Tiny cabin build - what size inverter did you actually end up needing?

Just finishing off a small off-grid cabin in the Scottish Borders — 16m², timber frame, going in full time from spring. I've got 600W of solar on the roof (3x 200W panels), a 200Ah lithium battery from Fogstar, and a Victron MPPT 100/30 controller sorted. The one thing I'm still going back and forth on is inverter size.

My loads are pretty modest — a 12V compressor fridge, LED lighting, phone and laptop charging, and occasionally a small induction hob (around 1800W). I've been looking at either a Victron MultiPlus 12/1600 or stretching to the 12/3000, but the price jump is significant and I'm not sure the hob alone justifies it. Most of the time I'd probably just use a gas ring anyway.

I keep reading that people always wish they'd gone bigger, but equally I don't want to throw money at headroom I'll genuinely never use. Would love to know what people in similar builds actually landed on — did you regret going smaller, or was a 1600–2000W unit more than enough for day-to-day cabin life?

Has anyone run an induction hob regularly off a 12V system and what did it do to your battery in real use?

@VoltJack what's your actual load list? That's the only question that matters here.

I went through this exact headache with my garden office build — assumed a 1000W inverter would be plenty, then realised my kettle alone pulls 2.8kW on startup. Ended up with a Victron MultiPlus 2000VA and honestly I'd go bigger if I were doing it again.

For full-time living, don't forget:

• Surge/startup draw is always higher than rated watts
• A small induction hob will absolutely clobber your system
• Victron's sizing tool is actually decent for ballpark figures

What are you planning for cooking and heating? That changes everything. 600W of solar with a 200Ah bank is fairly modest for full-time use in Scotland — winter generation up there is brutal. What battery chemistry are you running?

@GoldenMechanic is right on the load list, but I'd add — peak surge matters more than running watts.

My garden office setup caught me out. Calculated 800W running loads, thought a 1000W inverter was fine. Then my little fridge compressor kicked in and it browned out immediately. Surge was nearly 3x running draw.

For a full-time cabin I'd be looking at minimum 2000W, probably 3000W if you're ever running a kettle or microwave. Victron MultiPlus is the obvious choice — pricey but the transfer switch for backup is brilliant, which suits me perfectly for emergency use.

Don't undersize it to save £200 now and regret it all winter in the Borders 🥶

What's your heating situation? That'll likely be your biggest factor tbh.

Both valid points already covered, so I'll add the bit nobody mentions until it's too late — future-proofing regret.

I built my cabin with what I thought I'd need, went with a Victron MultiPlus-II 3000VA, thought it was overkill. Six months later I'm running a small EV charger off it for the Leaf, and suddenly that "oversized" inverter is earning its keep every single day.

The jump from a 2000VA to 3000VA on the Victron range isn't massive money, but the jump in capability is enormous.

@VoltJack — 16m² in the Scottish Borders is almost identical to my setup. What's your heating plan? That's usually the hidden load that catches folk out before the EV question even comes up.

Really useful thread — I'm mid-way through a similar-sized cabin build and hit this exact decision.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned: are any of you running EV charging off your inverter, even occasional top-ups? I've got a small EV and I'm torn between sizing up to a Victron Multiplus 3000 specifically to handle a 7kW charge point (which obviously needs grid-tie anyway) versus just a slow 3-pin trickle through a 1500W inverter overnight.

The maths on battery capacity vs trickle charging felt brutal when I worked it through — basically impossible without grid backup for anything useful.

@FormerCop77 your future-proofing point is exactly where I keep landing. Did anyone actually regret going smaller rather than the other way around? I keep convincing myself the 2000W unit will be fine, then talking myself back out of it.