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Powering your vanlife
Making, storing, and using power wisely is important for happy vandwelling. Power issues can seem overwhelming and confusing; this article intends to lay out the basics.
Before we start: there are two generally-separate electrical systems in your self-propelled camper1):
- House power (coach power, leisure power) is the (usually 12v) electrical system in the living area. It runs fans, lights, etc. It's what we are discussing here.
- chassis power is the electrical system in the vehicle itself. Starter, alternator, headlights, etc. The two are usually separate systems, except when actively charging from the alternator.2)
what you can run in the van
Things that are run off house power are called loads. Unlike a wall socket where you can run pretty much anything you want, using power you make yourself is a series of choices and compromises. Some things are easy to run off off-grid; some things are harder and require more infrastructure, planning, and money. Some things are impractical in vans.
Here are some very general ideas to get you thinking:
- trivial to run off the cigarette lighter port while driving
- phone and tablet charging
- laptop charging
- easy/cheap to run off a portable power pack3)
- fan
- CPAP
- average loads - small ($) house power system: Example: 200w of solar and 100Ah of battery.
- 12v compressor fridges – they use little power and run intermittently
- laptop charging/use if you do it at night
- swamp coolers (due to high power fan motors)
- gaming laptops run off solar during the day
- 120v refrigerators off inverter
- charging e-bikes, etc during the day
- harder and more expensive to run - substantial ($$$) house power system - 400w+ of solar, 200Ah+ of battery
- gaming laptops at night
- charging e-bikes, etc at night
- difficult and very expensive to run - $thousands in solar, battery, and alternator charging.
- heating or cooking with electricity, which is why we use propane
- air conditioning, which is why we go where it is cooler
- electric coffee makers, which is why we use propane4)
sources of house power
Most campervans use solar combined with another charging source, usually the van's alternator. This combination can be both cheap and highly effective5)
| Pro | Con | |
|---|---|---|
| shore power (outlet) | cheapest per watt simple abundant power | often not available if available you are tied to the outlet by your cord/adapter campgrounds with outlets are more expensive |
| solar | automatically makes power when the sun shines makes high voltages needed to fully charge lead-acid batteries silent lasts for decades | most expensive per watt can be complex panels are large output drops dramatically when shaded |
| alternator | automatically makes power when driving about 1/10th the cost of solar for the same current output | relatively low charging voltage6) can result in chronic undercharging should not idle to charge most people don't drive enough to fully charge lead-acid |
| generator | can make 1000w+ of 120v can run for days inverter models are quieter | can be expensive ($1000+) maintenance needs to be stored when not in use noisy not allowed in some areas/times |
Alternator & solar charging enhance each other when used together. Adding alternator charging to solar can significantly reduce the amount of solar required to meet your needs.
Note: So-called solar generators do not generate power: they are battery banks, usually AGM or lithium. See below.
storing power
Power production tends to be heaviest during the day while power use tends to be heaviest overnight. This means power needs to be stored when power is abundant so it can be used later. The most common storage for power is in a deep cycle battery bank.
| Pro | Con | |
|---|---|---|
| Flooded lead-acid (FLA) | cheapest per Ah most tolerant of abuse | lowest current throughput maintenance (“watering”) required can only use 50% of rated capacity7) |
| Sealed lead-acid (SLA, AGM) | able to charge/discharge more current than FLA no maintenance required | more expensive per Ah8) cannot check or replace electrolyte |
| LiFePO4 (LFP) lithium | very close to normal 12v ranges available as “drop-in” replacements for lead-acid current throughput can be more deeply discharged than lead-acid | most expensive upfront per Ah cannot be charged in freezing temperatures |
| Non-LFP lithium | cheaper than LFP per Ah current throughput | thermal runaway voltage not well-suited for 12v systems |
The battery bank is sized to meet your daily power needs and as well as any extra margin you might like.
using power
Using power is the simplest part. It's so simple the newbie may find themselves overdrawing from the available power. A low voltage disconnect (LVD) is one way to keep from overdischarging the bank.
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