On-board power options for your vehicle - Multi Vehicle Technology

“On-board power is without doubt the most common requirement for everyone of the diverse range of vehicles we manufacture including vans, chassis cabs, buses, mobile libraries etc” …..Scott Walker

Going back a few years the primary need for power in our specialist vehicles was for the basics such as lighting, televisions, and of course boiling water for the all-important staple of life on the road…a cup of tea!

Things have changed somewhat in recent years, and whilst the priority remains lighting, there is now a need to power a vast array of IT equipment which is the staple fixture in so many of our builds. This ranges from laptops to USB recharging points, smart boards, printers, large flat screens, broadband connectivity, virtual reality headsets and gaming consoles to air conditioning and more. Not of course forgetting to mention the now all-important microwave, to provide essential sustenance!

Additionally, there are the very specialist needs such as medical equipment on board our NHS mobiles and veterinary surgeries. Our exhibition vehicles often feature our clients’ products in full working mode from power tools and catering equipment to the less common driving simulators and computer gaming.

Landlines providing on-board power.

The traditional and ever reliable landline hook up is by far the easiest to install from our point of view, and for many of our clients the simplest to operate and dare I say, understand. Maintenance and power failure being an incredibly rare need or occurrence.

A secondary use of the landline is to charge up any on-board power systems once back at base ensuring maximum service and efficiency from that equipment.

The big downside of this option being that it is not always possible (or safe) to connect to a mains outlet. If attending organised events land line connection is often a requirement which is ideal as this is provided. But attending to an emergency incident in the great outdoors or being constantly on the move with say a mobile library renders a landline a non-starter.

So, what are the alternatives?

On board power from a generator

The fall-back position for power is an on-board generator. There are a good many makes and models to choose from and we have found the likes of Honda, Hyundai, Fischer-Panda, and others more than reliable and up for the task.

Depending upon the model and it’s size we can fully install into the vehicle or fit onto a slide out mechanism.

Although petrol generators are common, we would generally install diesel models to satisfy various local authority regulations covering generator use in town centres and residential areas.

The most common downside of a generator is the noise level. Whilst decibel ratings can be quite low, they can nevertheless intrude upon the interior.

Some roadshow vehicles have been built using vehicles own engine linked to an appropriate generator, but we have never really felt in favour of this approach which required the engine to be permanently running.

Alternative on-board power options

I won’t be covering all the options available to you in this blog, reserving some more recent innovations for a follow up, so I mention here only two established popular alternatives which are:

Split charger

A split charger system is a control unit that charges a secondary battery in the vehicle that provides power to the on-board equipment. The benefit of this is that it protects the starter battery by isolating it from the main battery when the engine is off. It then only resumes charging when the engine is running.

Solar

If reducing your carbon footprint matters (as it does to most of us) then a great option is to power up a secondary battery via solar panels on the roof. Various panels are suitable for both large and small vehicles. We fit them to panel vans and chassis cabs being used for a variety of purposes and all installations have proven reliable and successful.

The use of solar panels is therefore an approach we can very much recommend.

Need some advice or an on-board power system installed?

If you need a fully functioning on-board power system, we can help you and would be delighted to hear from you. Please make use of our contact page, give us a call on 0116 326 0989 or write to us at sales@multivehicletechnology.co.uk

But be warned, to provide you with the best advice and to provide the right installation for you we will need to ask you two very essential questions!

Precisely what equipment do you need the power for?

And

For what length of time do you need the power supply to operate?