Van-Lifer Electrical Design Revamp
Sometimes we just wish things could go more smoothly with electrical design and installation. That was the case for this client, where we realized that a ‘simple upgrade’ was going to require a complete system revamp. They just needed some extra power for their batteries, and thought a DC-DC charger plus a foldable solar panel would do the trick. And while this was the right idea, the extra pieces to make it happen just wouldn’t fit.
This project was a challenge from a spacial perspective… as many of these compact nomadic designs tend to be. We were trying to fit an extra MPPT plus a DC-DC charger into a tiny little corner which was already crowded from a 2KW inverter, MPPT, batteries, wiring, fuses, and storage. Plus, we were in a sort of bottleneck.
Why not just add the second solar panel to the existing MPPT? Because it was maxxed out - but upgrading to 24V would fix that, right? Well if you do that by putting the two batteries in series, now you need a new inverter. It quickly became a snowball effect of if-then scenarios, where ‘just one more thin mint’ wouldn’t quite fit because of all these other limitations.
The solution? We reconsidered everything to make a system optimized for safety and space-savings.
“That 300A fuse that seemed ‘good enough’ was oversized and might not even blow in a low-current fault.”
“Let’s rearrange the storage so we can have the space for all these components.”
“If you do the carpentry and mounting, I’ll offer the installation to keep costs down.”
“$100/hr too much for a tight budget? Let’s do a DIY coaching session. I provide installation oversight, while you get the hands-on experience, all for $40/hr.”
That’s adaptability at its finest - coming up with solutions on the spot to make the most of every situation.
