Anyone who spends much time RVing with less than 50-amps knows that “look before you leap” is a rule of thumb when it comes to turning on items that require electrical power. Failing to pause and perform a quick mental check of how many amps are coming in compared to the number of amps currently being used can often result in a tripped breaker. The kind of tripped breaker that usually means putting on your shoes and trekking out to the shore power pedestal ... in a rainstorm ... armed with a flashlight.

The Smart Energy Management System (EMS) by Intellitec is designed to take away the need to closely monitor the plus and minus columns of RV amperage by automatically suspending prearranged electrical loads when there is a need for power, and restarting those loads when excess items have been turned off.

Available in select models, the Smart EMS is connected to specific electrical components in the RV, such as the front and rear air conditioning units. When another load is engaged, for instance, the microwave oven, the Smart EMS temporarily suspends one of the prearranged loads to free up power for the oven. After oven operation has ceased, and in some cases an additional two-minute delay, if ample amperage is again available the Smart EMS will automatically restart the suspended loads.

The EMS display panel on the RV’s main monitor panel, will show the pre-arranged load that will be suspended when amperage output exceeds electrical input. The loads are shed in order of listing starting at the top.

The EMS display is wired from the monitor panel to a control circuit board to signal available amperage and amperage presently being used when hooked to 30 or 20-amp shore power. The control circuit board is attached directly to the interior of the breaker panel to sense incoming AC power. If amperage used exceeds the amount of available amperage, the Smart EMS will temporarily shed the preprogrammed appliance loads, one by one as necessary to meet the demand of other electrical loads.

Normal daily activity can produce periods of occasional high power usage on the RV electrical system. For instance, in the morning hours you may operate the roof air conditioner and water heater while doing a load of laundry and preparing toast. During the evening hours two air conditioning systems, the microwave and overhead lights may be competing for electrical power at the same time. When demand overtakes available supply the result is a tripped breaker or GFCI. However, with the Smart EMS installed, a few of those loads, such as the air conditioner, washer/dryer and water heater, will temporarily suspend and thereby reduce the chance of tripping a breaker.

The Smart EMS only sheds appliance loads indicated on the panel. Electrical items such as wall outlets, overhead lights, and electronics are not controlled by the EMS and can still trip a circuit breaker due to overload.

As you reduce electrical loads, the Smart EMS will then instigate automatic return of the power supply to appliances the system temporarily suspended. On 2006 model units there is a two-minute delay prior to restoring the shed loads once excess power is again available. If a breaker trips after the Smart EMS has suspended the loads there may be a problem with the breaker itself, or a fuse may have blown. Have all electrical problems on the RV inspected and repaired by a qualified technician as soon as possible.

The Smart EMS is accessed at a small display on the hallway panel. On the panel you will see a small push button switch provided to program shore power amperage settings from 20 to 30 amps, depending on the current supply. This switch requires manual setting. If the switch is positioned at 20-amps and the RV is plugged into a 30-amp power supply it will still shed the loads based on 20-amp shore power until you manually reset the switch to 30-amps.

There is no load-shedding feature while the generator is in operation or when hooked to 50-amp power supply. Instead, while operating from the generator the panel will illuminate the generator light and the display will indicate amps used. When the RV is plugged into a 50-amp shore power hookup the display panel will be blank and the circuit board is designed to enter a sleep mode during 50-amp shore power supply. Occasionally you may encounter a shore power hookup that is presumed to be 50-amps, when in reality the available supply is 30-amps, and in this instance the Smart EMS will activate to alert you that the power supply is less than 50-amps.

An AC breaker panel is located in the bedroom. Disconnect all power before removing the cover. When you remove the cover to this panel you will find a fuse label and the accompanying wiring schematic displayed on the backside of this cover.

Once inside the circuit board you will locate four 120-AC relays on one side, and two 12-volt relays on the other side. There is one five-amp fuse on this circuit board that fuses the Smart EMS control board and display panel. If the fuse blows, operation of the control board will cease and the display will fail to light. A low current test light, digital voltmeter and clamp-on AC ammeter are recommended tools to use for troubleshooting the Smart EMS.

The green light located on the PC board is an indicator that will illuminate when a good communication signal is present. There is also a red indicator lamp, just below the green one, that will illuminate only when there is no communication, or bad communication, present between the main board and the display.

In addition to a blown fuse, troubleshooting may be necessary to fix a loose connection on the DC power and ground supply, a nearby lightning strike, or a bad control on the circuit board. The battery cut off switch at the entry door must be flipped to ‘on’ for the Smart EMS to operate.

According to Victor Pulphus, Product Specialist at Intellitec, the 50-amp Smart Energy Management System (EMS) can be added after-market, provided specific pre-wiring parameters are met. “However,” he states, “the cost on the upgrade module, would be up to the technician and whomever they choose to provide the parts.”

You should still look before you leap when it comes to managing your RV electrical loads, and the Smart EMS can come in handy as a tool to help you do just that.