RV and vandwelling glossary
This is a list of terms, abbreviations, and acronyms found on the wiki and forums more generally. Also see this more general RV-related list at Good Sam.
A
- A - Amps (amperes). A measure of electrical current.
- AH or Ah - Amp-hour. Example: 2.5A x 2 hours = 5Ah.
- Note that Ah is voltage-dependent: 5Ah at 12v is 60Wh, while 5A at 24v = 120Wh. For this reason, Wh may be a more “portable” specification.
- the capacity of deep cycle batteries is traditionally given in Ah. Example: a 100Ah battery will provide 100Ah from 100% to 0% DoD at a ~5A draw (C/20).
- AGM Absorbent Glass Mat battery, a type of Valve Regulated Lead Acid battery
B
- BM - battery monitor
- BTU - British Thermal Units, a measurement of heat.
C
- C - rated capacity in Amps.
- CAR Current/charge acceptance rate; the amount of current the battery will take under present conditions
- CRVL - cheap rv living forum
D
- DoD - Depth of Discharge
E
- endAmps - the amount manufacturer-specified amount of measured current in Amps that signals the end of the Absorption stage of charging.
F
- FT - full time (lives in the camper)
G
- GC - 6v golf cart battery
- GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating: maximum weight the vehicle can carry
- GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating: maximum towable weight
- GAWR - Gross Axle Weight Rating: maximum weight each axle can carry
I
- Imp - current (I) the panel puts out at Vmp. Vmp X Imp = Pmax
- IRL - in real life; in practical terms
- Isc - max current (I) the panel can output. This occurs when the panel wires are short circuited.
L
- LFP - LiFePO4 lithium batteries
M
- MPPT - Maximum Power Point Tracking, a type of charge controller
N
- normally closed (NC) - a relay where the unpowered (default) condition is closed, i.e. relayed circuit is complete and electricity can flow
- normally open (NO) - a relay where the unpowered (default) condition is open, i.e. relayed circuit is broken and electricity cannot flow
P
- Pmax - maximum power the panel can output
- PT - part time (ie, lives in a vehicle part time)
- PV - “photovoltaic”, ie solar panel
- PWM - Pulsed Width Modulation, a type of charge controller
S
- S&B - Sticks & Bricks (house or apartment)
- SC - solar controller
- SCC - solar charge controller
- SKP - Escapees RV club (say the acronym aloud)
- SoC - state of charge
- SoH - State of Health, a measure of the general health of the battery. Often expressed in terms of its original capacity rating in Ah.
T
- TLA - three letter acronym
- Alternately, “Three Letter Agency”, aka the fun police (FBI, CIA, NSA, ATF, etc)
- TnTTT - Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers forum
- Toad - a second vehicle which is towed
- TT - travel trailer
- TV - tow vehicle, usually a pickup truck
V
- Vabs - Voltage setpoint for the Absorption stage of charging.
- Vfloat - Voltage setpoint for the Float stage of charging.
- Vmp - Voltage at which a solar panel produces maximum power under present conditions.
- Voc - Maximum Voltage the solar panel can output. This occurs in an open circuit condition1)
- VSR - Voltage Sensing Regulator, a smart kind of battery isolator
W
- Wh - Watt-hours. Example: 32w x 3 hours = 96Wh. Like Ah, but not voltage-dependent.
- WM - walmart
1)
like when you measure the bare leads of the panel with a multimeter