power factors, peukert effect and such just add additional confusion for those just being introduced into this topic. I appreciate you watching, though!
@@EXPLORISTlife Your video here is awesome for me, a newbie, but I would have liked to see the end of the video finished with a lingering question which is "So why and when should you convert to a higher voltage? Why not just leave everything as-is. And why and when should you run your batteries in a series as opposed to in parallel." You taught the concept now I want to see how that knowledge is used as a tool. It's like you taught me how to multiply but you didn't teach me why I would want to multiply. I'm sure your other videos cover this but I felt that would have been a better segway into learning more and getting into the more advanced topics.
This is an excellent video. I'm going to have to watch it two or three more times to make sure I have all the right ideas. Thank you.@@EXPLORISTlife
Great video, this helps allot of people visualize things they need to know.
You sir, are a damn good teacher/explainer. Thank you so much for this!
Hey MERAJ, Thanks so much! Cheers!
I have to second that!
@@DiffEQ I Know why you are retired, your colleagues evicted you, Let the man explain in common english, If you don't like it, leave! (Non Retired Electrial Engineer)
I love how you explain things!!! Finally it all makes sense 😁
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
I appreciate your clear concise explanation in all your videos. Certainly helpfull. I'm exploring the new ecoflow power kits that seem full proof for those who don't want to cut, strip, crimp, heat shrink. Those are advertise as kilowatt systems, (5, 10, 15kwh). My only concern is the AC/DC Smart Distribution Panel that comes with their kit appears to limit the gauge wire it will accept. No doubt they have enough power but how do you connect larger appliances such as air conditioning unit with large gauge wire?
I don't have much experience with the logistics of setting one of those types of portable power units up, so I can't answer that question. I would hope that would be something that the user manual of the device would clarify (or their tech support channels). It's pretty straightforward with the systems like I teach on this channel with individual components, though.
Assuming you are running the large appliances off the AC side of the distribution panel, you dont need to worry about 'large' gauge wire in the same way you would on the DC side. An Air conditioner should be on the AC side and therefore need no larger than a 10AWG wire.