What solar panel + battery combo do you need to convert a car into a camper for light use?

The solar setup for a camper conversion without a fridge: 30W consumption, €250 budget

The key fact that changes everything: without a fridge, the energy consumption of a camper conversion plummets to below 30W. This allows for solar setups under €300, well below the €400-500 that all-in-one stations like the Bluetti EB3A or the EcoFlow RIVER 2 charge. The paradox is that, for light use (mini PC, monitor, lights), the most expensive option is not always the most efficient.

All-in-one or separate parts? The €200 dilemma

Portable stations offer convenience: battery, inverter and charge controller in a single unit. The EcoFlow RIVER 2 (256 Wh) costs around €400, and the Bluetti EB3A (268 Wh) a bit more. But if you build your own system with a 20 Ah LiFePO4 battery, a 100-150 W folding solar panel and an MPPT charge controller, the total cost can stay at €250. The savings are real, but at the price of having to wire and manage separate components. What's more, the inverter in integrated stations eats up 10-15% of the charge if you use 220V appliances. Another decision comes into play here: running everything on 12V eliminates that loss.

The hardware you need: from the battery to the 12V monitor

For a typical 30W load (10W mini PC + 20W monitor), a 12V 20 Ah LiFePO4 battery (around 250 Wh real capacity) provides more than 8 hours of runtime. The recommended solar panel is a 100-150 W flexible one, enough to recharge on a sunny day in the Canary Islands. That said, it's worth oversizing a little: as experience warns, cloudy days exist, and a 150W panel gives you margin. The monitor should be 12V (portable ones are available) and the mini PC, such as the BMAX B2 with an Intel Atom processor, draws only 10-12W. A 20A MPPT charge controller is the budget standard.

The real math: 8 hours of work on 250 Wh

With 30W of total consumption, a 250 Wh battery offers 8.3 hours of autonomy. If you add low-consumption LED lights (about 5W), you still have headroom. The key is that, without a fridge, the system is so light that even a conventional car battery would do, although LiFePO4 batteries last more cycles and weigh less. The final budget, between €250 and €400, depends on whether you go for a DIY build or the integrated station.

The open question is whether the convenience of a single device justifies paying almost twice as much. For those who value portability and minimal wiring, Bluetti-type stations are a clean solution. But for those who don't mind tinkering and want to stretch every cent, the separate-components route remains the most cost-effective.

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