Glossary
All glossary on VanLife Beacon — curated, sourced and field-tested.
Battery Monitor (Shunt)
A meter that measures every amp flowing in and out of the leisure battery through a shunt, giving an accurate state-of-charge reading — the van's fuel gauge.
Read → glossaryDual Battery System
A second, isolated leisure battery dedicated to running a van's living systems (fridge, lights, devices) without draining the engine's starter battery.
Read → glossaryElectric Hook-Up (EHU)
A campsite mains connection: a 230V supply you plug into via a dedicated lead, letting the van run mains appliances and recharge its leisure battery.
Read → glossaryDC-DC Charger
A battery-to-battery (B2B) charger that takes power from the van's alternator while driving and charges the leisure battery at a controlled, correct voltage.
Read → glossaryLeisure Battery
The deep-cycle battery that powers a campervan's living systems — designed to be discharged and recharged daily, unlike the engine's starter battery.
Read → glossaryMPPT Charge Controller
A solar charge controller that tracks the panel's maximum power point to extract more usable energy than a basic PWM controller, especially in low light.
Read → glossaryLiFePO4 Battery
Lithium iron phosphate — the lithium chemistry used in modern leisure batteries, prized for long cycle life, full usable capacity and thermal safety.
Read → glossaryPortable Power Station
An all-in-one box combining a lithium battery, inverter and chargers, giving 230V sockets and USB without a hard-wired electrical install.
Read → glossaryPure Sine Wave Inverter
A device that converts the van's 12V DC battery power into clean 230V AC mains electricity, safe for sensitive electronics and appliances.
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