2kw or 4kw diesel heater, which one does your caravan actually need?
Should you go for a 2kw or 4kw diesel heater in your caravan? We break down why 2kw is the right choice for almost every setup, and the two cases where 4kw actually makes sense.
If you're installing a diesel heater in your caravan or motorhome, the size question comes up a lot. Some people assume 2kw is plenty, others think if they're travelling in winter they need to size up to 4kw. Here's the actual answer.
For almost every caravan on the market, a 2kw diesel heater is the right choice. It'll comfortably heat a 32 foot caravan or motorhome, and diesel heaters actually perform better when they're worked hard. Running at a solid pace means a cleaner, hotter burn, which means less carbon build up inside the unit and a longer lifespan overall.
A 4kw heater in a standard caravan tends to cause more problems than it solves. Set your caravan to 21 degrees and a 4kw unit will keep shooting past that mark, leaving you either running with the windows open to cool things down, or dropping the heater down to a low speed constantly, which brings back that carbon build up issue and can shorten its life or mean more frequent servicing.
So when do you actually need a 4kw? Really just two situations, if you're also venting into an outside annex and heating that space alongside the caravan, or for larger setups like house buses and houseboats. Outside of Australia, if you're heading somewhere like Europe or North America where temperatures drop well below zero, that's another case where the extra power makes sense.
For everyday Aussie conditions though, 2kw is the sweet spot, and it's the only size we install into caravans here. Check out our Autoterm range to see what's available.
Check out the full breakdown from Hamish below 👇
