u/malusthunderchild

Increasing power

I recently made the jump to a new country and am enjoying van life for a few months to a year. I am hoping to be able to work 4-5 hours a day on my laptop with my starlink mini but need to figure out the best way to bolster the setup to make it functional for me. I’m extremely new to solar so all suggestions are helpful.

 

Current specs:

3x 150W solar panels

2x 6v 225Ah lead acid batteries (wired in series for 12v)

2000W inverter

40A MPPT charge controller

Auxiliary batteries also charge off alternator

Do have a 12v DC cigarette lighter port I think I could potentially use for the starlink mini if needed (to avoid inverter power loss)

 

Power draw:

Fridge – 60W

Interior lights – unsure, only using in the evenings and early morning

Laptop – ave about 100W (only need to use about 4-5 hours per day)

Starlink mini – 40W (only need to use about 4-5 hours per day)

Small device charging – 30W (maybe an hour or two each day)

Occasional use of extraction fan, etc - ???W

 

Thoughts on most cost-effective and simplest way to solve this problem? Add another solar panel and battery? Just another battery? Get a separate portable solar battery for the starlink?

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u/malusthunderchild — 1 day ago