What the dish actually draws
Starlink publishes average power use rather than a fixed figure: about 75 to 100 W for the Standard kit and about 25 to 40 W for Mini. Starlink notes that these are averages measured at the AC input and that real draw changes with temperature, location and how much the connection is used. Start-up and snow melting can draw more.
The scenarios below use 85 W for Standard and 30 W for Mini, each for 8 working hours. Replace them with your own monitor readings when you have them.
Three ways to run the same working day
| Setup | Daily use | Of which inverter loss and idle | Autonomy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink Standard, laptops on 230 V | 1,999 Wh | 279 Wh | 0.9 to 1.2 days |
| Starlink Mini on 12 V, laptops on 230 V | 1,439 Wh | 159 Wh | 1.4 to 1.9 days |
| Starlink Mini and laptops all on 12 V | 1,280 Wh | 0 Wh | 1.6 to 2.3 days |
- Usable energy
- 1,920 Wh
- Daily use
- 1,999 Wh
- Daily charging
- 450 Wh
- Autonomy
- 0.9 to 1.2 days
Standard kit through an inverter at 85% efficiency with 8 W idle draw for 8 hours.
Open in the calculatorWhy the inverter matters so much
Anything that runs on 230 V goes through the inverter, which loses part of the energy as heat and draws power just by being switched on. In the Standard scenario that costs about 279 Wh a day, more than the LED lights and phone charging combined would use in several days.
Running laptops from 12 V USB-C chargers and Starlink Mini from its DC input removes the inverter from the working day. Those chargers have their own conversion loss, which this estimate leaves out, so treat the all-12 V figure as the optimistic end.
Solar decides whether you stay put
None of these setups is covered by 200 W of solar on a fair day. On a short winter day with one peak sun hour, the Standard setup lasts 0.8 to 1 day. On a clear summer day with five sun hours, the all-12 V Mini setup lasts 1.9 to 3.6 days.
Peak sun hours depend heavily on where you are and the month. PVGIS, run by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, estimates output for a specific location and panel angle. Use it before you buy panels for a winter trip.
Questions to settle before a remote-work trip
- Which Starlink kit, and can it run from DC in your setup?
- Can each laptop charge from a 12 V USB-C charger at a useful wattage?
- How many hours a day is the inverter actually switched on?
- How long is the drive between stops, and is there a DC-DC charger?
- What is the worst week of weather on the route, not the average?