There's a common assumption that going off-grid simply means adding solar panels. Full Power founder Oliver Cridge, a mechanical and marine engineer, sees it differently — and that difference is at the heart of every system the company builds.
Solar Is Maintenance, Not a Solution on Its Own
“I look at solar as not a source of it — it is a source of energy, but not too much,” Oliver explains. “It's more a source of maintenance. You leave your boat or your RV, and it just stays there and maintains the batteries while you're not there.”
On a boat, that limitation is even more pronounced. Sails, masts and shade structures eat into the roof space available for solar, so the panels alone are rarely enough to run a genuinely comfortable, full-time liveaboard lifestyle. Relying on solar alone means constantly rationing power — which isn't the freedom most owners are chasing.
The Real Opportunity: Wasted Energy
This is where Full Power's engineering background changes the outcome. Every engine already generates far more energy than most systems ever capture. With a mechanical engineering approach to charging and system design, Full Power focuses on high-speed, highly efficient charging that captures energy that would otherwise be wasted, and converts it into usable, stored power.
“So basically, you want to take more of the wasted energy that we're always using every day — that we don't know about — and convert it into energy storage,” says Oliver.
What Efficiency Actually Saves You
The impact isn't just theoretical. By engineering a system to charge faster and more efficiently, Full Power customers typically go from running a generator or engine 24 hours a day to as little as one or two. That translates directly into savings on diesel, on servicing, on filters, and on the wear-and-tear costs that come with running equipment far more than it needs to run.
“There are many, many savings in making a complete system,” Oliver notes — and that's the key word: complete. Efficiency isn't one component. It's solar, charging, storage, engine performance and monitoring all engineered to work together.
A Full Assessment, Not a Quick Fix
Every Full Power project starts the same way: assessing the whole situation, identifying every source of inefficiency, and then designing a system to address all of them — not just bolting on extra panels or a bigger battery and hoping for the best. It's a fundamentally different approach from the price-and-volume end of the solar market, built instead around bespoke engineering for each individual boat, vehicle or property.
The result, as Oliver describes it, is simple: “The customer goes away happy, and they've got so much power they don't know what to do with it.”
That's what real energy efficiency looks like — not rationing power, but never having to think about it again.