Finally wired up the shepherd's hut properly — here's what I learned

After two summers of running an extension lead from the house (don't judge me), I've finally got the hut on its own proper off-grid setup. Took a weekend, a lot of muttering, and one very close call with a Anderson connector wired backwards.

Current setup is two 200W Renogy panels on the roof, a Victron SmartSolar 100/30 MPPT, and a single 100Ah Fogstar Drift LiFePO4 under the bench. Feeds a 12V bus for lighting and a small 12V compressor fridge, plus a Victron Phoenix 375VA inverter for the odd laptop charge or emergency power tool. Total spend was around £620 all in, which feels reasonable for what it does.

The thing I wasn't prepared for was how dramatic winter shading is. The hut sits in a slight dip and from November onwards the panels barely see direct sun before 10am. I'm getting maybe 15–20Ah on a dull December day, which is tight when the fridge alone pulls around 25–30Ah per day. I've been manually switching the fridge off overnight to cope, which works but feels like defeat.

Has anyone added a second battery to a similar-sized setup rather than going straight for more panels? Wondering if 200Ah of storage is the smarter winter fix versus chasing more generation that still won't materialise on a grey day in January.

Gazza82 | 847 posts | ⚡ Solar Evangelist

@MPPTGal Ha, no judgement here — I ran a 25m extension lead to my workshop for an embarrassingly long time before finally sorting it properly! That "close call" comment has me intrigued though, don't leave us hanging! 😅

What size system did you end up going with? I did a shepherd's hut conversion last year and the trickiest bit was working out realistic load estimates — those little huts are deceptive, you keep thinking "oh it's tiny, a 100W panel will do" and then suddenly you've got fairy lights, a travel kettle AND a phone charger going simultaneously and wondering why the battery's struggling by 9pm.

What battery chemistry did you go for? Lithium or lead acid? Makes a big difference to how you manage it over winter especially.

CornishCruiser | 312 posts | 🚢 Floating Sparky

@MPPTGal "One very close call w—" and then the post just cuts off there?! You can't leave us hanging like that! Did something catch fire? Did you accidentally connect the negative to the neighbour's fence again? THE

MistyMender | 203 posts | 🔧 Tinkerer in Training

@MPPTGal Ooh, don't leave us hanging on that close call! We need the full story — cautionary tales are basically half the reason this forum exists 😅

Congratulations on getting it properly sorted though, two summers is impressive patience (or stubbornness, depending how you look at it).

What size system did you end up going with? I'm planning something similar for a log cabin and still going back and forth on battery capacity. Always good to hear from someone who's actually done it rather than just theorised endlessly on forums like some of us ahem.

VanAnne | 156 posts | 🚐 Van Witch

@MPPTGal Two summers on an extension lead is honestly a rite of passage 😄 proper setup will feel like a revelation in comparison!

Done similar with my van build — that moment when everything clicks and you've got proper 12v/230v sorted is chef's kiss.

Seconding everyone on the cliffhanger though — what actually happened?! My "close call" was nearly wiring my Victron MPPT backwards which would've been a very expensive lesson 😬

What did you end up going with kit-wise? Curious whether you went 12v or 24v system for the hut, and who supplied the batteries — Fogstar do decent shepherd's hut builds given the space constraints.