The Main Components Of Our Shuttle Bus Electrical System
Below you’ll find all of the main components of our bus electrical setup. Our system is more complex than just these main items, but these are the most important features that we use in our bus on a regular basis.
A note - I may make a small commission if you make a purchase using some of these links - it helps me keep these resources free!
Batteries: 206ah LiFePo4 SOK Batteries
These are the heart of the system. Pros: lithium is better in every way than lead-acid, AGM, or gel batteries; they charge faster, are lighter, and last WAY longer.
The downside is, of course, that they cost more money, but in this case I personally feel like it’s a good investment, especially with a larger power system.
(A note: this link is for the 100ah batteries. The 206ah version is available on the SOK website.)
Solar Panels: 200w 12v Panels from Rich Solar
We have 6 of these 200 watt panels for a total of 1200 watts in our solar array.
Rich Solar is more affordable than some of the more popular brands, but the quality is there and these panes have worked near-perfectly for us thus far.
The only downside to these kinds of panels is that they’re designed for permanent mounting - if you’re looking for something more portable, or perhaps don’t have enough room on your roof for enough panels, you may need a different setup.
Solar Charge Controller: 150/85 MPPT Charge Controller from Victron
This is a large and pricey piece of hardware that we needed specifically due to the size of our solar setup. If you have fewer panels (or a 24v setup, more info coming soon on that), you can likely use something much smaller.
Pros of the Victron equipment is that they are known for quality, and all Victron devices can talk to each other over a smart network if you have more than one. (We also have their bluetooth battery monitor and these things work together beautifully.)
The con is of course the expense. If you’re looking for something cheaper, we had a Rich Solar charge controller that worked quite well for a time, and we’ve had good luck with Renogy charge controllers previously.
DC to DC Charger: Renogy 20a Charger
We love having the option to charge our batteries while driving (though we rarely need to due to the amount of solar we have). This charger was a simple solution to that problem, easy to install, and works extremely well. I would size up to a larger unit if I were to purchase this again, though - our batteries can withstand a charge quite a bit faster than 20a.
The biggest pro for this charger is that it’s lithium battery safe - many people hook their batteries directly up to the alternator to charge, but this isn’t appropriate for the voltage a lithium battery needs. This sidesteps that issue perfectly.
I suppose the price could be a con here, but frankly it’s far from the most expensive component and well worth the price in my opinion.
Inverter: GoWise 3000 watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter
An inverter is essentially a must in any build, and we’ve been loving our so far. This model is overkill for a lot of systems, but we run appliances like microwaves and hair dryers in our bus so we needed something that could handle those things.
The big advantage with this model is that' it’s pure sine wave .Modified sine wave inverters can’t power some sensitive electronics like induction cooktops (or my beloved heated blanket that I went three years without in our last rig). Well worth the investment if you have something like that you’re bringing with you.
The biggest downside aside from the higher cost is that these units are fairly large and need ventilation - keep that in mind when laying out your system.
This is of course just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to our system - or any electrical system in a shuttle bus conversion. I just wanted to make mention of the products that we can vouch for. I know I spent hours reading reviews on everything we bought for our build (and I was still let down a few times), so I know how valuable first hand experience can be with components as important as those in your electrical system.
More information about how our system is fully designed coming soon!