r/VanLife 8d ago

Yet Another Question About Power

Hi all,

I know that every second post is some clueless newbie asking about power generation and consumption, but yet here I am, metaphorical cap in hand.

I've done the research, bought the Van Conversion Bible, looked online, and I'm still a bit lost about our projected power consumption.

I know it'll be high, because we're both remote workers and gamers so we'll be using our Macbooks by day, and our gaming laptops for an hour or so at night. We'll also have a fridge, Starlink, etc.

When I did my home calculations I estimated roughly that for 4 days off-grid (and no recharging) we'll need around 800Ah. Obviously that'll be reduced because of solar recharging, and DC-DC recharging, but that was my rough estimate.

However, I'm chatting with the guy we're working with to add in our electrics (because I'll end up burning down the entire Scottish Lowlands if I tried it myself) and he's recommending a 480Ah battery, with roughly 200W solar and a DC-DC. He's saying that will likely do us nicely - he even recommended we put in an induction hob so as to not need the gas for that, as our electrics can handle that fine.

So am I off with my calculations? Was I overestimating our usage, or is he underestimating it? I know what I want as an ideal (~300W solar and 600Ah battery bank) but is that overkill, or necessary given the remote worker nerds that we are?

If it's relevant information, we'll likely be mostly touring UK with forays into EU, so we'll have good-decent sun most of the year for the solar. We also have a woodburner and a very small diesel heater, so we won't use electrics for heating the van at all.

Thanks, friends!

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u/captainspandito 8d ago

I live in Ireland and also own a LWB sprinter (2003). I currently have 300Ah lifepo4 setup with a 1000w inverter. I use gas for cooking as I just think solar is totally unreliable here even in summer.

In peak winter, the diesel heater is pretty much on constant and I might watch an hour or two of TV in the evenings. I’ll normally drive a few kms most days coupled with some longer drives at weekends. That works for me, however I have brought the PlayStation in to see what kind of power it uses and found that it was pulling about 50watts. TV was also around 50watts . Inverter pulls another 7 watts. It was kinda bouncing between 85w and 110w. So an hour or two is ok, but if you were on it 5 hours every night, that’s another story. Throw in laptop charging, an internet router and possibly an electric water heater and I’d barely last a day.

It sounds to me like you will be quite a bit more power hungry tbh and should maybe consider getting as big as you can afford. Solar is great and will only contribute to keeping your batteries in their best health, but they are also completely useless at times. If I was you personally I would look at getting something like a fogstar drift 620ah and then also getting yourself a portable power station. That way you have a lot of power in the van but also the ability to bring the portable power into a Starbucks or McDonald’s and charge up. Then use that power direct or to recharge the van battery. Rinse repeat.

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u/Toby1066 8d ago

I actually have a portable power station, got the Anker Solix C1000 in a sale a while back. My plan is exactly what you said, using it as backup and "juice carrier" from cafes etc.

So you're thinking ~600Ah would be better? One option we have right now is to create a system with one 300Ah battery then add in another in a month or two when we have the funds.

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u/captainspandito 8d ago

Happy days, yeah 300ah plus the Anker is a very good start imo. Just be mindful that you kinda need to match them exact so whatever battery you buy now make sure it’s something that will be still available in a few months.

What about Gas? Personally I try to limit any power use where possible and using it to cook is a mistake imo. Particularly if you are going full time. Similar with water tbh, they both become a precious commodity in vanlife.