Parasitic loadUpdated 5 days ago

Under these conditions:

• An RV (including any model of Airstream) is plugged into any of the Sorein Power Station's AC outlets. 
  • AC outlets include the four 20-amp outlets and the TT-30 outlet
• The Sorein Power Station inverter is turned on

A user will see some amount of power draw on the main display of the power station. This draw represents the amount of power being used by the RV at that moment.

Even with all of the RV's appliances being turned off, there are many items that draw power. This can cause confusion for the user, because the user thinks that there should be zero power draw.

This is the result of electrical appliances in the RV that draw power in the background. This background power use is sometimes called:

• parasitic draw
• vampire drain
• standby power use
• idle power.

Sources of parasitic power draw can include:

• the RV's built-in power converter/battery charger
• control (circuit) board in the refrigerator (even if the refrigerator is operating in in gas mode)
• electric compressor in an electric-only refrigerator
• propane leak detector
• circuit boards in water heater, stereo, powered awning, and other devices
• the RV's built-in inverter.

A certain amount of parasitic draw is normal. The amount varies according to the type of RV and the appliances it has installed, so there is no consistent "normal" amount of background power draw.

The best practice for users of power stations is to leave the power station's inverter turned off until it is needed. This will prevent the parasitic loads in the RV from drawing down the power station too quickly.