I have a single 150 watt solar panel, mppt controller and a 160AH AGM battery.
Also a 1,000 watt generator for emergency use or for occasionally using some 110v woodworking tools out of doors.
Normal everyday situations:
1. Fridge all day and night the only constant power need. It is a 17 liter Engel with extra insulation added to the outside so it is very efficient as far as power usage goes. As I do not heat all night on cold nights I can shut it off at bedtime and restart it after breakfast.
2. Occasional days of running laptop and vinyl cutter or inkjet printer run via a 150 watt inverter. But that work is only done during incoming solar power offset hours so it is not actually an impact on my battery status.
3. On days below 45 degrees in The evening and early morning occasional use of power for my diesel heater/cooktop. I need to make sure I leave a big enough reserve in my battery at bedtime to do the diesel ignite on cold, dark, winter mornings. I only need spot lighting occasionally at night and that is done with small LED fixtures that have switches. I definetly do not need overall nighttime illumination as my living space is only 10 feet long.
4. Recharging small electronic devices and rechargeable LED lights. I try to recharge all of those during solar input hours. That includes a small rechargeable hand vacuum and fan.
I do not have any electric kitchen appliances other than the fridge.
So that is why I do not need a big roof full of solar panels or lots of portable panels and multiple batteries.
My travel trailer is small but I customized it to be very beautiful inside with lots of cabinets and counter space and I have 6’4” standing headroom in the main area with the popup roof section!
You can figure out how to do more with less. It just takes good planning.
