Going all-electric is usually dismissed as impractical for a van. After two years living in mine, the opposite is true: fewer moving parts, no fuel runs, parks anywhere, total silence. Here is the order that made it work.
Methodology
Size the battery for the critical trio
Air conditioning, refrigeration and induction are what break a small battery. I sized the bank to hold all three for 24h without a recharge.
Undersize this and you live with anxiety; oversize it and you carry dead weight. The trio is the design constraint — work out the maths in the electrical system guide before you buy anything.
Charge while you drive, then top up with solar
On a modern Euro 6 van the alternator is 'smart' — its voltage varies, so an old split charge relay barely charges the leisure battery. A DC-DC charger (B2B) fixes that and pulls a steady current while driving. 1600 W of solar then covers the daily draw in three seasons. Winter needs a drive or a shore charge on hook-up — that is the honest tradeoff of going dieselless.
Induction beats gas for a simple build
No gas certification, no leak risk, no separate fuel. The induction plate runs off the same battery as everything else — one system to understand and maintain.
Key takeaways
- Size the battery around AC + fridge + induction over 24h.
- Euro 6 vans need a DC-DC charger, not a plain split charge relay.
- 1600 W solar covers daily use outside winter.
- One electrical system is simpler to build, certify and maintain than diesel + gas.