7 Ways to Save Power on Your Boat

Whether you want to save your valuable solar or wind power or run your noisy generator less, power is key on your boat! Here are some tips on how to save power aboard your yacht.

First have an expert make sure that you have the right size battery bank for your loads. Adding a battery or two can make a huge difference in the efficiency of the whole electrical system.

1. Switch Your lights to LEDs-Incandescent bulbs use a lot more power than LEDs. There are LED replacements for almost any type of incandescent or halogen bulbs. Replacing is as easy as popping a new bulb into the fixture, no rewiring is required.

2. Use an energy-efficient computer-Whether you’re checking grib files or blogging about your adventures, some computers can be a huge energy suck! Try looking for one with an ENERGY STAR certification and a solid state drive which uses less power.

3. Chill your fridge before leaving the dock-set the fridge to high-range, at least 24 hours before taking off from shore power. If possible, refrigerate provisions at home before they come aboard. Crank it up while you’re motoring!

4. Get a high efficiency refrigerator and watermaker. While innovations in refrigeration and watermakers have made them abundantly more energy-efficient than their predecessors, they will probably be the most energy-hungry systems on your boat. If you don’t want to constantly drain your batteries or run your generator, think about high efficiency systems. A watermaker like the Spectra Catalina 340 Z makes 14 gallons an hour for only 16 amps. Run the watermaker while you’re motoring to instantly replace the amps you use.

5. If you have solar panels or wind generators, run your watermaker and other power heavy devices when it’s sunniest and windiest. It’s more efficient to run directly from the power source than to charge your batteries and run these things later.

6. Pick the right fridge and keep it organized! Make sure it is well insulated and add more insulation if necessary. Top entry fridges are usually more efficient. Make sure food is arranged in the proper areas. If you don’t have dividers already, consider making foam compartments to arrange food by temperature. Having dividers will ensure that less cold air is let out when you just want to grab salad ingredients on top. Make sure you have a good seal on the lid and replace old gaskets on fridge doors.

7. Turn off your radar when not in use-in transmit mode the radar can be a big power consumer. Make sure it’s off when you’re not using it.

If you want to save power on your boat, a Spectra Watermaker is an important investment. The Spectra Catalina 340 Z is perfect for the midsize yacht and can be run completely off solar and/or wind power. Check back on the blog for more useful boating tips!