Off-Grid Power Tips for Van Life
Practical advice for staying powered up while living on the road in the UK.
Power Budgeting
List your loads in watts and estimate daily use in watt-hours. A 12V fridge might use 30–60Wh, a laptop charger 60Wh, LED lighting 10–20Wh. Add them up, then multiply by days between charges. That target sets your battery size.
Batteries: Lithium vs AGM
Lithium LiFePO4 batteries deliver more usable capacity, are lighter and handle deep cycles well — important for UK winters. AGM is cheaper upfront but heavier and sensitive to discharge below 50%.
Solar Sizing
In the UK, average insolation varies from 2kWh/m² in winter to 5kWh/m² in summer. A 200W panel may cover modest loads on sunny days; a 600–800W array is more reliable year-round. Pair with an MPPT charge controller for maximum harvest.
Inverters
Use pure sine-wave inverters for laptops, cameras and sensitive electronics. Modified sine wave can cause humming, overheating and shorter device life. Size for peak load with a small margin — usually 20%.
Seasonal Advice
- Park with panels facing south where possible.
- Keep lead-based batteries and inverters in mildly heated spaces.
- Carry a backup method: wind, fuel generator or public charging.
- Monitor state of charge daily, not weekly.
Safety
Use appropriately fused DC circuits, cable correctly sized for amperage, and secure battery boxes. A BMS and isolator protect against overcharge, over-discharge and accidental starter battery drain.