Where This Guide Comes From

Every step in this article comes from one source video — DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse's DIY 2000 watt, 24v Solar Power System w/ LiFePO4 Batteries, watched more than 635,000 times. In it, he builds a complete 24V system on a mounting board: two Battle Born 12V LiFePO4 batteries in series, a 2000W pure sine wave inverter, a solar charge controller, a battery protect, a bus bar and a 12V converter. If you would rather watch the build first, the video is right here:

DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse — "DIY 2000 watt, 24v Solar Power System w/ LiFePO4 Batteries"
Watch on YouTube →
635K+ views. 2.4kWh of LiFePO4 storage, a 2000W pure sine inverter and a 1040W charging path — the complete 24V build with real prices and charge settings.

The video answers a question many DIY solar builders eventually ask: why stay on 12V when a 24V system costs about the same and handles far more power? This build takes 1,000 to 2,000 watts of solar capacity and 2.4kWh of lithium iron phosphate storage, keeps every step efficient, and costs roughly what a 400W 12V system does. Below is the full breakdown, with every price and setting taken from the on-camera build.

Why Build a 24V System Instead of 12V?

The simplest argument for 24V is math. At the same power, current halves when voltage doubles: a 2000W load at 12V draws about 167A, at 24V about 83A. That means thinner, cheaper cable, less voltage drop over long runs, and lower losses at every connection. In the video, Will makes the point concrete — the money spent on a 12V system that handles 400 watts of solar buys a 24V system that handles 1,000 to 2,000 watts instead.

The trade-off is planning. Batteries must be series-connected, the inverter and charge controller must be 24V units, and 12V appliances need a converter. None of it is difficult — the build is a weekend project for an average DIYer — but it is why most kits stay on 12V. If you are starting from zero and want room to grow, 24V is the better foundation.

The Full Parts List and What Each Component Costs

The video walks through every component and its price. Two Battle Born 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries at $900 each dominate the budget — expensive up front, but over their cycle life they work out far cheaper than lead acid. The rest of the system is modest:

The optional automatic transfer switch runs $100-200 and is only needed if you want grid fallback when the battery is low. Add the batteries and the total lands around $2,200-2,400 for a complete 2.4kWh / 2000W system — the video's punchline: roughly the same money as a 400W 12V starter system, for several times the capability.

Two Battle Born Batteries: Parallel First, Then Series

The 24V bank is built from two 12V batteries, and the video makes the order explicit: connect them in parallel first so they equalize, then rewire them in series. Before anything touches, check that both batteries sit at nearly the same voltage. In the video one reads 13.39V, the other 13.36-13.37V — close enough to connect safely. If one were deeply discharged, charge them individually first; connecting a high cell to a low one lets current dump through the wiring with nothing to stop it.

Once matched, the negative terminals are connected, and an amp meter confirms almost no current flows. Battle Borns ship factory-charged to the same voltage, so a matched set can go straight to series. The habit that scales to any bank size: verify voltage before you connect, and never assume two batteries are matched just because they are the same model.

Wiring Order: Battery Protect, Bus Bar and Converter

The board layout in the video is deliberately organized. The two batteries sit at the bottom in series; the positive side runs up to the battery protect (low-voltage disconnect and short-circuit protection at 100A), and the negative side runs to the negative terminal bus bar. The inverter and solar charge controller both connect to the rails, and the 12V converter hangs off the same bus to feed 12V appliances.

The converter uses a 25A fuse; the fuse box is rated to output up to 150A even though only 40A flows in this setup — deliberate headroom. A 50A circuit breaker sits between the solar line and the charge controller. Cable clips hold wires against the board so nothing chafes, and every connection is torqued properly. A clean board is a board you can troubleshoot.

How to Series-Connect LiFePO4 Batteries Without Sparks

Series connection is where newcomers make scary mistakes, and the video shows it carefully. The batteries are moved close together, and one positive terminal is connected to the other battery's negative with a thick cable — 0 or 2 AWG for 12V banks, while a 24V bank with two batteries in series can use 4 AWG, provided it is quality pure copper.

Two warnings come with the demonstration. First, never let a conductor bridge both terminals — a metal tool touching both at once shorts the batteries, throws a huge spark, and shuts them down. Second, on batteries with internal short-circuit protection (like Battle Borns), a bolt-on fuse on the series link can be skipped only because the internal protection exists — and the cable gauge must still be thick enough for the current that protection allows. The finished bank reads 26.6V open-circuit, confirming the series connection.

Inverter and Charge Controller Setup for 24V

With a 24V bank, both the inverter and the charge controller must be 24V units — running a 12V inverter on 24V, or vice versa, damages equipment. In this build the 2000W inverter sits on the rails with its own breaker, and the charge controller is wired between the solar array and the battery with a 50A breaker on the line.

The controller in the video produces 1040W of charging and can be over-paneled toward 2,000W of panels. That headroom means you can add panels later without swapping the controller — one of the quiet advantages of sizing a 24V system properly the first time.

Charge Profile Settings for a 24V LiFePO4 Bank

This is the section builders screenshot. When two 12V Battle Borns are series-connected under a solar charge controller, the video recommends a user-defined profile (not the sealed lead acid preset) with four specific values:

Everything else can stay on the sealed lead acid profile. Those four values are the difference between a bank that lasts 20 years and one that degrades early — and they are the exact settings we recommend to customers running custom LiFePO4 banks on their own charge controllers.

What This System Can Power (and for How Long)

With 2.4kWh of usable LiFePO4 storage, the practical load list is generous. The video's own math: a 1000W microwave used 15 minutes is 250Wh; four 15W LED bulbs for five hours is 300Wh. A whole evening of lighting, a fridge, laptops and phone charging lands well under half the bank — and LiFePO4 lets you safely use energy down to low states of charge, unlike lead acid's 50% ceiling.

For a real home backup, use roughly 2.4kWh minus 20% for inverter and wiring losses, divided by your average load. A 300W average gives about six hours, and the inverter handles microwave and tool peaks. If the battery runs low, the optional transfer switch hands AC loads back to grid power automatically at a set voltage, so the batteries are never drained hard.

Safety: Breakers, Fuses and Short-Circuit Protection

The video's safety layer protects at three levels. The Battle Born batteries carry internal short-circuit protection at 100A. On the cable path, 4 AWG pure copper is thick enough that the internal protection can actually operate — a thin cable can melt before a high-current short trips anything. At the board level, every positive line runs through a breaker or fuse: the 50A breaker between solar and controller, the 25A fuse on the converter, and a circuit breaker on the main positive.

There is one little fuse the video nearly forgets, and it is a good example of why redundancy exists — a small fuse on one branch that the upstream breaker would catch in almost every scenario. Belt and suspenders. If you replicate this build, protect every positive path, size cable so protection can trip before the wire fails, and never rely on a single component to save the system. Spend the extra dollars on quality cable and terminals — a loose or undersized connection is the one failure mode that burns terminals and starts fires in DIY solar.

And if you're not hunting for a consumer brand but need the battery itself — a custom LiFePO4 pack at a specific voltage and capacity, an OEM or ODM project, or wholesale supply for your own power station line — that's what we do. Dajiu Energy is a Chinese manufacturer building LiFePO4 batteries for RVs, homes, golf carts and portable applications since 2017. Our product range covers LiFePO4 drop-in replacement batteries, EV and golf cart batteries, wall-mounted home storage, portable power stations, commercial energy storage and battery swap cabinets — explore the full lineup in our product center, or browse more buying guides. Tell us your voltage, capacity and size, and we'll engineer the pack to hit it.

Reviewed by Dajiu Energy Engineering Team — a Chinese LiFePO4 battery manufacturer building LiFePO4 batteries for RVs, homes, golf carts and portable applications since 2017, serving OEM/ODM projects with CE, UN38.3, MSDS and ISO9001 certified builds.

What Viewers Are Asking (Top Comments on the Video)

These are the most useful of the video's top comments, with our practical answers. The original creator did not reply to these threads, so the answers below are ours — written the way we'd answer a customer on the shop floor. Thanks-only comments were left out on purpose; these are the ones with actual information in them.

@travelfun3513 · 32 likes
"Would you be selling these PRE made"
Our take: If you would rather not assemble the electronics yourself, the same architecture is available as a finished product. Most suppliers sell pre-built 24V systems — and for a custom build, a manufacturer can assemble pack, wiring and enclosure. That is the kind of project we handle when a customer asks for a custom battery system rather than a parts list.
@seabeckstarlite · 30 likes
"Need a update on this for 2026"
Our take: The architecture has aged well: 24V still halves cable losses compared with 12V, and LiFePO4 prices have only fallen since 2019. The 2026 update is cost — two 12V 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries now cost a fraction of the Battle Born units shown. The charge settings in section seven are still correct.
@4philipp · 30 likes
"kjaan you have 2000watt hours to work with. Your 1000watt microwave, operated for 15 minutes is 250 watt hours. LED light, 15watt (60 watt equivalent) used for 5 hours a day, let’s say you have 4 of them, is 15x5x4 equals 300 watt hours. My Sundancer fridge uses <200 watt hours per day. Laptop, 150watt, 3 hours = 450 watt hours. iPhone 11 plus ~ 30watt hours per charge. Same for iPad 30 watt hours. So far we are at 1260 watt hours. Throw in a Sundancer freezer add 400 watt hours. We still have 340 watt hours to go. But, we also ignored that during the day we are using solar directly, not from the batteries. It’s important to be conscious of energy usage. Use an LED tv instead of plasma, maybe even a smaller model. Turn your light off when leaving a room, get away from night lights. Use laptop instead of desktop computer. Unplug appliances that have residual draw, anything that has a light on when off or is remote controlled. You don’t need the clock from your microwave. An appliance that draws 1/2 amp per hour in standby mode uses 12 amps in 24 hours. That’s 10% of your battery just for being plugged in. Try to charge equipment during the day when excess power is available. By changing habits, your power lasts longer. With an oversized solar array, you can easily use an additional 2000watt hours during the day without touching your batteries."
Our take: That math is exactly right and it is the best way to size a system. 2.4kWh usable: a 1000W microwave for 15 minutes is 250Wh, four 15W LED bulbs for 5 hours is 300Wh — a full day of microwave, lighting and phones sits well under half the bank.
@kjaan · 20 likes
"What can you power with this in home. And for how long?"
Our take: In a normal home: a 1000W microwave in short bursts, LED lighting for the whole evening, laptops, phones, a router, a 12V fridge through the converter, and small appliances up to the inverter's 2000W peak. For runtime, take 2.4kWh minus about 20% for losses, then divide by your average load — a 300W average gives roughly six hours.
@freedomoutlaw77 · 13 likes
"What type of solar panels are best for this set up? Also, would a high voltage alternator, 200 amp, work better with this?"
Our take: For a 24V bank, 36-cell panels (around 370W+) wired in series give the charge controller the voltage headroom it needs. On the alternator question, a 200A high-voltage alternator only matters if you plan to charge from the vehicle — for a solar-first setup, panel voltage and controller sizing matter more.
@txredbeard4734 · 12 likes
"@4philipp  Is there any hope to running an air conditioner for atleast 6 hours a day? In Texas, I am about to be living in a 1994 Chevrolet G20 with my two Dachshunds and keeping them cool is my number 1 concern."
Our take: An air conditioner is the hardest load for any battery system. A typical 5000 BTU unit draws 400-550W running, so 6 hours needs 2.4-3.3kWh — beyond this 2.4kWh bank unless you add a second pair of batteries. The practical path for a van: a small efficient unit under 500W, good insulation, and enough solar to recharge daily.
@naimasrael6829 · 12 likes
"just the information I need irt solar set up. Question: would any of the other components (in this set up) have to change if a 3000w inverter is used ??? Thankhz so much for sharing Will... Wholeness n Love ((-;"
Our take: Swapping to a 3000W inverter changes two things: the main battery cables should step up to 2/0 AWG, and the battery protect / breaker must be rated for the new continuous current (3000W at 24V draws up to 125A). The controller, batteries and bus bar stay the same — the limit is always cable and protection rating, not the inverter label.
@adamredden2007 · 10 likes
"Built this system at our of grid cabin and it is working wonderfully. Built a 24v 150ah battery from individual cells. Made a rookie mistake though....hooked to (4) 320W panels in series and didn't take into account the open circuit voltage, so it was over 150 volts a bit. Unhooked one panel until my Y branch connectors arrive and I can hook up in series and parallel. No harm done though. Thanks for all your videos man!"
Our take: Great real-world data point, and the 4×320W series mistake is a classic — wiring more than the controller's PV input limit in series makes it protect itself by producing nothing. Check the controller's max PV voltage and split the array into parallel strings if needed. Otherwise a 24V 150Ah pack running the same architecture confirms the design scales cleanly.
@fsfazekas · 10 likes
"Thank you for tackling something 24V! There is a large community of folks that have ex-military vehicles that have either straight 24v or dual 12V/24V systems so this will be a big help. While I’m not making a camper on my truck, many other owners are so this would be helpful."
Our take: A 24V system is genuinely the sweet spot for ex-military and dual-voltage vehicles. Starting from 24V halves current for the same power, which means thinner cable and less voltage drop across long runs — exactly the advantage shown in the video.
@JayMayKnow · 9 likes
"Why did you change from Tesla batteries to LiFePO4 ? love the channel!"
Our take: LiFePO4 wins on almost every practical axis for a stationary solar bank: thousands of cycles versus a few hundred for old cells, zero maintenance, a flat voltage curve and no thermal runaway tendency. Surplus cells were cheap but age faster and need more care. For a build you leave running for 20 years, LiFePO4 is the chemistry to choose — the same reason we build our LiFePO4 battery packs around it.

Source video: DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse — "DIY 2000 watt, 24v Solar Power System w/ LiFePO4 Batteries" (youtube.com/watch?v=RLgGGB_McW0). Comment excerpts are quoted verbatim from the video's top comments; the original creator did not reply to these threads, so all answers are Dajiu Energy's own. Component prices and charge settings are transcribed from the video.