Energy Management System
Installation and
Breaker Panel Modification

Introduction

We recently purchased a 2007 Allegro Bus 42QRP. While this particular unit is an impressive RV, and fit our needs perfectly, there was one design area that we didn't particularly care for. The existing bedroom closet has a large portion of it dedicated to an enclosed cabinet that houses the electrical panels. This was a huge waste of space. Fortunately, I had plans to replace the OEM breaker panels with an Intellitec breaker panel that also featured load shedding EMS capabilities so it wasn't that big of a deal. In the process I cut down the cabinet to give me more room and acquired an extra shirt closet in the process. Because my finish carpentry skills are limited I arranged with my dealer, Kings Campers in Wausau, WI to modify the cabinet to facilitate the electrical work. As soon as the Bus arrived at the dealership we went to work and made the modifications. The following How To Do It shows both before and after images, as well as instructions on how to do this.

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Mark Quasius - "Cruzer"

The Original Design

As it came from the factory, the right side of the bedroom closet was pretty much consumed by this electrical cabinetry. To the left of the main wardrobe was a handy shirt closet withdrawers underneath. The left side of the wardrobe was spacious but when the right half of the sliding door was opened, as pictured above, the majority of that area was consumed by a cherry enclosure that held two breaker panels and a 12 volt fuse panel.

The pictures above illustrate the 4 electrical panels that were installed in the 42QRP. The small panel at the bottom is the 12 volt fuse panel that contains the fuses for all of the lighting, water pump, fans, and other 12 volt appliances in the coach. The large gray panel directly above it is the main AC breaker panel which provides power for the air conditioners, hydronic heating electric element, engine preheater, etc. The large upper breaker panel is a sub-panel that handles all of the inverter's output circuits, such as the residential refrigerator, convection/microwave oven, and all of the receptacles in the coach. These circuits need to be on a separate sub-panel so that the 3,000 watt inverter can power them without being overloaded by high amperage non-inverter circuits such as air conditioners.

In addition, the image on the right shows the inside of the closet. There are 5 storage cubbyholes for storing small objects and also a hinged access door at the bottom. This storage is of limited value because you have to access it from the far side of the cabinet and all of the hanging clothes would be in the way so you'd pretty much have to empty the wardrobe out in order to get to these areas. Immediately to the right of the cubbyholes is a fourth breaker panel. This is a another small sub-panel that provides power to the washer-dryer. It can be equipped with a single breaker for the Splendide 2100 combo washer-dryer (as was my case) or with a dual pole 240 volt breaker for the stackable washer-dryer option.

My original intent was to replace any OEM panel(s) with an Intellitec EMS800 breaker panel with EMS. This is the same panel as used in Country Coach. Winnebago also uses a modified stripped down version of this system, which is where I first found out about it. I installed an EMS800 in my 2004 Allegro Bus 40DP with excellent results so it was a natural migration to install another one in the 42QRP. The Intellitec panel has a number of things going for it.

First, it includes a load shedding Energy Management System (EMS). Whenever you are plugged into a 30 amp shore power pedestal you won't have enough power to run everything in your RV. With two air conditioners running you'll just have enough power left to charge batteries. The first time someone turns on the microwave oven you'll trip the 30 amp breaker on the pedestal and you'll have to go outside to reset it. Intellitec's EMS features 6 load shedding circuits. Basically, the power from the circuit breakers goes to a set of relays that turn off that particular circuit whenever the EMS logic board tells it to. The logic board will sample how many amps are being pulled on each circuit. Whenever the total current draw exceeds 30 amps it will immediately shed circuits in until the total draw is less than 30 amps. As soon as the offending overload is removed, it will then turn these circuits back on again. The order of load shedding is determined by the user when the system is installed. A typical load shedding order for the average RV would be to first drop off the refrigerator (which can run on LP), then the hot water heater, then the rear air conditioner, then the front air conditioner, etc - although you can set up most any order that you want. Now when you turn on the microwave, the refrigerator switches over to LP. If you still have too much load (maybe the TVs are on and the battery charger is running lots of lights) the hot water heater kicks out. If the loads are still excessive it'll drop out one of the A/C units. As soon as your microwave shuts off, it begins to restore these circuits in the reverse order of how they were shed. The system knows when you are on 50 amp shore power or generator power and will not shed loads at those times.

Secondly, it contains an integral sub-panel. This section is where you locate all of the inverter fed circuits. Therefore you don't need a separate sub-panel for those circuits.

Thirdly, it's not big and square. It's rectangular. This makes it fairly easy for an OEM to install underneath a refrigerator or in place of a cabinet drawer. Unfortunately for me to relocate the entire electrical service over to a cabinet drawer would not be practical for me to do so we just shortened the enclosure. For more information on the Intellitec EMS800 I have uploaded the installation and service manual at the following link - Intellitec EMS800 Service Manual.

It also includes a remote display panel. This panel will display a bank of 6 LEDs that indicate which circuits are active. If an LED is unlit, then that circuit has been shed. It will also display the total system amps but his function is disabled when connected to a 50 amp shore power pedestal. The left portion will display what type of power service you have. It will also allow you to select 20 amp service in the event you are plugged into a 20 amp receptacle. The EMS will then limit the current usage to 20 amps rather than 30.

My initial measurements confirmed that this cabinet could be modified, and reduced in height. I could then replace the three AC breaker panels with an EMS800 panel and then relocate the 12 volt fuse panel alongside of the EMS800. This would give me 41" of clearance above the new enclosure, in effect giving us another shirt closet. I drew the plans out and presented them to Kings Campers, who agreed to do the closet mods. Naturally, I wanted to be involved as much as possible so I planned on being there to help out with the wiring and any communication that might be needed.

The first step was to mask off the area where the EMS800 was to be installed. After measuring everything and carefully laying it out on masking tape, Adam, the service tech working on the project at Kings Campers, cut out the hole for the panel with a scroll saw. Then the panel was installed into the hole and fastened into place. I then began the task of removing the wiring from the three OEM panels and labeling them. Then the OEM breaker panels were removed from the system. Adam then cut another hole for the 12 volt fuse panel right next to the EMS800 panel and that panel was relocated to that hole.

At this point I then relocated the AC circuits to the new EMS800 panel. After this was complete the power had now been restored to the coach. It was late in the day on Friday so I began the drive home and Adam completed the cabinet work the following Monday. After the coach was prepped and Kings had run some additional conduit runs for me to aid in my upcoming wiring projects we returned on the following Wednesday to take delivery of the coach.

The results were met with total satisfaction. I knew that the service department at Kings was first rate but the craftsmanship of this installation was equal to, or better than, original work done at the factory. After the original tall enclosure was lopped off, some wiring was found that ran down from the ceiling. Adam created a furred out area on the side of the wardrobe, ran those wires through that area, then capped it off with some cedar paneling that matched the existing cedar lined closet perfectly. The clothes pole was replaced with a longer one that extended the full width of the closet. The shelf over the new shortened enclosure was carpeted to prevent anything placed on there from sliding around and the existing cabinet access door buried inside the closet was retained. In addition, the top can easily be removed with 4 screws to access any wiring.

Summary

This isn't that bad of an operation when you consider how much there is to gain. The storage area gained by opening up this area is huge. The ability to monitor electrical loads is a very handy feature and saves many trips (usually when its raining) to reset the pedestal breaker when you are plugged into a 30 amp shore power service. If you are not comfortable doing these mods yourself any capable RV dealer should be capable. I was very impressed with the workmanship exhibited by Kings Campers in every area and they easily covered those areas where I was lacking - most notably in the carpentry end of things. This modification eliminates the biggest drawback to an otherwise awesome coach.

This review written 11/6/06