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Solar Hunting Cabin Calculator

Check the appliances you need, enter your fall peak sun hours and battery autonomy days — get panel watts, battery Ah, system weight, total cost, and how it compares to a generator.

Usage pattern
Appliances checklist
Location & battery settings
PSH
days
12V solar system for your hunting cabin
600W solar — 523 Ah battery (12V)
Daily Wh usage1,883 Wh/day
Solar panels3 × 200W panels
Battery bank (12V)523 Ah (5.65 kWh)
Charge controllerMPPT 70A
System weight~170 lbs (panels + battery)
Est. total system cost$3,978
vs. Generator (first year)~$770 (purchase + fuel)
Solar break-even vs. generator~33.1 yrs
Load breakdown
12V refrigerator / cooler
1440 Wh
Propane heater fan / blower
300 Wh
LED lights
100 Wh
Phone / device charging
30 Wh
Trail camera battery charger
10 Wh
Propane appliance ignition
2.5 Wh
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How to Use This Calculator

Select your usage pattern and check your appliances

The appliance checklist determines your daily Wh load. Check everything you actually plan to run — and note the hours/day assumption for each. The 12V refrigerator is typically the biggest load and the biggest "luxury" decision: it runs 24/7 and accounts for 30-50% of a comfortable cabin's energy budget. If you're only doing weekend hunts with a cooler, skip it and cut your panel and battery size in half.

Enter your location's peak sun hours

This is critical and often underestimated for hunting season. Fall hunting season (October-November) in northern latitudes (Wisconsin, Michigan, Montana) may get only 3-3.5 PSH per day — much less than the 5+ PSH those same locations see in summer. Check peak sun hours by month for your specific location, or use the conservative fall/winter figures: 3-3.5 PSH in the northern tier, 4-4.5 PSH in the southern tier.

Set battery autonomy days

Battery autonomy days determine how many days you can go without meaningful solar charging. In the Pacific Northwest or during extended rain systems anywhere, 3-5 cloudy days in a row are common. For remote hunting cabins where resupply isn't easy, 3-4 days of autonomy is recommended. More days = bigger battery = more weight and cost.

The Formula

Daily Wh = Sum of (Appliance Watts × Hours per Day) for each checked item Panel Watts = Daily Wh ÷ PSH ÷ 0.85 (MPPT efficiency), rounded up to 200W panels Battery Ah (12V) = Daily Wh × Autonomy Days ÷ 12V ÷ Usable DoD MPPT Controller = (Panel Watts ÷ 12V) × 1.25 safety factor System Weight = Panels × 18 lbs + Battery Ah × Weight per Ah Total Cost = Panels ($1/W) + Battery ($/Ah by chemistry) + Controller + $80 wiring Generator Breakeven = Solar Cost ÷ Annual Generator Fuel Cost

The 12V system standard is intentional: most hunting cabin appliances are available in 12V DC versions (fridges, lights, pumps, fans), eliminating the need for an inverter and its 10-15% conversion losses. Running everything on 12V DC keeps the system simpler, more efficient, and easier to maintain without grid power nearby.

Example

Brad's hunting camp in northern Wisconsin

Brad and his hunting partners use a cabin for 2 months of deer and turkey season. They want LED lights, a 12V compressor fridge, phone charging, trail cam charger, propane ignition, and a heater fan. Location gets 4.0 PSH in fall. They want 3 days of battery backup.

UsageHunting season (2 months)
LocationWisconsin, 4.0 PSH fall
AppliancesAll except well pump
Battery3 days autonomy, LiFePO4

Result

Daily Wh~730 Wh/day
Solar panels2 × 200W = 400W total
Battery~200 Ah @ 12V LiFePO4
System weight~80 lbs total
System cost~$1,600
vs. Generator (yr 1)~$770 (purchase + fuel)
Solar break-even~3.5 years

Brad's solar system pays for itself in about 3.5 hunting seasons compared to running a portable generator. After that, it's free electricity for 20+ years. The 80-lb total system weight can be transported and installed in a day with two people. No fuel cans, no noise, no fumes — and the trail cameras stay charged all season.

FAQ

It depends on your usage pattern and load requirements. Solar wins when: you visit frequently (weekends all season), your loads are modest (lights, phone charging, 12V fridge), and the cabin is remotely located (fuel delivery is inconvenient). Generator wins when: you need high-wattage AC loads (electric saw, power tools, microwave), you visit infrequently (just a few times per year), or your budget is very tight upfront. The hybrid approach works well: solar handles daily loads (fridge, lights, charging) while a small generator handles high-wattage tasks (charging a drained battery during extended cloudy periods, running power tools during cabin improvements).
12V is the standard for hunting and fishing cabins for good reasons: (1) Native DC appliances — compressor fridges, fans, pumps, lights, and chargers are all widely available in 12V DC. No inverter needed. (2) Compatibility — 12V is the same voltage as automotive/marine batteries, making sourcing easy anywhere. (3) Cost and simplicity — a 12V system with 400-800W of panels doesn't justify the added complexity and cost of 24V/48V wiring. 24V or 48V systems make sense when you exceed 2kW of panels or need to run standard AC appliances. Most hunting cabins stay well below that threshold.
Size battery for your longest expected cloudy stretch plus a safety margin. In the Upper Midwest and Northeast, 3-4 consecutive cloudy days are common in October-November (peak deer season). A practical sizing approach: (1) Calculate your daily Wh from the appliance checklist. (2) Multiply by 3 for the cloudy day buffer. (3) Add 20% safety margin. (4) Divide by usable DoD (90% for LiFePO4, 50% for AGM) to get the Ah rating you need. Example: 500 Wh/day × 3 days × 1.2 ÷ 0.9 = 2,000 Wh ÷ 12V = 167 Ah LiFePO4. Or 2,000 Wh ÷ 0.5 ÷ 12V = 333 Ah AGM — showing why LiFePO4 wins on weight for remote applications.
Fall peak sun hours are significantly lower than summer annual averages. Approximate October-November PSH by region: Deep South (AL, MS, LA): 4.5-5.0; Mid-South (TN, AR, KY): 4.0-4.5; Mid-Atlantic: 3.5-4.0; Midwest (OH, IN, IL): 3.5-4.0; Upper Midwest (WI, MN, ND): 3.0-3.5; Mountain West (WY, MT, ID): 4.0-5.0 (clear skies); Pacific Northwest (WA, OR): 2.5-3.5 (very cloudy). When in doubt for hunting season, use conservative values (3.0-3.5 PSH) and size your battery generously.
Yes, and it's a common upgrade path. The easiest approach is a standalone 12V solar + battery system for DC loads (lights, phone charging, 12V fridge, trail camera charging) while keeping the generator for AC loads (microwaves, power tools, water pump if it's 120V AC). Over time you can expand the solar system or convert appliances to 12V DC to reduce generator dependency further. A good MPPT charge controller with a generator input will automatically charge the battery from the generator during extended cloudy periods — giving you the best of both systems. This hybrid approach minimizes generator runtime (and fuel cost and noise) while not requiring you to commit fully to solar.

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