{"id":2972,"date":"2015-04-13T09:19:47","date_gmt":"2015-04-13T07:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=2972"},"modified":"2025-06-17T20:49:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T18:49:55","slug":"victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/","title":{"rendered":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Higher Power<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The phrase &#8216;higher power&#8217; takes on a new meaning in such extreme locations as the Victron Energy powered Refuge du Promontoire. But where is it and why?<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Refuge du Promontoire is a sanctuary for climbers and skiers in the French Alps and is located in the massif des Ecrins at an altitude of 3,092 m. The refuge is built on sheer rock in front of the South face of La Meije. It&#8217;s the usual starting point of the famous crossing of La Meije, which is <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">highly coveted by climbers for its ridges, south and north faces and is considered by many as one of the most beautiful climbs in the Alps. The refuge is owned by (CAF) Club Alpin Fran\u00e7ais.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>As Refuge du Promontoire is in the <a title=\"\u00c9crins National Park\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ecrins-parcnational.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u00c9crins National Park<\/a>, any work carried out must respect the resources and assets of the area, hence there is a requirement to use environmentally friendly solutions which are subject to a charter and regulation. What better energy technology to use then, in this sensitive area, than solar power from Victron Distributor and Installer FE Solar.<\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">Refuge du Promontoire<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">In the panorama below, the refuge is in the top left of the photograph.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\"><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/view.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2978\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/view.jpg\" alt=\"Ecrins Mountains\" width=\"730\" height=\"117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/view.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/view-300x48.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/div><\/a><br \/>\nTo give you some perspective, here below is a zoomed in partial view of that panorama. As you can see this is certainly not your average location for installers of Victron equipment.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Refuge_Meije_Modern.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2981\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Refuge_Meije_Modern.jpg\" alt=\"Refuge_Meije_Modern\" width=\"402\" height=\"414\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Refuge_Meije_Modern.jpg 402w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Refuge_Meije_Modern-291x300.jpg 291w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" \/><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The original shelter was constructed in the 1920s out of wood as shown below. In 1966, this was replaced by the aluminum construction shown at the top of this blog.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/708px-Refuge_Meije.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2985\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/708px-Refuge_Meije.jpg\" alt=\"708px-Refuge_Meije\" width=\"708\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/708px-Refuge_Meije.jpg 708w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/708px-Refuge_Meije-300x254.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 708px) 100vw, 708px\" \/><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Emergency upgrades<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The end of March was the beginning of the ski touring season and whilst times have moved on since the wooden hut days, the current 8 x AGM 180Ah and 6 x OPzV 600 Ah batteries in the refuge had reached the end of their life. In fact they were completely dead, plus the solar charge controller only had an output of 16 volts. Clearly something had to be done and quickly before the skiers arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Jean Paul Cande and Thierry Cortassa to the rescue. Jean Paul is a member of the &#8216;commission refuge du CAF&#8217; and Thierry is a Victron Distributor and Installer and runs FE Solar. For the emergency upgrades and to get the system functioning again, 12 x Victron Energy OPzV 600 batteries, 2 x 100\/30 MPPT solar charge controllers and a BMV-700 were specified. The emergency aim was simply to get this all working for the skiers and then change out the inverter, tidy up the wiring and remove the old batteries on another helicopter run at a later date.<\/p>\n<p>Having spoken to Thierry, it is clear this is no ordinary job. Specialist knowledge, a sensitivity for the environment and even rope access for safety to run the cable for the battery monitor was required. Not to mention they had to ski back down the mountain.<\/p>\n<p>Other challenges were the drop zone platform in the photo below which is roughly 20m down from the refuge. As you might imagine moving batteries between the refuge and the platform is quite tricky. I don&#8217;t think this deterred Thierry and the team though, as he describes the place as &#8220;a mythical place for the Alpinist&#8221;, and whilst challenging they clearly enjoyed their work as you can see below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Helicopter Drop Zone platform<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Drop_Zone_Platform.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2995\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Drop_Zone_Platform.jpg\" alt=\"Drop_Zone_Platform\" width=\"730\" height=\"548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Drop_Zone_Platform.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Drop_Zone_Platform-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Victron Energy OPzV 600 batteries being installed<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/OPzV-600-batteries1.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-3005\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/OPzV-600-batteries1.jpg\" alt=\"OPzV 600 batteries\" width=\"730\" height=\"998\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/OPzV-600-batteries1.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/OPzV-600-batteries1-219x300.jpg 219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Solar in the snow<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Solar.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><div class=\"full-size-image container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2997\" src=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Solar.jpg\" alt=\"Solar Panels\" width=\"730\" height=\"973\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Solar.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Solar-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/div><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the Dutch brewing company, Heineken International use to say in their UK advert about Heineken Lager &#8211; &#8220;Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach&#8221;. It seems to me that Victron Energy and their installers do the same, when it comes to energy!<\/p>\n<p>Energy. Anytime. Anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>John Rushworth<\/p>\n<p><strong>Image Credits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Installation photos: Thierry Cortassa of FE Solar<\/p>\n<p>Wooden Hut\/Refuge Meije: <a title=\"Refuge Meije.jpg\" href=\"http:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Refuge_Meije.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Domain &#8211; Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Higher Power The phrase &#8216;higher power&#8217; takes on a new meaning in such extreme locations as the Victron Energy powered Refuge du Promontoire. But where is it and why?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-users-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Higher Power The phrase &#8216;higher power&#8217; takes on a new meaning in such extreme locations as the Victron Energy powered Refuge du Promontoire. But where is it and why?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Victron Energy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VictronEnergy.BV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"973\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Rushworth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Victron_Energy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Victron_Energy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Rushworth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Rushworth\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1fc7df7ea591797404c8c720eff2736e\"},\"headline\":\"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":639,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/Helicopter.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Users stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/\",\"name\":\"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/Helicopter.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/Helicopter.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/Helicopter.jpg\",\"width\":730,\"height\":973,\"caption\":\"Helicopter\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/13\\\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Victron Energy\",\"description\":\"Blue power\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Victron Energy\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/victron-energy-logo_125887203.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/10\\\/2020\\\/02\\\/victron-energy-logo_125887203.png\",\"width\":404,\"height\":125,\"caption\":\"Victron Energy\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/VictronEnergy.BV\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/Victron_Energy\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/victron-energy\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/VictronEnergyBV\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1fc7df7ea591797404c8c720eff2736e\",\"name\":\"John Rushworth\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"John Rushworth\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.victronenergy.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/john-rushworth\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy","og_description":"Higher Power The phrase &#8216;higher power&#8217; takes on a new meaning in such extreme locations as the Victron Energy powered Refuge du Promontoire. But where is it and why?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/","og_site_name":"Victron Energy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VictronEnergy.BV","article_published_time":"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":730,"height":973,"url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Rushworth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Victron_Energy","twitter_site":"@Victron_Energy","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Rushworth","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/"},"author":{"name":"John Rushworth","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1fc7df7ea591797404c8c720eff2736e"},"headline":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire","datePublished":"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/"},"wordCount":639,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg","articleSection":["Users stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/","url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/","name":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire - Victron Energy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg","datePublished":"2015-04-13T07:19:47+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-17T18:49:55+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2015\/04\/Helicopter.jpg","width":730,"height":973,"caption":"Helicopter"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/04\/13\/victron-powered-sanctuary-in-the-alps-refuge-du-promontoire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/","name":"Victron Energy","description":"Blue power","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Victron Energy","url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/02\/victron-energy-logo_125887203.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/02\/victron-energy-logo_125887203.png","width":404,"height":125,"caption":"Victron Energy"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/VictronEnergy.BV","https:\/\/x.com\/Victron_Energy","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/victron-energy\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/VictronEnergyBV"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1fc7df7ea591797404c8c720eff2736e","name":"John Rushworth","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a03c30c14cfa27e76e1ad9fd5372176eaaf3db08aef0af25bccd1cb56617b946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"John Rushworth"},"url":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/author\/john-rushworth\/"}]}},"popularity_stats":{"1_day_stats":2,"7_day_stats":7,"30_day_stats":17,"all_time_stats":1510},"author_name":"John Rushworth","title_plain_text":"Victron powered sanctuary in the Alps: Refuge du Promontoire","excerpt_plain_text":"Higher Power The phrase \u2018higher power\u2019 takes on a new meaning in such extreme locations as the Victron Energy powered Refuge du Promontoire. But where is it and why?","subtitle":"","related_posts":[{"id":33386,"slug":"irrigating-two-million-acres","title":"Irrigating Two-million Acres","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/29\/irrigating-two-million-acres\/","excerpt":"Madura Plains is a remote sheep station on Nullarbor, an arid, treeless limestone plain of 200,0000km\u00b2 in south Australia. Its viability depends on bore holes, tanked-reservoirs, and a pumping system through 1400km of water pipelines to over 200 drinking troughs. Until recently water provision across the property relied on a variety of pumping arrangements which&hellip;","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/05\/Screenshot-2026-05-29-at-09.06.07_323887739-150x150.png","author_name":"justin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/author\/justin\/","author_avatar":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=24","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=48","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=96"},"categories":[{"name":"Users stories","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/category\/users-stories\/"}],"date":"2026-05-29T17:19:32+02:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T15:19:32+00:00"},{"id":33326,"slug":"energy-security-guarantees-towns-water-supply","title":"Energy security guarantees town&#8217;s water supply","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/20\/energy-security-guarantees-towns-water-supply\/","excerpt":"A remote reservoir which provides drinking water to over 35,000 customers is entirely monitored and controlled by an off-grid power installation which must not fail. Electricity energises their control systems, operates the water treatment plant, and opens and closes pump valves. The lead acid batteries which had provided back up power were coming to the&hellip;","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/05\/McMinnville_Water_and_Light-McGuire_Dam-Drone_Shots-Artek-260409-021_321822343-150x150.jpg","author_name":"justin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/author\/justin\/","author_avatar":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=24","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=48","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=96"},"categories":[{"name":"Users stories","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/category\/users-stories\/"}],"date":"2026-05-20T08:40:29+02:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T06:40:29+00:00"},{"id":33339,"slug":"passenger-elevator-powered-by-acoustic-barrier","title":"Passenger elevator powered by acoustic barrier","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/08\/passenger-elevator-powered-by-acoustic-barrier\/","excerpt":"In Warsaw\u2019s Goc\u0142awek district, a stretch of everyday infrastructure has been reimagined. A busy viaduct carrying traffic over the PKP Warszawa-Goc\u0142awek railway station which has acoustic barriers are now doing more than simply reducing noise \u2014 they\u2019re generating energy. Powering the passenger elevator which connects the flyover to the railway platform below, this first-of-its-kind installation&hellip;","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/05\/CleanShot-2026-04-07-at-15.56.29_321910076-150x150.png","author_name":"justin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/author\/justin\/","author_avatar":{"24":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=24","48":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=48","96":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dc1aee15dc88b16fe8302452197d07d203697be68b3ea32d831473d70ae3026b?s=96&d=mm&r=g&s=96"},"categories":[{"name":"Users stories","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/category\/users-stories\/"}],"date":"2026-05-08T10:19:26+02:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T08:19:26+00:00"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2972"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31474,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2972\/revisions\/31474"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}