ELECTRICAL & SOLAR
From your first LED to a full Victron Multiplus system with 600W solar and 400Ah lithium.
Mission-Specific Tiers
Your build's technical depth is dictated by your mission profile. Choose the tier that matches your autonomy requirements.
Full Autonomy
First Light
Grid Independent
Load Analysis & Power Budgeting
Before you select your battery bank or solar array, you must understand your daily energy consumption. Use our pro-grade calculator to balance your mission profile.
POWER BUDGETING
Calculate your energy balance for true off-grid autonomy.
Energy Balance
Critical Failure Points
Decades of collective conversion experience summarized into the most common pitfalls builders face. Ignore these at your own peril.
Undersized wire gauge
Causes voltage drop and potential fire risk on high-current runs.
Split charge with Lithium
Standard VSRs will damage lithium batteries; use a DC-DC charger instead.
Insufficient solar for UK winter
You only get 1.5 peak sun hours in December in the UK. A 400W array will yield less than 50Ah per day.
Inverter standby draw not included
A large inverter can draw 1-2A just being turned on with no load. Left on 24/7, this is 24-48Ah wasted daily.
Mixing AGM and lithium
Never parallel-connect AGM and Lithium batteries. They have fundamentally different voltage curves and one will destroy the other.
Shore power inlet without RCD
Connecting 230V shore power directly to an inverter/charger without an inline RCD/RCBO is illegal and highly dangerous.
Running AC ring without earth bonding
The vehicle chassis must be bonded to the AC earth. Without this, a fault in an appliance could make the metal shell of the van live.
Ignoring BMS cutoff voltage
Lithium capacity calculations must account for the BMS cutting off at 10-20% to protect the cells. You rarely have 100% usable capacity.
Ready to Start Your Installation?
Shop the exact same professional-grade components used in the blueprints. Tested, verified, and ready for your build.