Off-Grid Power Sizer
Size battery, solar panels, inverter and controller for your Starlink setup — RV, boat, cabin or remote home.
1 · Starlink hardware
2 · Active hours per day · 12h
3 · Days of autonomy (cloudy buffer) · 2
4 · Climate (solar yield)
5 · Battery chemistry
Daily draw
1440Wh
Battery bank
3.6 kWh
296 Ah @ 12V
Solar array
446W
Total budget
$2,663
Recommended components
Battery bank
3.6 kWh · 296 Ah @ 12V
e.g. 2× Battle Born 100Ah or Victron SmartLithium
Solar panels
446W array
3 × 200W rigid panels or 5 × 100W flexible
Inverter
500W pure sine wave
Pure sine required — Dishy won't boot on modified sine
MPPT charge controller
40A @ 12V
e.g. Victron SmartSolar — Bluetooth monitoring recommended
Wiring + fuses
4 AWG battery lines, MC4 connectors, breakers
Budget estimate — DIY varies
Total install budget
$2,663Use DC power conversion
Skip the inverter entirely with a 12V-to-48V buck-boost converter. Saves ~15% loss and $200+ on the inverter. Works with Starlink 48V DC adapter cable.
LiFePO₄ wins long-term
$500/kWh vs $200/kWh for AGM sounds pricey, but LiFePO₄ lasts 8× longer (4,000 vs 500 cycles). Break-even is ~2 years of daily use.
Oversize solar by 30%
The calculator already bakes in a 1.3× loss factor, but in deep winter you'll want more. Adding 1-2 extra 100W panels costs $200-400 and eliminates dead-battery mornings.
Sleep mode = 45% savings
Idle Starlink still draws ~45W. If you can tolerate reboot time, schedule it off overnight — cuts daily draw by ~500Wh for most setups.