I’ve thought long and hard about how I wanted to power my van. Having camped a few times in the van, I knew that having a power source would be really useful, however I have absolutely no experience with electrics and I didn’t want to spend loads of money either.

What are my options?

Whilst a second battery that was charged via my van when moving would have been an option, it would have required a lot of wiring that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable doing. Also, given the amount I stay away in the van (less than 4 weeks a year), this would probably be overkill!

At the end of the day, I only need to power a couple of phones, a laptop, a speaker and top up my 12v cool box.

In the end, I found a solution which is absolutely perfect for my van and the amount that I will use it as a camper.

Portable power generators

Portable power generators seem to me to be an increasingly affordable and simple way of obtaining off-grid power to everything from van conversions to tiny homes. After a lot of research I purchased a Novoo 230wh power station from Amazon. 

The NOVOO Portable Generator

It shipped quickly and I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen so far. It retails at £180 but I managed to get it for about £150 with a discount code.

It’s not always available, but I got mine here: https://amzn.to/3QsUhka

It comes with a useful manual to explain what its numerous inputs can power and how it can be charged.

Why get a portable battery pack?

There are a number of reasons why I chose this particular one, but the main one was that all of the inputs are found on the same side of the device. This is important to me because I hope to eventually build this battery unit into some van furniture so I have permanent and easy-to-access charging for all of my devices. (Update: I built the battery in to my folding van table unit. Click here for my part 1 and part 2 videos of the build)

NOVOO Portable Generator features

The battery has a clear screen that shows its level of charge, as well as what method of charging is being used, and, despite the ends being plastic, all other sides are protected in a metal casing.

Slits in the sides allow airflow to the battery, however when in use the battery operates silently.

The battery charges via a DC input in the back, through the type-C usb space in the front and you can also charge it with a solar panel.

On the top of the battery is a soft rubber handle, making it very portable. At 3.2kg it does have some weight to it, but isn’t too heavy to carry around and it does feel very sturdy.

Ways to charge devices

On the left is a 12v charging output – ideal for powering other appliances that might be in the van, such as the electric cool box from one of my previous blog posts. 

There are 3 standard 5 volt USB outputs, as well as one type-C output which charges up to 60w, which is perfect for fast charging phones.

Finally, there is the 230 volts AC output, which takes UK plugs for charging laptops or other mains appliances. 

Having such a great selection of outputs built into one device ensures that I won’t need lots of adaptors when I go away.

Whilst I’ve only used the battery a little bit, I feel pretty confident that it will be perfectly suited for my use in the van. Getting one of these portable power stations definitely seems to be the most convenient way of getting off-grid power to a van and I’m excited to put it through its paces on my next trip.

If you want to see more of my camper van build in action, please CLICK HERE.