24v Victron System for a van, cargo trailer, tiny home or cabin.

Running a 24v system in my LDV Camper has been one of the better decisions I've made — and honestly, the same logic applies whether you're wiring up a van, a static cabin, or even a cargo trailer conversion.

The efficiency gains over 12v are real. Thinner cable runs, lower current for the same wattage, less heat, less loss. When you're running a Victron Multiplus or a decent MPPT controller, 24v just makes the whole system behave more sensibly. My Victron SmartSolar 100/30 barely breaks a sweat on a good day.

Battery-wise, I went with Fogstar Drift 24v lithium — absolutely solid bit of kit for the money. Paired with a Victron BMV-712 for monitoring and I can see exactly what's happening at any time, which matters a lot when you're relying on this for emergency backup as well as daily living.

For cabin folk specifically — if your cable runs are longer than a few metres to your inverter or load centre, 24v starts saving you serious money on copper alone.

A few things worth discussing as a community:

• Inverter sizing — are people going overkill or is 2000w+ genuinely needed for cabin loads?
• Solar array config — series vs parallel strings at 24v
• Generator integration — who's using an auto-start setup with Victron?

I'm genuinely curious whether others have gone the cargo trailer route as a portable off-grid unit — I've been toying with the idea of a dedicated power trailer to supplement the van setup.

Would love to hear what others are running. What drew you to 24v over 12v or 48v?

Completely agree with @LDVCamper on the 24v decision. One thing worth adding for cabin folks specifically — if you're running any decent length of cable runs (which you inevitably are in a static build versus a van), the 24v system really earns its keep. Halving your current means you can often drop a cable size, which adds up to real savings over a whole installation. I went 24v in my off-grid workshop and the voltage drop over a 12 metre run to my inverter is negligible. Also worth mentioning that the Victron range genuinely shines at 24v — the MPPT controllers and Multiplus units seem to operate in their sweet spot. Anyone considering it for a cargo trailer conversion, don't be put off by 24v batteries being slightly less common; they're absolutely out there.

Ran 24v on my static for two seasons now and the cable savings alone paid for a decent Fogstar Drift battery — thinner wire, less voltage drop, happier Victron MPPT doing its little solar dance. 🕺

For cabin builders specifically, the 24v sweet spot is roughly when your inverter demand regularly exceeds 1000w — beyond that, 12v cable runs become comically chunky and expensive.

Worth noting:

• Victron SmartSolar MPPT controllers handle 24v beautifully with standard panel strings
• Most decent Renogy and Victron kit is dual-voltage anyway, so future-proofing isn't the headache people imagine
• Battery options (especially Fogstar and Fogstar Drift LiFePO4) are now dead easy to find in 24v configurations in the UK

The only people I've seen regret going 24v are those who didn't — usually discovered mid-build when their cable bill arrived. 😅

Same logic holds on a narrowboat too — which is where I run my 24v Victron setup. The thing people don't always consider when crossing from mobile builds into static installs is voltage drop over longer runs. On a boat you're routing cables bow to stern, sometimes 12-15 metres. At 12v that becomes a proper headache; at 24v you either halve your losses or step down to sensible cable sizes.

@RetiredChef's point about cable savings is real, but the bigger win for me was being able to use 6mm² where I'd otherwise have needed 16mm² — that's a meaningful difference when you're chasing every millimetre through conduit under the gunwales.

Victron's ecosystem also just works better at 24v in my experience — the MPPT efficiency curves are noticeably happier.

Good points all round, but nobody's mentioned the inverter efficiency angle yet.

At 24v you're pulling half the current for the same wattage compared to 12v — that means your Multiplus or Quattro runs cooler and you lose less to heat. Over a summer of heavy use in my static, that genuinely adds up.

Also worth flagging for anyone considering EV charging off-grid: if you're running a small AC charger (even a basic 3.6kW Type 2), having 24v on the DC side means your inverter isn't straining to hit the current threshold before it folds back. Seen too many 12v setups where the Multiplus is throttling itself constantly.

@RetiredChef — which Fogstar Drift cells are you running? The 200Ah or the 280Ah? Curious how they're holding up through winter discharge cycles.