Community Setups

Nathaniel D. · Oct 13, 2026

A van heated by a 9,000 BTU 115 V mini split instead of a diesel heater. The heat pump at 850 W running 60 percent of a 10 hour fall night is 5.1 kWh, more than three times everything else in the van combined, about 7 kWh a day with the inverter idle draw. One night needs 8.3 kWh of battery (24 V 300 Ah or 12 V 600 Ah LiFePO4) and a 2,000 W pure sine inverter. Replacing that in winter sun would take 2.7 kW of panels, so a van roof (600 to 1,000 W) covers only a quarter to a third. Daily DC-DC alternator charging or shore power is the real supply; solar is the supplement.

Nathaniel D. · Sep 30, 2026

A laptop-cell powerwall built from salvaged 18650 cells: 14 in series by 9 in parallel, 126 cells at 3,000 mAh. 51.8 V nominal, 27 Ah, 1.4 kWh per pack. Needs a 14s BMS, spot-welded nickel strip and capacity-matched cells. A good first pack before scaling to the 5 to 10 packs a real powerwall needs.

Nathaniel D. · Sep 22, 2026

A DIY 48 V LiFePO4 bank from sixteen 280 Ah prismatic cells in series (16s1p): 51.2 V nominal, 280 Ah, 14.3 kWh gross and about 12 kWh usable. Sized for a cabin using 5 kWh a day with two days of autonomy. Pair it with a 200 A BMS, a 48 V hybrid inverter and 2/0 AWG cables.

Nathaniel D. · Sep 14, 2026

Winter van life with a diesel heater: 12 V compressor fridge, lights, laptop, phones, water pump, a hotspot router and the heater fan running 10 hours. Just under 1.9 kWh a day. Sized for winter sun (3.25 hours) that is about 750 W of solar and 4.4 kWh of battery for two days, a 12 V 300 Ah LiFePO4 bank, plus a 1,000 W inverter. The diesel heater uses 300 Wh a night; an electric space heater would use 12,000 Wh.

Nathaniel D. · Sep 5, 2026

A year-round 2-bedroom cabin in the Northeast sized for December: fridge, well pressure pump, lights, laptop, router, TV, microwave, coffee maker, a washing machine and a 9,000 BTU mini-split heat pump running 8 hours. About 8.4 kWh a day. At 2.6 winter sun hours that is roughly 4 kW of solar and 30 kWh of battery for three days, so a 4.5 kW array with 27 kWh of storage works with about 2.7 days of autonomy. Heat with wood or propane instead of the heat pump and the same battery lasts more than four days.

Nathaniel D. · Aug 27, 2026

A camper with 400 W of solar, two lead-acid batteries (160 Ah total) and a 30 A controller at 12 V. Set the controller to the sealed/AGM or flooded profile: absorption 14.4 to 14.6 V, float 13.6 to 13.8 V, equalize only for flooded cells. 400 W at 12 V is up to 33 A, so a 30 A PWM unit clips a little on bright days; a 40 A MPPT recovers it. The weak point is the bank: 160 Ah of lead-acid is only 80 Ah (about 1 kWh) usable, less than one day of the 1.4 kWh these loads use. Upgrading to 200 Ah LiFePO4 roughly triples usable storage.

Nathaniel D. · Aug 19, 2026

A compact European motorhome (under 6 m, 230 V appliances) with a single roof panel. One 300 W panel covers a 12 V compressor fridge, LED lights, water pump, phone charging and a laptop, about 0.9 kWh a day, with a 12 V 200 Ah LiFePO4 battery for two days. A 1,000 W 230 V inverter runs small appliances. An electric water heater (geyser) at 1.5 to 2 kW is not realistic on one panel; use gas or diesel for hot water and keep the electrics for everything else.

Nathaniel D. · Aug 11, 2026

A 40 ft fifth wheel with 30-amp service (3,600 W of shore power). Solar charges the house batteries independently of the pedestal rating, so the 30 A limit is not a problem. Everything except the air conditioner: fridge, lights, pump, two TVs, laptop, router, microwave, coffee maker and a hair dryer, about 4.2 kWh a day. Roughly 1.1 kW of solar and 9.9 kWh of battery at 24 V with a 2,000 to 3,000 W inverter.

Nathaniel D. · Aug 3, 2026

What it takes to run the rooftop air conditioner in a 50-amp motorhome from solar: a 13,500 BTU unit cycling 8 hours a day adds 6 kWh on top of the normal loads, about 9.7 kWh in total. That needs around 2.25 kW of panels (six 400 W modules, more than most roofs hold) and 11.5 kWh of battery at 48 V for a single day. The 50 A pedestal rating is 12 kW of shore power and has nothing to do with the solar size. Most owners run the AC on the generator or shore power and use solar for everything else.

Nathaniel D. · Jul 22, 2026

Full-time living in a 30 ft travel trailer without running the air conditioner from the batteries: residential style fridge, lights, water pump, laptop, router, TV, microwave and coffee maker. Around 3.7 kWh a day, so roughly 950 W of solar (five 200 W panels on the roof) and 8.7 kWh of battery for two days of autonomy at 24 V. A 2,000 W inverter handles the microwave.

Nathaniel D. · Jul 14, 2026

Weekend boondocking in a small travel trailer: 12 V compressor fridge, LED lights, water pump, a fan, a 32 inch TV and phone charging. About 1.4 kWh a day. The calculator lands on roughly 400 W of solar and 3.4 kWh of battery for two cloudy days, which a 400 W panel kit with 2 to 3 100 Ah LiFePO4 batteries covers. Skip the microwave and the AC and this is all a small trailer needs.