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Van Power Consumption Calculator


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Welcome to the power consumption calculator for camper vans and Class B vans. This tool is designed to help you understand and manage your van's energy needs, making your off-grid adventures more enjoyable and sustainable.
This calculator will allow you to estimate your van's power consumption and generation based on your specific appliances, battery system, and power generation methods.
While this calculator aims to provide useful estimates, actual power consumption and generation can vary due to many factors like weather conditions, battery health, and more.
Note: This calculator is still being edited and reviewed, numbers might be wrong.

⁠

1) Calculate battery capacity


Battery Type:
Blank
⁠
to consider the usable capacity
Battery Size:
​
⁠
Ah (amp-hours each)
Number of batteries:
​
⁠
⁠
Battery voltage:
​
⁠
V (volts)


Battery Capacity
0
⁠
Wh or
0
⁠
Ah

*There’s a 20% efficiency loss for Lithium batteries and 50% for lead acid.
⁠

2) Calculate power usage

Type
Appliance
Consumption
i
Measurement
Hours/day
Daily usage (Ah)
Daily usage (W)
12V DC
12V fridge
3
Amps
24
72
864
Lights
0.12
Amps
5
0.6
7.2
USB chargers
1
Amps
5
5
60
Vents
1.5
Amps
2
3
36
110V AC
Stove
1,600
Watts
0.5
83.33
800
Laptop charger
35
Watts
1
3.65
35
Kettle
1,000
Watts
0.1
10.42
100
⁠

*For AC we multiply times 1.25 because of the loss in efficiency from the inverter (85% loss in efficiency)

Daily Power Usage:
178
⁠
Ah or
1,902.2
⁠
Wh



⁠

3) Calculate power generation

There are three main ways to generate power for you van and recharge your batteries.
1
Solar Panels
Convert sunlight into electricity. The power generated depends on the panel's size, efficiency, and the amount of sunlight received.
2
Alternator
Generates electricity when the vehicle's engine is running. Can charge the van's batteries in addition to the vehicle's own battery.
3
Shore Power
Direct connection to the electrical grid, often at a campsite or RV park. Provides reliable power, but requires access to a power outlet.
There are no rows in this table
⁠

Solar power generation

Solar Panel size
​
⁠
in Watts
Hours of sun
​
⁠
in hours
Efficiency factor
​
⁠
in percentage
In a single day with
[ ]
⁠
good hours of sunlight, you could generate
[ ]
⁠
Wh or
0
⁠
Ah



Alternator generation

Alternator production
​
⁠
in Amps
Hours of driving
​
⁠
hours
In a single day, with
[ ]
⁠
hours of driving, you could generate
0
⁠
Wh




⁠



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