Make the Most of EHU Camping Site Bollards with These Gadgets
| Reuben Howe
Camping and caravanning can be a perfect storm of relaxation and stress. For everything you don't have to worry about, it seems there's something that you do! Luckily, modern sites will have EHU solutions built-in, so you can cover your basics.
Before you head off, make sure you have these essentials to make the most of the charging time you get from your closest EHU.
What is EHU for camping and caravanning?
EHU stands for Electric Hook Up, and is exactly what it says on the tin. When away from home and off-the-grid, EHU points are a reliable way to plug in chargers, TV's, purifiers and more.
Obviously you don't want to be crowded around an EHU bollard the entire time you're away, so rechargeable devices are still king, but locating and utilising your local EHU when at a site can help improve your trip immeasurably.
The best thing to do is make sure you have a mix of rechargeable devices and power packs, while also having mains cables to make the most of the faster EHU speeds. You'll charge devices and power appliances far better from a burst on the EHU than on something more portable.
Gadgets and Tech to Utilise EHU Points
Below you can find our best tech for taking long to caravan and camping sites which feature an EHU point. While not all of these use mains power, that's actually part of the point.
EHU points shouldn't be used for everything, as they are rated at a sufficient wattage for powering one main appliance, or a couple of smaller devices. So, you still want to be drawing as little power as possible from the EHU at any one time as possible.
Portable TV's for EHU Points
There's a couple of ways to go with TV's, you can go with a rechargeable unit with an internal battery to quickly charge up at the EHU before the evenings' viewing, or you can link up a TV set to the EHU permanently.
Due to the wattage, it's still recommended to use a small and portable TV set rather than bringing a huge flatscreen and external doo-dads like games consoles (at least, not all on the same EHU).
To that end, the two options we provide with free UK next day shipping are the DA100 and DA900 portable Freeview TV's.
The DA900 has an internal battery, and that means you can easily recharge or leave it plugged in with no worries. This is also the most recently updated model, with the 2024 edition having a brand new screen with higher resolution, better viewing angles and brightness.
The DA100 is different in that it can either be plugged in to your EHU or run off of batteries. Not an internal battery, just normal AA batteries. This means you can theoretically watch all your TV over the week without ever plugging the unit in, as you can switch out the batteries for new ones when they've drained.
Obviously, for efficiency and the sake of planet we recommend using rechargeable batteries for the DA100 but the option is there, should you need it.
Mains Socket Adapters
Usually having access to an EHU and the sought-after mains sockets they provide is enough, but in the rare occasion that you actually need something other than a 3-pin at that wattage, you should pack some adapters.
The two key ones are:
A USB mains adapter, so you can fast-charge your USB devices with a few mins on the EHU.
A travel adapter, so you can not only use USB but also account for any imported tech (or go camping abroad!).
Between these two, you can be sure to have your bases covered for appliances and gadgets connected to the EHU.
Rechargeable Air Pump
While a little on the practical side, rather than entertainment, having an EHU means you can power helpful tools like tyre pumps and kick-starters for your car. Along the same line as the TV's, though, you want to limit your dependence of the EHU. You aren't always going to happen to be near it when you need to use a pump!
The PUM300 is a handheld, high-power air pump with a digital display for live pressure measurement (in BAR or PSI), keeping your camper and car ready for any kind of road! Simply charge it up when you have access to the mains from an EHU and you can rest assured it's ready for the trip home.
Better to be have it and never need it, as they say.
Offline Multimedia Player and TV Box
Finally, an EHU can expand your options for turning a tent or camper into a home-away-from-home. Since you're off-the-grid, you wouldn't normally be able to use something like a Fire Stick or Android TV box. However, using an SSD storage media box like DVB502 means you can have 100+ hours of film and TV saved on the box itself.
Usually locked behind a 3-Pin requirement, an EHU lets you utilise these powerful boxes even away from home! They also have the benefit of displaying out HDMI or RCA, meaning you don't even need a TV, just a monitor or display will do.
If your site's EHU is fancy enough, it might also host an aerial port connected to the site's main aerial, so you can get TV signal to the box and all. Even if that isn't set up at the site you're at, all the other features and all your SSD storage is available.
Enjoy Summer 2024!
While the rain has come along to nip our 25 degree+ heat in the bud, don't lose hope! Get those last-minute trips in while you can and enjoy the best of the year for camping or caravanning (Also, my partner would definitely argue this rain is the best weather for it so she can sleep to the sound of rain on the roof...but that's just her).
Having recently discovered site-hosted EHU points we are excited to be able to have our mains-powered kit such as DVB502 all set up in caravans across the nation. Of course, the contingency of rechargeable is always appealing and these backups are important. but don't discount an EHU connection to make your trips away more homely.
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