I’ve been a big fan of the NSPanel Pro since it launched, especially with the recent updates making it a better Matter bridge and Home Assistant display. However, I’ve always had one major issue: I wanted to use it in my camper van, which runs entirely on a DC battery system.
Using a 220V inverter just to power a small wall panel is really inefficient for off-grid living—the “inverter tax” on battery life is just too high for a 24/7 device.
Since there wasn’t an official DC version for the Pro model, I decided to design a custom replacement backplate.
What I built:
Direct DC Input: Supports anything from 12V up to 48V.
Clean Power: The Pro model needs more juice than the original NSPanel, so this delivers a steady 1A to prevent crashes at full brightness.
Original Fit: It uses the existing Sonoff metal mounting bracket, so it looks completely stock once it’s on the wall.
Safety: I added reverse polarity protection (critical for DIY wiring) and ESD protection.
It’s been the perfect addition to my mobile setup for controlling lights and monitoring my battery levels without needing the inverter on.
@ociepa.ekotox
I know price is on the high side for just a step-up converter and some ESD protection.
It is because of the low volume, prototyping cost, shipping cost, the pcb’s, components, import taxes. If more people are interested, I can make a bigger batch and drop the price.
And if you know how to do it with a cheap chinese LM2577 breakout board, then this might not be the product for you. If you are a DIY camper builder who does not want to fiddle around with electronics, this might be just what you need, it is a solid solution, that does not shake loose.
That is exactly why I build this for myself.
I love this project, nicely done. What Sonoff devices are you using in your RV setup? Can you do scenes that work even when there is no internet connection?
Wow, cool, that’s a great idea and project. I have the same question — what devices do you have in your RV, or do you also use the NSPanel Pro to remotely control other devices?
I’m running a local home assistant on a raspberry pi5. And I have a MIFI router setup.
I have a Sonoff 4ch Pro Relay Switch Wifi with a custom ESPHome firmware, to switch on/off my floor heating and my waterpump
The main 300A battery shunt is connected via ESPHome to HomeAssistant
I have a WLED controller for all the lights
I have ESPHome board connected via bluetooth to my dieselheater, via IR control to my Maxxair ventilation and some extra buttons to control the lights. And it also has a C02/temp/humidity sensor, to turn on the ventilation when the air is not fresh or it is to hot.
I have a ESPHome board that controls my Renogy inverter.
And Home assistant is connected via bluetooth to my Renogy dc/dc + solar charger and my victron AC/DC charger
For me the NSPanel Pro is mainly used to run the home assistant app and maybe in the future as a Matter hub.
Ah thanks for this update. It sounds like a sweet setup. I never tried, but I tought using the NSPanel Pro with zigbee switches and relays maybe it would be possible to run this with local scenes.
