What works & what doesn't?

UHB1883 · Jan 7, 2018

Hello all, I am looking at converting a van to live in in the UK. (I know that may sound like a crazy idea as the weather here is usually cold and wet but this is the plan!!!!!)

I am looking for some advice, what electrical things do you all use every day, how many leisure batteries do you have and how do you charge them?

I know solar is popular and commonly used but how many panels would I need? I am looking at running a small fridge, led lights, a laptop and some sort of heating. I'm most likely going for gas hob and possibly a grill too.
What else do you guys use?

Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Andy

rayrey · Jan 7, 2018

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips & Tricks" post lists some helpful information to get you started. We look forward to hearing more from you.

jimindenver · Jan 7, 2018

The first thing is give up on producing heat. It can be done but it takes more battery and solar than your van will deal with in a practical sense. I would try for 250 Ah of batter and 400 watts of solar to start with.

Trebor English · Jan 7, 2018

In the US desert South West 200 watts of solar is plenty for a small efficient 12 volt fridge. At your latitude and climate it can work but it is not a generous over supply of electricity. 300 or 400 would be nicer.

You need to be protective of your battery. Alternate charge sources need to be used. A fat wire with a switch to connect to the engine alternator is useful when you drive. Having a mains powered battery charger will allow taking advantage of plug in opportunities. If it turns out that you need one, a small gasoline powered generator can power the same battery charger. Load shedding is also a useful strategy. Unplugging the refrigerator might be necessary some days in the winter.

Conservation is a requirement. Combustion of propane is an effective way to generate heat. Battery powered electricity is not an effective way to produce heat. Cooking, hot beverages, and space heating all need combustion.

LED lights, a vent fan, and cell phone charging are ideal uses for a mobile battery powered system. Laptop computers and TVs are a bit more power hungry but not unreasonable.

If you get flooded lead acid deep cycle batteries you get the most capacity for the least money. With flooded not sealed batteties you can use a low cost hydrometer to check the battery state of charge. As you learn to live with a battery you will get better at getting the battery recharged regularly. Less expensive batteries reduce the sting if you get it wrong and quickly ruin the first battery. To run a fridge in your climate would be better with more than 200 amp hours.

DLTooley · Jan 7, 2018

I was curious on the math for this one and did some quick google research. It appears that there isn't an easy answer available to the question of exactly how much you need.

Here's some data from Eugene Oregon which has roughly the same cloud cover as England.

http://midcdmz.nrel.gov/uo_srml/
http://midcdmz.nrel.gov/uo_srml/
I'm not able to interpret the graphs or raw data into watts produced. FWIW, Germany is the biggest solar user in the world.