Power Requirements
One of the biggest headaches of being in a van is the need for power, however, it's easily solved if you give it some thought.
240V
At some point you will need 240V mains in the van. All purpose built vans come with mains hook up. If yours is a home build, you will need to install it yourself. The van is connected to the mains via a 16A cable (usually orange with blue plugs). The plugs are standard at most campsites but you should, when travelling overseas, carry local adaptors. Your van MUST have a 240V circuit breaker installed.
You can use portable inverters connected to your 12V power but beware, these can drain your battery rapidly.
12V
Inside the van you will have 12v power outlets and standard USB points. The 12v supply is fed from the leisure battery.
Solar power
This is essential. On the roof of our van we have 270W of solar panels which keep the leisure battery topped up at all times. When the leisure battery is full, any surplus charge goes to the vehicle battery. The system is set up to balance both batteries at all times. There have been so many debates on how much solar you need and there is no set answer. This will depend on your demand and how much off grid living you do. You could say, the more the better but if you are not using the energy the panels are generating, then it's pointless. Batteries can only store so much power then the rest is wasted. Installing too many panels is not cost effective.
Portable power
We carry a 2kW Jackery power unit. This is perfect for all our off-grid power requirements. We always make sure we take advantage of the sun whenever possible (and there is lots of it), by connecting the Jackery to it's own 200W solar panel.
The Jackery Explorer 2000 v2
We spent a lot of time researching our power requirements and wanted to buy the best we could afford. Our budget was £1,000 and we found this to be our best option.
① 2042Wh Capacity & 2200W Output: Powers Most of Devices, lasts 10 Years (4000 Life Cycles)
② Lightest and Smallest 2kWh LiFePO4 Power Station: 41% Smaller and 35.6% Lighter than Industry Standard, only weighs 38.6 lbs.
③ Multiple Charging Modes: AC/Solar/Car/AC+Solar/AC+Car; Full battery in just 1.33 hours with Emergency Super Charge
It came with it's own 200W solar panel to keep it topped up.
See the 200W solar panel here
Scenarios for us:
On pitch up, we put the solar panel out and connect up for the day. It powers our entertainment system and charges all our gadgets. If the leisure battery needs topping up, we simply connect the Jackery to the van 240V input.
Tips we have learned
We always charge as many gadgets as we can during the day and whilst travelling. This way, it's free electric and does not drain our resources. In case of an absolute emergency, we have several small power banks that can charge mobiles etc. As yet, we have never needed to use them.
We actually use very little power. The main consumption being the fridge.