Recovery-first definitions. No marketing fog.
In CAVL, "fast" only matters if it helps you recover. We define every term that way.
Mantra: recovery is the only spec that matters.
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Reading our numbers
Every figure on CAVL carries one of four labels. Here's what they mean.
Spec / Reported / Measured / Estimate (our claim labels)+
What it means: we tag every number by where it came from, so you always know how much weight it carries.
- Measured — tested firsthand. Real numbers from our own unit, in our rig, in real climates.
- Spec — manufacturer claim, taken from the spec sheet or product page. Cited and linked. Useful for comparison.
- Reported — third-party. Cited from a credible reviewer, independent test, or a consistent community pattern.
- Estimate — a modeled assumption, based on real-world experience and clearly flagged. Labeled, never guesswork.
Why you care: a "measured" charge time and a "spec" charge time are not the same promise. Order of trust: measured → spec → reported → estimate. Full method on how we test and label claims.
Charging terms
AC input (wall charging)+
What it means: how much power the station can accept from an outlet (often shown in watts).
Why you care: AC input is your generator-free emergency exit — it determines how quickly you can recover during bad weeks.
Charging time (0–80% vs 0–100%)+
What it means: how long it takes to charge, usually under specific modes or conditions.
Why you care: brands market 0–80% because it's faster and looks better. For planning, you care about the repeatable portion of your refill window.
Charging modes (normal / turbo / fast)+
What it means: settings that change charging speed (and often fan noise + heat).
Why you care: "turbo" may require a stronger outlet and can change noise/heat. Don't plan around a mode you can't reliably use.
Power factor (PF)+
What it means: how cleanly a device draws AC power. Motors, compressors, and some medical devices (CPAPs, fridges) draw "messy" — they pull more than the wattage label suggests.
Why you care: a 100W CPAP with poor power factor can pull 150W+ from your inverter, and some inverters refuse to start motor loads at all. If a device cycles oddly or trips your inverter, this is usually why.
Pass-through charging+
What it means: powering devices while charging the station.
Why you care: useful, but distorts your "how long to recover" math because some input is feeding loads instead of refilling the battery.
UPS / EPS+
What it means: keeps power flowing during an outage or unplug (implementation varies by brand).
Why you care: important for sensitive electronics. Check switchover behavior rather than assuming.
Battery + capacity terms
Wh (watt-hours)+
What it means: energy capacity.
Why you care: Wh is "how long," not "how fast you recover." Bigger Wh helps, but fast refill usually matters more for stability.
Where our full-time picks start: 700Wh+. Weekend or light use can run smaller.
Usable capacity+
What it means: the energy you actually get to use, not the number on the label. The inverter takes a cut converting to AC, loads pulse instead of pulling steady, and you'll want to leave some battery in reserve. Plan around roughly 70–80% of label.
Why you care: two stations with the same Wh can feel completely different in real use. See what 700Wh actually runs for the felt picture.
Cycle life (to 80%)+
What it means: expected cycles until the battery reaches ~80% of original capacity (definitions vary).
Why you care: helps compare longevity, but don't treat it as a promise.
LFP vs NMC+
What it means: the two main lithium battery chemistries. LFP (lithium iron phosphate) and NMC (nickel manganese cobalt) trade off different things.
Why you care: LFP is the default for van life — it lasts far longer (often 6,000+ cycles vs. roughly 500 for older NMC), handles heat better, and is harder to push into thermal failure. NMC packs more energy in less space, which matters for laptops and phones, not power stations. If you're shopping a station and the chemistry isn't listed, assume NMC.
Output + load terms
Continuous output (watts)+
What it means: the steady AC power the inverter can supply.
Why you care: if your steady load exceeds it, you'll trip or shut down.
Surge / peak output+
What it means: brief higher output for startup loads.
Why you care: fridges, pumps, and some tools spike at startup. Surge specs are useful, but real behavior varies — avoid planning around edge cases.
Pure sine wave+
What it means: inverter waveform quality closer to household power.
Why you care: generally safer for sensitive electronics and motor loads.
12V / DC output+
What it means: powering devices directly without AC conversion (varies by station).
Why you care: DC loads are often more efficient than running everything through AC.
Solar terms (high level)
Solar input (watts) / MPPT+
What it means: how much solar the station can accept and how it optimizes panel output.
Why you care: useful, but solar is weather-dependent. Don't rely on solar alone for recovery if your climate is inconsistent — see solar vs. alternator charging.
Series vs parallel (panels)+
What it means: wiring arrangement that changes voltage and current.
Why you care: we don't give wiring instructions here. Treat this as a "what it is" term; use manufacturer guides if you go deeper.
Recovery-first planning terms
The terms that actually decide if your week stays stable.
Time to Recover+
What it means: hours needed to refill enough usable energy for normal use after a rough day. Instead of "how big is the battery," ask "how quickly can I refill enough to erase drift?"
Why you care: big batteries with slow refill often increase stress. A smaller unit with fast refill can recover your week sooner — especially when outlet access is short. The single most important metric for recovery-first van life.
Drift+
What it means: losing more energy per day than you can refill. Slowly falling behind.
What to do: stop one leak, lock baseline in one sentence, defend one recovery window tomorrow — the daily mode system is built for exactly this.
Recovery window+
What it means: the time you can realistically refill (outlets, drive-time access, sun hours).
Why you care: your whole system is only as stable as the window you can repeat.
Bad-week protocol+
What it means: the plan you follow when weather or schedule breaks your normal routine.
Where it lives: Van Power Upgrade Guide → bad-week protocol accordion.
Quiet hours constraint+
What it means: refill timing restricted by rules or stealth.
Why you care: your "fast" charger is only as fast as its quiet mode allows.