UK Narrowboat Electrical System

 

Traditional System

Generation of energy comes from a 12V alternator, perhaps pumping out 150 amps.

Storage comes from 2, 3 or 4 Lead Acid batteries, perhaps storing 100 Ampere hours each.

A typical boating electrical energy useage is 80 Ampere hours, of which half of that goes on running a Fridge.

Right, first things first. Let us use more modern units of measurement.

The 12V Alternator can produce around 2kW of electrical energy.

The batteries can store around 4kW of electrical energy, with half of that being available to use.

80 Ampere hours is 1kW

Modern System

This does not just add solar and intermittent use of an inverter. Not in my opinion.

Energy generation could be upgraded with effort to an AC alternator of perhaps 4kVA with twin ‘V’ belt drive. An inverter capable of accepting a generator input would be required. This turns the boats ICE engine into a generator.

Ideally, storage of electrical energy could be LiFEPO4 at 48V. Narrowboat owners with existing systems may simply choose to add a 12V LiFEPO4 battery. I will discuss reasons for this later.

With carefully chosen hardware, we now have a modern system capable of storing and releasing enough energy to run modern household appliances. Standard domestic washing machines, coffee machines and kettles can be run without any issues.

Energy Generation

An alternator providing 2kW of energy will also be producing 2kW of waste heat energy. A combined load of 4kW on the engine. Might as well get a 4kVA AC alternator.

Solar panels with a MPPT controller would be very beneficial for three of the four UK seasons. Try for 1.2kW minimum up to 1.8kW at the upper end. Bearing in mind there is only a limited amount of roof on a narrowboat.

1.2kW of panels ought to provide 2.5kW hours of energy at a minimum, except in winter where 0.5kW hour is likely. 0.5kW hour will keep the inverter alive but nothing else.

Energy Storage

LiFEPO4 are happy to charge or discharge at 50% of their kW rating. Lead Acid batteries prefer 5%.

So, to run a standard house kettle of 2kW from an inverter requires a 4KW hour LiFEPO4 battery bank or a 40kW hour bank of Lead Acid batteries. (This is 3,200 Ampere hours or 32 standard Lead Acid batteries.)

For those adding a 12V LiFEPO4 battery to their existing set up. I would get a battery and kettle with matching kW ratings. You will lose a couple of years from 15 years the LiFEPO4 will likely last but you buy 50% less batteries.

Let me be clear here, whatever the highest load is that you wish to apply, get the battery to suit. Many narrowboat owners will not see the need for a domestic kettle and that is a perfectly acceptable attitude to hold. Those who like the idea of a 1kW coffee machine need only buy a 1 or 1.2kW 12V LiFEPO4 battery. Modern narrow boaters call this mix of Lead Acid and LiFEPO4 a hybrid system.

With a new system I would consider 48V as the battery will be far cheaper and so will the cabling costs.

Basic Modern System

4kVA AC alternator professionally fitted

2 * 2.2kW / hr 48V LiFEPO4 battery

3kW Victron MultiPlus II

1.5kW of solar with a MPPT

With this system you get 4 times the daily energy budget of a standard narrowboater. You can use normal household appliances. You can have a normal fridge. A normal freezer. A coffee machine. A washing machine. Best of all, you can use any of them without the need to run the engine or be hooked up to a landline.

In summer this all runs from the solar panels. Autumn and spring will require running the engine at a specific speed for a while. Winter will require a set engine speed for 2 hours each day for the full 4kW / hours of energy replenishment. Traditional narrowboat users will be doing that anyway.

Advanced Modern System

6.5kVA AC alternator professionally fitted

1 or 2 * 5kW / hr 48V LiFEPO4 battery

5kW Victron MultiPlus II

1.5kW of solar with a MPPT

With this system you get 7 times the daily energy budget of a standard narrowboater. You could consider going gas free with an electric oven and induction hobs.

In summer this all runs from the solar panels. Autumn and spring will require running the engine at a specific speed for a while. Winter will require a set engine speed for 2 hours each day for the full 7kW / hours of energy replenishment. Traditional narrowboat users will be doing that anyway.

Disadvantages

Brand new narrowboaters ought to go for 48V from the start. It will be cheaper and better, which is a rare combination. Those with 12V systems will need to think hard about the cost of replacing existing equipment. A hybrid system would be my recommendation.

Connecting a 12V LiFEPO4 battery to an existing bank of 12V Lead Acid batteries requires a competent person who knows what they are doing.

Fitting an AC alternator requires someone who can make physical changes to swap from a standard belt drive to either a V belt, twin V belts or something even more robust.

The main problem for narrowboaters is that standard cruising will not charge the house batteries as the AC alternator output varies greatly with engine rpm. The Inverter will require a very specific engine speed which will likely mean that this isn’t feasible whilst cruising.

Traditional narrowboaters will scoff at this ‘preposterous’ idea but it means next to nothing in terms of being a disadvantage. It is really more of something to be aware of.

Additional Information

You can use more batteries if you want more capacity. You can use more solar if you have space.

Cost

Well, five times more daily energy useage needn’t cost five times more for your system.

3 large solar panels will cost more than the one a traditional boater has but the MPPT will be of similar cost if 48V is chosen for the house / leisure battery. A traditional boater does not have a large inverter and you needn’t unless you want to run power hungry AC devices.

Comparing 48V LiFEPO4 with 12V lead Acid batteries

A 2.2 kW/hr LiFEPO4 is about equal to 4 Lead Acid batteries, in terms of useable capacity.

The LiFEPO4 will be double the cost with double the lifetime. (More or less.)

In this like for like comparison, the LiFEPO4 can comfortably power a 1,000W piece of equipment and charge at 1000W too. The Lead Acids will be happier operating at 100W. In my opinion, 100W is not good enough. The LiFEPO4 could go to 2,000W and only ‘age’ 20% faster. A very beneficial trade off, again in my opinion.

The Birthing of a new Global Financial System

In my last blog post I mentioned a new Global Financial System and then fail to explain what it is. I am happy to provide additional information for you.

Our current system is based on a medium of exchange that we collectively call ‘currency’. A person may hold a personal bank account containing something that we call ‘bank credit’ which we could make withdrawals from and hold physical ‘currency’.

Don’t Follow the money

First of all, don’t mistake your national currency for money because it isn’t money. You could do yourself a massive favour and not use the word money again. Get comfortable saying bank credit and paper currency.

For example, I have a job and each month I notice a transfer of bank credit from my employer. I can then exchange this bank credit for goods and services. My main outgoing is rent. I transfer some of my bank credit to my Landlord such that he continues to allow me to enjoy his property.

Follow the Value

I do stuff for my employer in exchange for bank credits. Each month I transfer a fixed number of these credits to my Landlord. The value here is my time and labour in exchange for shelter. The exchange of value, from my perspective, is shelter for my time and effort.

The Global Financial System

Same as described above. There is no difference between a person and a country.

For example, Russia has lots of energy reserves and is happy to let another country have some of it, in exchange for something of else of value. The G7 would like Putin to accept a bank credit of 70 units, or so, for this barrel of Russian oil but Putin is insisting on something of value.

If your are a UK resident, please let me know what you think we have of equal value to exchange.

If you are a resident of Europe or the United States, please let me know what you have of value to exchange for oil and / or gas / and or lots of other potentially useful resources.

Nothing of Value to exchange?

From a UK perspective, I cannot think of anything that we have of value to exchange for another countries energy reserves. Which explains why my energy bill is surging from around 120 bank credits per month to, perhaps, 600 in less than 12 months. This is rather unfortunate. This means that the value of my wage is diminishing quickly.

Three new Global Financial Systems are now in play

1) Gates and the WEF want to control everything and let us know what we can and can’t do.

2) We start thinking about how we could exchange value with other countries. The countries without anything of value to trade will have to rely upon themselves.

3) Global thermonuclear war

I can’t see number one gaining more traction and number three isn’t really the type of exchange that a Global Financial System ought be proud of. This leaves number two, the key word here being ‘Value’.

Value

It perhaps seem a little harsh that countries, without value to trade with others, will have to rely upon themselves.

However, is it fair for countries without anything of value to trade use force and threats, in order to take value from others?

Summary

Europe and the UK need to import energy.

Is the offered method of payment acceptable?

UK Fuel Bills

 What is happening with UK energy prices?

From £1200 per annum to £5000 per annum in about a year is quite significant. I would call it a good example of a non-linear change, as discussed in other posts.

Our Prime Minister is quiet on the subject of how we are supposed to pay to heat our homes this winter. As is our Central Banker, the WEF and our other Central Planners who want to run the entire show but not be responsible or accountable for anything.

Obviously, it is Putin and Climate Change and we just ought to suck up any and all costs associated with our home heating bills. This may well shutter the smaller business that Covid lock-down did not destroy. Shrugs all round, what can you do?

Who is to blame?

Our Central Governments and our Central Bankers have either through incompetence, or a simple desire to assert control over us all have had generations to create a fair and just society for all. They have failed. When we can no longer afford to heat our homes, then they have failed absolutely.

Root cause analysis

Our currency is much the same as everyone else's but we call ours ‘pounds’. Twelve hundred of these pounds used to be able to be exchanged for sufficient energy to heat my home for a year. This energy was sourced from countries who were happy to swap their energy for my currency.

Now, my currency is no longer worth what it once was. A general 2% per year decline in the value of my currency is something that we have grown used to. This faster change is beyond the imagination of most of us, including me, to comprehend.

UK Society is made up of three basic units, Central Government and Central Bankers form ‘them’ and the third group is ‘us’, the people. After many decades of ‘deficit spending’ without any apparent ‘ill effects’, we are beginning to notice the ‘ill effects’. High home heating costs are just one of many ‘ill effects’.

Conclusions

I look forward to seeing how the Government spins this ‘home heating’ crisis.

I look forward to seeing how the Central Bank spins this ‘home heating’ crisis.

I look forward to seeing how the IMF spins this ‘home heating’ crisis.

I look forward to seeing how the legacy media spins this ‘home heating’ crisis.

I look forward to seeing how the Climate Change Crew spins this ‘home heating’ crisis.

I look forward to seeing how the UK population views this ‘home heating’ crisis.

The actual reality of our five times higher gas / elec prices

Who is responsible for maintaining the value of our currency? NOBODY

Who is responsible for increasing the value of our currency? NOBODY

I state this because those who can effect the value of our currency have chosen to devalue it. They aim for 2% per year. Currently, this devaluation is running at 10%. In terms of maintaining a pleasant temperature in our homes this winter, our currency value is simply ‘crashing’, why do I need to give it a number? Next winter is likely to prove twice as expensive as this one in terms of energy bills.

The big picture

I have attempted to ‘enable’ you all to critically think. Those who can have monitored my journey. I have simply logged my journey with these posts.

I am certain that the big picture is not something that can be explained to non-critical thinkers. Simply know this, if you don’t know what is happening then you are the ‘mark’.

Operation fear

Operation fear continues. Our government has supplied no framework on how we are going to survive this winter or the next one.

Bretton Woods III

Our global financial system is simply breaking down and a new one is being birthed.

UK standard of living crisis

The new global financial system is highly likely to mean a substantial reduction in the standard of living of most UK residents.

Does it have to be this way?

It certainly looks like it.

Can this crash in the value of our currency be avoided?

No, it has already happened. We are so far away from reality that avoiding the consequences of avoiding reality is becoming increasingly difficult.

What will my future look like?

2021 combined gas / elec bill of £1200

2022 combined gas / elec bill of £3600

2023 combined gas / elec bill of £7200

2024 combined gas / elec bill of £15,000

In 2024 your biggest concern will be food.

What will I do?

I am good for this winter, thanks. For 2023 I am more worried about food.