Avan Caravan Off Grid Power System

400Ah Lithium Battery, 800W Solar, 2600W Inverter Off Grid Power Upgrade.

I am sure you would agree that caravan storage is very much sort after.  Every bit of space in the caravan tunnel boot, overhead cupboards, drawers, and pantry are always accounted for.  Under bed caravan storage would have to be the one, if not the, biggest storage space a caravan has to offer and for that reason it is the most valued.  Knowing this from experience with electrical installations and our own caravans we typically avoid using under bed caravan storage for the installation of lithium batteries, the inverters, and all the necessary electrical components that make up a decent off grid power system. 

Yet, there are times, like in this particular build, our clients requested we install the power system in the under bed compartment, which it did make sense for various reasons. 

Lets take a closer look at the Outech Off Grid Power Upgraded we installed to transform Colin and Wendy (owners of this Avan Caravan ), from caravan park ready to having enough power to camp off grid for extended periods at a time.  

👌400Ah LITHIUM BATTERY SYSTEM

Arguably one of the most important components of an off grid electrical system is quality lithium batteries and an adequate battery bank to meet consumption. For this 12 volt power upgrade we replaced the old AGM Batteries with:

2 x Enerdrive B-TEC LiFeP04 12v 200Ah G2 Lithium Batteries, giving a total of 400Ah of 12 volt in van battery power.

Outech Off Grid chose Enerdrive lithium batteries because they are one of the best on the Australian market, which we recommend in most of our caravan and camper van power system upgrades.  They come with the comfort of a 5 year warranty and offers a suite of smart phone monitoring smarts:

•            Battery Capacity

•           Battery Voltage

•           Battery Current (Amps)

•           Battery State of Charge (SOC)

•           Battery State of Health (SOH)

•           Battery Status

•           Individual Cell Voltaged

•           Battery Temperature

•           Battery Cycles

•           Battery Alarms

•           Battery Event Information

Lithium Battery Inbuilt Management System

Lithium batteries don’t come cheap, but these Enerdrive batteries are equipped with an internal Battery Management System (BMS), used to monitor and optimise each Prismatic cell within the battery. The BMS helps to ensure safe and accurate operation of the battery by protecting it from; over charge, over discharge, over temperature & short circuit. In our professional opinion they are a far better choice of battery and therefore well worth the price.

👌CARAVAN INVERTER

Enerdrive ePOWER 2600W 12V True Sine Wave Inverter with AC Transfer & Safety Switch

 Let’s look at why we choose the Enerdrive Inverter over cheap inverters.

This Enerdrive 2600W inverter incorporates a 16A AC Transfer Switch, and, IF installed correctly by a qualified electrician, will seamlessly transfer AC power between Mains and Inverter.  This means appliances run with almost no break time on AC transfer and eliminates intervention by the user.  So, no more remembering to transfer between power sources and messing about with fiddly and hard to get to electrical componentry. 

When choosing an inverter be mindful that many of the cheap Inverters don’t have Safety Switches, don’t have the transfer functionality and are cumbersome to use.

Included in this Enerdrive inverter is a RCD Safety Switch. There to monitor the flow of electricity through the inverter and detects any problems that may pose a risk to personal safety and switches the output power off within 0.03 of a second. 

Like the Enerdrive batteries, this Enerdrive 2600W Inverter comes with a 5 Year warranty, and because Outech Offgrid supplied and installed it, the owners of this Avan Caravan automatically receive priority technical support and assistance.  Plus, in the event of a claim, Outech personally handle to entire matter, which our clients tell us is a quick and stress-free process. 

This caravan inverter is built to operate basic equipment such as air conditioners, coffee machines, induction cooktops, power tools, computers, microwave ovens, televisions, drones and other appliances that use up to 2600W of power for operation. 

What makes an inverter highly desirable, functional and seamless (think plug and play like you would in a home) is the verified installation and wiring to the 240volt power outlets inside and outside of the caravan.  Put simply, the caravaners can plug into any power point in the caravan to run their 240 volt appliances in the same way it is done in the home. No set up of the inverter each time it needs to be used, and no dangerous extension leads running across from inverter to appliances. 

Inverter Installation Compliance

Auto electricians are not qualified nor legally certified to install the electrical wiring to integrate an inverter, and that includes in caravans, campers, 4WD etc. Outech Offgrid - qualified electrician are licensed to electrically install inverters in any application, including caravans and the like. In this Avan Caravan - Outech have wired the inverter to the Electrical Standards compliant with AS/NZS3000:2018 and AS/NZS3001:2012.

The is not much point in having a decent battery system and compatible inverter without having adequate charging facilities, so let’s take a closer look at the various charges installed in this job.

SOLAR CHARGERS

For this off-grid solar system the Morningstar TriStar PWM Controller was installed because of its ability to be integrated and for its highest peak efficiency of 99%.

BATTERY CHARGERS

 12V 40A DC2DC+ Battery Charger - Enerdrive

ePOWER 12V 40A Battery Charger - Enerdrive

 CARAVAN SOLAR PANELS

800W of Fixed Roof Caravan Solar Panels positioned to minimise shading and maximise caravan roof space and to achieve optimal performance and solar panel efficiencies.    

Now that we have covered the nuts and bolts of this off grid caravan power system, lets take a look at how Colin and Wendy can monitor their caravan power system with confidence and ease.

Simareine PICO Screen 

Simarine LCD Battery WIFI Monitoring System - programmed to incorporate individual load/charge information; DCDC charging, solar charging, load consumption, AC charging.

All simply viewed via the Simarine Pico Screen to provide a practical insight of important vitals of battery (voltage, current, amp hours, battery capacity in %, battery temperature).  Provisions for future monitoring of fresh and grey water tank levels and temperature monitoring made ready.  

Location of the control panels is so important in terms of access and usability. Control panels that are installed too low, for example on the outside of the bed (near where the battery system is installed), is simply lazy and poor installation. Sure, it much easier for the auto electrician or electrician to install right near the battery system, but it is not helpful for the user and we do not recommend this as a viable solution.

Well that is the long version wrap!

Off Grid Power System - Package Summary:

• 400Ah 12 volt Lithium Battery Bank

• 2600W Inverter for 240 Volt Off Grid Power - hard wired to caravan wall power outlets

• 40A DCDC Battery Charger

• AC Battery Charger

• MorningStar Solar Charger

• 800W Fixed Roof Solar Panels

• Simarine Caravan Management Monitoring System and Simarine PICO Display Control Screen
  

This Outech Off Grid Caravan Power Upgrade gives the owners the freedom to camp from outback to ocean with all the power they need to run not just the lighting and basic 12 volt appliances, but also the air conditioner, microwave, induction cooktop, coffee machine, air fryer and even a hair dryer, straightener and blender if need be – all without plugging into mains power!

The roof is covered with 800W of solar panels capable of quickly pumping charge back into the 400AH lithium battery bank, plus the power system is designed to top up the batteries from solar, and when in tow from the car!

Off Grid Caravan Lithium Power Setup designed and installed by #outechoffgrid

We are here to answer your questions about power systems, caravan 12 volt power, caravan 240 volt power, caravan battery management systems and all the electrical , including caravan accessories.  

We are qualified and licensed electricians approved to work on 12 volt and 240 volt power.

Ask your questions in the 'Comments’ below or contact our technical team directly.