HOW IT WORKS

Design the whole RV electrical system — step by step.

RV Solar + Battery Designer takes you through the complete electrical design process in a logical order.

Instead of starting with a battery size or a solar-panel number, the Designer starts with how the RV will actually be used and then works through the system as a whole.

The result is a connected design covering loads, solar, batteries, charging, inverter capacity, vehicle charging, generators, air conditioning and system performance.

1. TELL US ABOUT THE RV

Start by describing the RV you are designing.

This may include:

✓ Caravan
✓ Motorhome
✓ Campervan
✓ Converted bus
✓ Expedition truck
✓ Custom RV

You can also enter details such as:

vehicle type;
dimensions;
roof space;
insulation;
existing electrical equipment;
battery voltage;
and whether the design is for a new system or an existing installation.

The Designer uses this information to establish the basic limits and structure of the system.

2. ADD THE LOADS YOU ACTUALLY USE

Next, add the appliances and equipment that will use power.

This can include:

fridges;
lights;
water pumps;
TVs;
computers;
induction cooktops;
microwaves;
toasters;
coffee machines;
air conditioners;
chargers;
CPAP machines;
and other AC or DC equipment.

The Designer does not simply add all the appliance wattages together.

It considers both:

POWER — how much power an appliance needs while it is running.

ENERGY — how long the appliance runs and how much energy it uses over time.

For example:

A 1,800W toaster running for 3 minutes only uses about 90Wh of energy.

But the inverter still needs to be capable of supplying approximately 1,800W while the toaster is running.

Both figures matter.

3. MODEL HOW AND WHERE YOU TRAVEL

Solar and energy requirements change depending on where and how the RV is used.

The Designer can consider:

✓ Travel location
✓ Australian solar conditions
✓ Season
✓ Expected camping style
✓ Time away from mains power
✓ Driving frequency
✓ Driving duration
✓ Generator availability
✓ Shore-power availability

You can model more than one travel location where required.

This helps avoid designing a system around ideal summer conditions when the RV may also be used in winter or in lower-solar regions.

4. DESIGN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

The Designer works out how solar fits into the overall energy requirement.

It can consider:

roof dimensions;
roof obstructions;
fixed solar;
portable solar;
panel configuration;
series and parallel connections;
MPPT operating range;
PV voltage;
PV current;
short-circuit current;
allowable PV power;
and cold-weather voltage effects where the required data is available.

The aim is not only to ask:

“How many watts of solar do I need?”

It also asks:

“Will these panels and this controller actually work together within their technical limits?”

5. SIZE AND CHECK THE BATTERY SYSTEM

The Designer then assesses how much energy needs to be stored.

This includes consideration of:

daily energy use;
poor-solar periods;
battery chemistry;
battery capacity;
usable state of charge;
charge limits;
discharge limits;
battery-bank configuration;
and expected system voltage.

The Designer can help compare 12V and 24V arrangements where appropriate.

Battery-bank design is checked against available manufacturer information rather than assuming every battery can be connected in any arrangement.

6. CHECK CHARGING FROM EVERY SOURCE

Solar is only one charging source in many RVs.

RV Solar + Battery Designer can also include:

✓ Vehicle alternator charging
✓ DC-DC chargers
✓ Shore power
✓ Battery chargers
✓ Portable generators

Vehicle charging can take into account:

vehicle type;
alternator characteristics;
DC-DC charger capacity;
available charging current;
how often the RV is driven;
and how long it is normally driven.

This allows the Designer to look at total energy recovery rather than considering each charger separately.

7. CHECK THE INVERTER AND HIGH-POWER LOADS

The inverter must be able to supply the largest AC loads when they operate.

The Designer considers:

continuous inverter load;
high-power appliances;
possible simultaneous loads;
equipment operating patterns;
and available battery current.

This is especially important for appliances such as:

air conditioners;
microwaves;
induction cooktops;
kettles;
toasters;
and coffee machines.

A system may have enough stored energy for an appliance but still fail if the inverter or battery cannot supply the required instantaneous power.

8. MODEL AIR CONDITIONING PROPERLY

Air conditioning can dominate the electrical design of an RV.

Rather than treating an air conditioner as a simple fixed wattage, the Designer can consider:

RV dimensions;
insulation;
outside temperature;
solar heat gain;
occupants;
internal appliances;
ventilation;
air leakage;
humidity;
air-conditioner efficiency;
and expected operating time.

This helps estimate the actual cooling or heating load and the electrical energy required to support it.

9. RUN ENGINEERING CHECKS

As the design develops, RV Solar + Battery Designer performs technical checks across the system.

Results are shown as:

PASS

The checked condition is satisfied based on the available information.

CHECK

More information, confirmation or engineering judgement is required.

FAIL

A technical or manufacturer limit has been exceeded.

The Designer explains what caused the result so you can understand what needs attention.

A colour alone is never intended to be the explanation.

10. SIMULATE THE SYSTEM OVER TIME

A system can look correct on a single-day calculation and still struggle after several poor-solar days.

Where simulation is available, the Designer can model system behaviour over a 7-day poor-solar scenario using 30-minute intervals.

That means up to 336 individual simulation steps.

The simulation can track:

solar generation;
electrical loads;
air-conditioning demand;
battery charging;
battery discharge;
battery state of charge;
DC-DC charging;
shore power;
generator contribution;
unused solar;
and energy shortfalls.

This gives a much clearer picture of how the proposed system may behave in real use.

11. REVIEW THE COMPLETE DESIGN

Once the system has been modelled, you can review the complete electrical design rather than a collection of separate calculators.

You can see how:

loads affect battery size;
battery size affects charging;
charging affects recovery time;
solar affects energy balance;
air conditioning affects everything;
and equipment limits affect the final configuration.

If one part of the design changes, the effect on the rest of the system can be reassessed.

12. SAVE, REOPEN AND IMPROVE THE DESIGN

Your design is not intended to disappear when the calculation is finished.

Saved projects can be reopened and refined as:

equipment changes;
customer requirements change;
better technical information becomes available;
travel plans change;
or the design develops.

Guided Mode and Advanced Mode work with the same saved project.

That means a design can start simply and become more detailed without needing to be rebuilt from scratch.

13. GENERATE USEFUL OUTPUTS

Depending on the plan and available features, the completed design may support outputs such as:

✓ Design summaries
✓ Engineering results
✓ System simulations
✓ Equipment selections
✓ Customer reports
✓ Bills of Materials
✓ Commercial project records

The aim is to turn the engineering work into information that is useful when planning, discussing, quoting or reviewing the system.

FROM QUESTION TO CONNECTED DESIGN

The process is simple:

UNDERSTAND THE RV

↓

UNDERSTAND THE LOADS

↓

MODEL WHERE AND HOW IT WILL BE USED

↓

DESIGN SOLAR

↓

DESIGN BATTERY STORAGE

↓

CHECK CHARGING

↓

CHECK INVERTER AND HIGH-POWER LOADS

↓

MODEL AIR CONDITIONING

↓

RUN ENGINEERING CHECKS

↓

SIMULATE REAL-WORLD PERFORMANCE

↓

REVIEW, SAVE AND REPORT

ONE SYSTEM. ONE DESIGN.

RV Solar + Battery Designer brings the main parts of an RV electrical system together so that each decision can be considered in the context of the whole design.

Because the question is rarely just:

“How much solar do I need?”

The better question is:

“Will the complete system support the way I actually want to use my RV?”

DESIGN YOUR POWER. BALANCE CONFIDENTLY.