How Much Solar & Battery Capacity Do You Need For Van Life?

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I lately got here throughout an incredible video from CheapRVLiving on YouTube. In it, Bob Wells goes by means of some issues individuals want to think about when looking for issues like energy stations, photo voltaic mills, and permanently-mounted photo voltaic and battery setups. Let’s first have a look at the video, adopted by a recap for individuals at work and a few of my very own added ideas additional down:

Bob’s Suggestions

Earlier than I add my $.02 to the dialogue, let’s recap the suggestions from the video for individuals who can’t watch it for no matter purpose. For many individuals, solar energy remains to be a seemingly magical factor, and other people with no expertise with low-voltage wiring can really feel intimidated by it. After which there’s all the watts, amps, and volts (plus watt-hours and amp-hours) that may result in confusion. However, the know-how has come a great distance since individuals like me and Bob have been experimenting with it (he did his first photo voltaic setup in 2010, and I did mine that very same 12 months!).

However, deciding how a lot solar energy you want doesn’t have to be rocket surgical procedure. As of late, you don’t must know something about wiring and also you don’t want to rent an electrician to get the advantages.

The plain first query is your finances. Everybody would like to have an enormous photo voltaic array on their camper or subsequent to their tent that may run all the things, together with air con and EV charging. However, a high-end photo voltaic setup can price over $10,000! So, it’s a must to begin out by realizing what you possibly can spend first, as a result of the sky’s the restrict. Bob begins off displaying viewers a easy 200-watt system that prices about $400. Thankfully, costs have been coming down and proceed to come back down.

As a result of the sky’s the restrict, it’s actually all about getting probably the most for what you possibly can fairly spend. For individuals on a smaller finances than $400 (now we have to do not forget that Bob Wells helps lots of people who didn’t select van life), there are nonetheless choices to get at the very least some energy to cost a cellphone, a flashlight, an electrical lantern, and different small issues. For individuals on a much bigger finances, Bob recommends shopping for as a lot photo voltaic as you possibly can afford to get probably the most out of it.

The second query is house. How a lot room do you might have on a van’s roof? Or, in case you’re taking a conveyable system alongside, how a lot house do you might have in your rig for it? You can be capable of afford a formidable system, however in case you don’t have room to hold it alongside, it gained’t do you a bit of fine!

A associated query is battery storage. In case you get a bunch of photo voltaic panels however no battery, you’re not going to have energy at evening or on cloudy days. Bob (very a lot rightly) recommends erring on the aspect of an excessive amount of battery over having an excessive amount of photo voltaic. When you’ve got a spot to place each watt-hour your panels produce in a day, you’re getting probably the most good out of these panels. When you’ve got an excessive amount of panel and never sufficient battery, you’re actually throwing vitality away that you just may want you had later. All in all, he recommends “two to one” energy, or having twice as many watts as amp-hours.

The following query: what season will you be touring in and what climate will you be seeing? The size of the day modifications over the 12 months. Deserts have much less rain and extra solar. Coastal areas can have lots of clouds. Because of this, he recommends wanting on the climate the place you’ll be spending time and measurement the system for the worst days of the 12 months. You’ll must have sufficient battery to final for as many days as you anticipate not having solar, and never simply sufficient to final in a single day, and also you’ll want sufficient photo voltaic to cost these batteries up in a day or two earlier than the clouds come once more.

One broad suggestion he offers is to have a minimal of 200 watts of photo voltaic panel and a 100 amp-hour lithium battery (the setup he exhibits on display screen). This gained’t run something like air con, however it should give energy for necessities like LED lighting, charging up telephones and lights, and so on. 300 watts and two deep cycle batteries is best, and so forth.

Whereas vitality audits ( what your gadgets/home equipment use) are necessary, Bob doesn’t waste lots of time on that. Why? As a result of no person can energy all the things they may ever need. There’s all the time one other creature consolation you possibly can energy! As a substitute, he recommends spending as a lot as you possibly can in your photo voltaic/battery system so that you’ll have as a lot vitality out there as doable.

Lastly, he offers his superb suggestion: 400 watts and two deep cycle batteries, with compromises taking place for something smaller. For RVs, he recommends at the very least 500 watts to account for phantom attracts, however with 1000 watts to actually be extra comfy. He additionally recommends tilting the system towards the solar and following the solar (swiveling) to get extra energy out of panels at any time when doable.

In sum, take into account these items:

• Funds
• House out there
• Purchase all you possibly can afford

Including EVs To The Van Life & Tenting Combine (My $.02)

Most of Bob’s viewers is having to do issues for as cheaply as doable. Whereas YouTubers and Instagram-ers have been huge on residing in previous vans and faculty buses, Bob’s viewers is extra about survival than glamor and clicks. Many individuals residing in vans are doing it as a result of they’ll’t make the ends meet on restricted retirement cash, or as a result of they’ve discovered themselves not doing properly with the sort of grind it takes to achieve success today chasing the American dream.

Because of this, most of his movies cater to individuals who purchased an previous work van or dwell in a gas-powered automobile of some variety. It’s what they may afford with out going right into a debt that they couldn’t safely service.

However, EV costs are dropping, and a few of Bob’s movies characteristic individuals residing in older EVs. So, that’s the place the way forward for van life and nomadic residing is headed.

As I detailed in another articleI’ve been experimenting with utilizing my 60 kWh EV battery to energy a campsite. This features a full kitchen (together with toaster oven, microwave, and fridge), in addition to air con and warmth for the insulated Shiftpod tent. When you might have tons of battery, it’s lots simpler to energy virtually something. With used Bolts going for as little as $10,000 in case you store round, it’s going to be simpler and simpler for nomads to all have an enormous battery they’ll go into city and cost as soon as per week when photo voltaic doesn’t lower it.

This doesn’t assist individuals who can’t afford an EV as we speak, clearly, so I don’t decide anybody for not driving one and residing in it. However, for individuals who can, it could possibly be a much better setup than the options.

Featured picture by Jennifer Sensiba.