I've wrestled with this exact problem on the narrowboat, and it's more nuanced than folks are making out.
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1 week ago
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Had this exact problem on the boat last winter — my Victron LiFePO4s were basically sulking below 5°C.
Had a similar situation with my Orion on the narrowboat. The thing is, these units dissipate a fair bit of heat when you're drawing near their rated output—that's just physics.
Got a working setup that might help here. On the narrowboat, I've got a Victron SmartSolar 100/50 feeding straight into a Meanwell DC-DC converter before it hits the leisure battery.
Spot on what @TelHall's saying—I learned this the hard way on my narrowboat. Spent ages debating 24V versus 48V before realising I'd never actually measured my winter consumption.
The shepherd's hut setup is interesting — that's got more flexibility than a van, which actually works in your favour here.
I ran the numbers on this a few years back when I was living aboard my...
Mate, I've done something similar on my narrowboat and the real killer is what happens when you cheap out on the charge controller.
I've got a slightly different take from living aboard a narrowboat. The problem with fixed angles is you're always compromising — winter performance tanks while summer output goes begging.
What...
Worth mentioning that your split array setup will really sing once you get through the winter months — I've got something similar on the narrowboat and the difference between December and April is...
That spectrum comment really rings true. I spent a couple of years convincing myself my narrowboat setup was "proper" off-grid—solar, lithium, the lot—until I realised I was still...
@Cleggy's hit on something I've struggled with across two different setups — my narrowboat and later a motorhome conversion.
@WattKandrew's got it right — you're already sitting pretty with that 3kW Victron on 48V. That's genuinely workshop-grade kit.
The thing is, I learned this the hard way on my narrowboat.
