I'm designing the electrical system for a van that will include ~400 watts solar and a good sized Lifepo battery bank.
I plan to have circuits/switches on a few select DC items (water pump, fridge, battery heaters, etc.), but I don't plan to include a way to cut all DC power except the master battery switch. That master switch will be in the electrical service are of the garage, so not very accessible. All other circuits would just be off the DC fuse block with switches where it makes sense.
I don't anticipate needing to to turn off DC power unless I'm working on the system or putting the van in long term storage (not plannned). I'll have some core stuff running all the time, so it seems like a waste to build in "cutoff" capabilty. The van will be parked outside, so the solar should be more than enough to keep core stuff running and batteries topped off. That said, I see master DC cutoff switches front and center in a lot of Vans/RV's, so maybe it's something I should consider. Another option would be to have a cutoff for "non-core" stuff like lights and plugs to avoid leaving something on, but still leaving core systems connected all the time.
This will be my first RV/Van , so I don't have the experience to know whether this is something that is useful or not. In my boat, I installed a disconnect for everything expect the bilge pump, but it's not really a fair comparison since it doesn't have solar to offset system drains. The boat also has very limited capacity and the van will have a huge reserve.
Any advice is appreciated.
I plan to have circuits/switches on a few select DC items (water pump, fridge, battery heaters, etc.), but I don't plan to include a way to cut all DC power except the master battery switch. That master switch will be in the electrical service are of the garage, so not very accessible. All other circuits would just be off the DC fuse block with switches where it makes sense.
I don't anticipate needing to to turn off DC power unless I'm working on the system or putting the van in long term storage (not plannned). I'll have some core stuff running all the time, so it seems like a waste to build in "cutoff" capabilty. The van will be parked outside, so the solar should be more than enough to keep core stuff running and batteries topped off. That said, I see master DC cutoff switches front and center in a lot of Vans/RV's, so maybe it's something I should consider. Another option would be to have a cutoff for "non-core" stuff like lights and plugs to avoid leaving something on, but still leaving core systems connected all the time.
This will be my first RV/Van , so I don't have the experience to know whether this is something that is useful or not. In my boat, I installed a disconnect for everything expect the bilge pump, but it's not really a fair comparison since it doesn't have solar to offset system drains. The boat also has very limited capacity and the van will have a huge reserve.
Any advice is appreciated.