RV Power Consumption Charts (& Printable PDF)

Discover our RV power consumption charts so you know how much electricity you need to run your appliances and tools on the road.

Before going into the numbers from reputable sources like government websites, Honda, and Home Depot, it is important to note that your RV devices can have different power needs.

In simpler words, the numbers below are rough estimations. Actually measuring your RV power consumption would be better.

Don’t forget to include a margin of safety either. Especially if you are investing in something like an RV generator.

Additionally, the charts below focus on AC devices (for now). The power needs of DC versions of devices are often different.

RV Wattage Chart

In this first chart below, you can find the watt needs of a variety of devices and tools that can be present in RVs.

It is worth noting again that these are 120-volt (or 115-volt) AC devices.

DC versions of any devices tend to have different power needs.

Printable RV Wattage Chart PDF

You can also download our printable RV wattage chart PDF for when you are on the road.

RV Amp Usage Chart

When it comes to RVs, your amp draw is definitely something to keep in mind too.

Especially when staying at an RV camping but when using an RV generator too.

These numbers are based on 120 volts so any devices that use 115 volts may need a few more amps in reality.

Printable RV Amp Usage Chart

Similarly to the previous section, it can be helpful to have an RV amp usage chart available when you’re offline.

How To Calculate RV Power Usage

Ideally, you would calculate your RV power usage by actually using your devices while using a meter to see what they need.

However, you can also use the charts above to get rough estimations.

The RV power consumption estimation charts above are helpful but you do have to “use” them the right way.

More specifically, you still need to take the following steps to calculate your RV power usage and in turn, what power sources you will need:

1. To start off easy, your power source needs to be able to handle more amps than your strongest RV device draws.
2. Add up the running watts of all the RV appliances and tools you want to run at the same time. Your power source needs at least this many watts.

The steps after that depend on how detailed you want to get.

To be really accurate you may need to take out your calculator and follow these steps:

3. Rank your RV devices from highest starting watts to lowest. Imagine turning them on in this order to see how many peak watts you will need. Add a margin of safety (10% to 20%).

You can also use a simpler RV power usage calculation method where you likely overestimate how many watts you actually need:

3. Add up the running watts of the RV appliances and tools you want to run at the same time and add the highest amount of additional starting watts. Depending on how small your devices are, you may still need to add a margin of safety too.

Again, keep in mind that your actual devices may have different power needs than the examples used for the charts in this article.

Additionally, you need to make sure you have an inverter generator or other low THD power sources to run sensitive electronics safely.

FAQ

Sources:

• Honda
• Don Rowe
• Energy.Gov
• Home Depot
• Our own research of devices on the market