Electric heating in a caravan or motorhome

What your hook-up allows

Watts divided by 230 gives amps. Remember the fridge, water heater, kettle and chargers all share that budget — a 2 kW heater plus a kettle will trip a 10 A bollard instantly. Heaters with a switchable low setting are much easier to live with on site.

Never run heating off the leisure battery

Electric heating is far too power-hungry for 12 V. A 1 kW heater would flatten a typical leisure battery in well under half an hour. Off hook-up, heating means your gas or diesel system, not a plug-in heater.

Damp is the real enemy

Vans are small, well-sealed spaces with several people breathing in them. Gentle continuous warmth plus ventilation stops condensation running down the windows and mould appearing in lockers. Crack a roof vent even when it is cold — sealing everything up makes damp worse, not better.

Storage over winter

If the van is on a serviced pitch with power, a low thermostat setting keeps the interior above freezing and protects pipes and upholstery from damp. Drain the water system regardless — a heater is not insurance against a hard frost.

Safety in a small space

• Fully unwind the hook-up cable; a coiled reel under load gets hot.
• Keep the heater on a flat, hard surface, not carpet, cushions or a bunk.
• At least a metre of clear space in front of the outlet — no towels drying over it.
• Choose a unit with overheat and tip-over cut-offs, and switch it off when you sleep.
• Fit and test a smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide alarm.

RapidHeat on site

RapidHeat is compact, quick to warm a small space and thermostat controlled, which is exactly what a caravan wants on an evening hook-up. Watch your amps, keep the space around it clear, and use the timer for a morning warm-up before anyone gets out of bed. Wattage guidance in low wattage heaters.