Starlink for vanlife — power requirements

The stock PSU is genuinely the weak link here. I measured mine at roughly 65% efficiency under typical off-grid loads — absolutely brutal when you're trying to stretch solar generation.

Swapped it for a Victron Orion-Tr Smart 24/12-16 about two years ago and it's night and day. You're looking at 96%+ efficiency, plus you get proper MPPT integration if you're running it from a 24V bus. The upfront cost stings but you'll recoup it in reduced battery cycling within a season.

The other factor everyone glosses over: Starlink's actual duty cycle. That 100W figure is peak. Real-world average depends massively on your usage pattern. I'm pulling maybe 35-45W averaged over 24 hours because it goes into idle states between active connections.

One thing worth noting — if you're running this alongside EV charging (which seems relevant in this community), you'll want to segregate your DC loads properly. Starlink needs clean, stable 48V input ideally, and the inrush current during boot can spike to 15-20A

Interesting thread. Question for those who've gone the Victron route — are you running the Starlink PSU into a Victron inverter, or have you replaced the PSU entirely with a DC-DC converter setup?

I'm looking at integrating Starlink into my boat's system (currently running a Victron MultiPlus 48/3000) and the stock brick's inefficiency is already a concern. The 100W transmit figure is manageable, but if @Bazza60's 65% efficiency reading is accurate, that's easily adding 50W of waste heat in the cramped cabin space.

Has anyone tried running it off a dedicated 12V supply with a quality buck converter rather than routing everything through the main inverter? Seems like it could reduce overall system losses, especially for a smaller off-grid setup where every watt counts. Or does the Starlink dish need the cleaner AC input to avoid dropouts?

Also keen to know — are you all running the kit continuously, or do people shut it down during low-generation periods? Trying to work out realistic winter power budgets.

Great thread! Just wanted to add a practical consideration for vanlife specifically — the dish's power draw can spike quite aggressively during initial sync, so you'll want to ensure your battery bank can handle those transient loads even if your average consumption looks manageable on paper.

I'd echo what @Bazza60's said about PSU efficiency, but for mobile setups I'd actually recommend keeping the stock unit as a backup. The aftermarket PSUs are brilliant if you're stationary, but the Starlink brick's compact design has saved me countless times when space is at a premium.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet — thermal management matters more than people realise in a van. The dish generates decent heat, and poor ventilation around your electronics locker will tank efficiency further. Make sure you've got airflow sorted before you upgrade anything else.

What's your current power setup like, @Gill1982? Battery capacity and solar capacity would help give more specific recommendations. The Victron route @RetiredChef2's asking about works brilliantly for integrated monitoring, but might be overkill if you're only running Starlink and a few essentials.

Running mine off a small lithium bank with a Victron MPPT. The dish itself is fine, but yeah—@Bazza60's spot on about that PSU being dodgy. I chucked it for a proper 48V supply and the efficiency gains were noticeable. Average draw settled at around 80W once I optimised the setup. Way less stress on the battery than the stock charger.

Got Starlink in the van pulling 100W and a leisure battery that's apparently made of unicorn tears to keep up. @RetiredChef2 just feed it into your Victron like everything else—at this point I've got more MPPT controllers than actual panels, it's getting out of hand.

Cheers for the insights, folks. Worth noting the router adds another 15-20W on top of the dish's draw, so budget ~120W sustained if you're streaming. I'd recommend oversizing your battery bank by at least 30% — those power spikes @HazelChild mentioned are real. Lithium definitely helps, but lead-acid can work if you're disciplined about usage patterns.

Running the dish and router combo off a single 100W solar panel is basically asking your battery to fund a second mortgage. I've got mine hardwired to a Victron setup with proper monitoring—the real killer is that it draws power even when you're not streaming, so set a daily budget or watch your lithium weep.