Does 24V make sense for a 400W 200Ah campervan setup?

[bikenanigans]

We’re looking to make some solar upgrades to an old campervan and are leaning towards a 24V setup but wonder if it makes sense. To start we’re looking at two 200W panels and two 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries which is smaller than what people typically seem to do 24V for. Our thinking is we’d benefit from increased efficiency and cheaper wiring costs now while allowing for future expansion should the need arise.

Another point of consideration is we‘d love the ability to be able to run a blender on this setup and have read that a 24V inverter can convert to 120AC more efficiently for that kind of draw. Not sure how true that is?

Any insight on this would be great. I guess ultimate question is is there any downside to 24V for this setup? Everything we’ve read/watched indicates there isn’t, even if the benefit might not be as great at this scale versus a larger setup.

 

[Supervstech]

Only issue with 24v and campers, is the house lighting.
Switch to led lights, and get a 12v regulated buck converter, and that’s handled.

 

[bikenanigans]

Only issue with 24v and campers, is the house lighting.
Switch to led lights, and get a 12v regulated buck converter, and that’s handled.

Yah we’d plan for doing exactly that.

 

[Wellydex]

We’re looking to make some solar upgrades to an old campervan and are leaning towards a 24V setup but wonder if it makes sense. To start we’re looking at two 200W panels and two 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries which is smaller than what people typically seem to do 24V for. Our thinking is we’d benefit from increased efficiency and cheaper wiring costs now while allowing for future expansion should the need arise.

Another point of consideration is we‘d love the ability to be able to run a blender on this setup and have read that a 24V inverter can convert to 120AC more efficiently for that kind of draw. Not sure how true that is?

Any insight on this would be great. I guess ultimate question is is there any downside to 24V for this setup? Everything we’ve read/watched indicates there isn’t, even if the benefit might not be as great at this scale versus a larger setup.

I have just completed a 1000 w system at 24v and it works great, I now wish I'd gone 48v as much of the quality equipment, especially inverters is cheaper as this is the standard for home solar. The DC DC converters work great and you can use way smaller cables and MPPT which offset the cost and efficiency

 

[Geriakt]

The main issues with 48 volt RV systems is you need about 60 vdc from solar to charge with Mppt. That requires a big roof footprint for PV. I am not sure a 48vdc/120vac inverter/charger is cheaper than 24 vdc system. I am mainly talking about Victron equipment that allows for connection of BMS controls.

 

[SCClockDr]

For your unit I'd favor 24V, for a full sized class A DP I'd be inclined to opt for 48v.

 

[Wellydex]

The main issues with 48 volt RV systems is you need about 60 vdc from solar to charge with Mppt. That requires a big roof footprint for PV. I am not sure a 48vdc/120vac inverter/charger is cheaper than 24 vdc system. I am mainly talking about Victron equipment that allows for connection of BMS controls.

I'm in New Zealand with a very small market and here the Victron 48v 3000 multiplus is Nz$ 2000 and the 24 is 2500. We are also 240 v here as well. There is also about 300 of saving in a smaller MPPT.