So on previous vans I have had at least 200w of solar and loads of battery capacity (no lithium in the old days)
My current van came with 100w solar and around 85 Ah of useable battery storage (AGM batteries), an upgrade is on the cards.But I was intrigued to see how long the van could survive off grid. Well I am surprised. Currently on the east coast, temperature is 10deg C during the day (but sunny) and cold at night. With the heating on (diesel) and a compressor fridge the van is coping well without a hook up. Batteries are always fully charged during the day and are reading 12.5v first thing in the morning. The system is basic so I can't see what the solar is doing apart from whether it is charging.
I am sure that in different circumstances it would be different - very cold with minimal solar, or perhaps hot with the fridge running a lot more.
So what have you got and how does it cope?
My current van came with 100w solar and around 85 Ah of useable battery storage (AGM batteries), an upgrade is on the cards.But I was intrigued to see how long the van could survive off grid. Well I am surprised. Currently on the east coast, temperature is 10deg C during the day (but sunny) and cold at night. With the heating on (diesel) and a compressor fridge the van is coping well without a hook up. Batteries are always fully charged during the day and are reading 12.5v first thing in the morning. The system is basic so I can't see what the solar is doing apart from whether it is charging.
I am sure that in different circumstances it would be different - very cold with minimal solar, or perhaps hot with the fridge running a lot more.
So what have you got and how does it cope?