The Orion XS: DC-DC Charging Reinvented

In a previous article, we described how Victron's line of DC-DC chargers work and why they're perfect for regulating house battery voltage without altering your under-hood electrical system.

The new Orion XS is, by far, Victron’s most sophisticated battery charger to date. It’s a compact VE.Direct communications DC-to-DC charger that's extremely efficient, responds to DVCC, and delivers everything many of us have been looking for in an intelligent battery charger.

The first model in this new series, the Orion XS 12/12-50A has been Victron’s most popular and top-selling product since released it was release in 2024. The XS 1400 model will be available in US in July, 2025, with more models expected early 2026. All to say, if this isn't a product line you've paid attention to, it's time to start learning! 

For those currently using 100A buck boosts, the Orion XS is an excellent Victron replacement. The latest model—the Orion XS 1400—delivers a whopping maximum of 1400W of charge power. It can charge a 24V battery bank from a 12V alternator, and supports 24V to 24V or 24V to 12V configurations as well as the standard 12V to 12V. Given its compact size, competitive cost, straightforward operation, high charge rate, and ease of use, we recommend the XS for virtually all 12V and 24V vehicle charging installations.

Here's a quick rundown of what you need to know about the Orion XS:

High Charging Capacity

As its name suggests, the Orion XS 50A offers a robust 50-amp charging capacity. This high output makes it suitable for quickly and efficiently charging larger battery banks or multiple batteries at the same time. This output can be manually limited all the way down to 0.1A, so you can work with any alternator/battery combo.

As the Orion XS is fully compatible with smart alternators, factory-installed alternators, and any 12V or 24V source or load, and since it uses DVCC, the units can be easily stacked. If you want two of them to provide 100A of charging (or even more), feel free! *Be careful not to overload your alternator with all of this newly acquired charging current.

Price and Size Comparison

Despite its high output, the Orion XS is smaller, lighter, and more efficient than the existing Orion-TR Smart series. Compared to the Orion-Tr Smart 12-12/30, for example, the XS 12/12-50A costs just $20 more while being 50% smaller and 10% more efficient, and it also has 100% more communications with your Venus OS (while the Orion-TR Smart had Victron Connect comms, the XS talks to your Victron GX which is entirely new. More on that later).

Water and Dust-Proof

The Orion XS is IP65-rated, offering full protection against dust and heavy rain. This makes it even more attractive for use in off-road vehicles, vans, and all types of high-splash watercraft. 

Fully Configurable

Again, the new Orion XS 1400 can be configured as a DC-to-DC battery charger with multiple voltage options: 12V to 12V, 12V to 24V, 24V to 12V, or 24V to 24V. The rated output current for each of the possible system configurations are as follows:

• 12V to 12V: 50A

• 12V to 24V: 25A (this is 50A coming from 12V)

• 24V to 12V: 50A

• 24V to 24V: 50A

The selectable voltage feature means that if you need a 24V system, you can use the same unit configured for 12V-24V conversion. This versatility is especially valuable for installers, builders, and retrofitters working with various RV, van or marine systems—you can stock just one model that works for any installation. While the broader Orion charger product (representing over a dozen SKUs) offers cost-effective, right-sized options for OEMs with specific build requirements, it can be complex to navigate. The XS, however, eliminates the need to stock multiple units, making it a practical choice that's ready for any system.

Connectivity and Monitoring

With full Victron native communication capabilities, the XS series of DC-DC chargers are ready-made to plug into any Victron system with a GX device. This new level of integration within the Victron environment provides thorough real-time details on charge rates and voltage, and with the full functionality of DVCC, we have the ability to limit overall charge going into your battery system, cap the charge voltage of the system, or even allow a smart battery with a communicating BMS to dictate these details directly. 

This new level of communication brings the XS into advanced data-logging and real-time tracking on VRM. You can check charging rates from the previous day using any internet-connected system, or even view charge rates from a month ago. For system monitoring and troubleshooting, there's no tool more useful than VRM—and including your high-powered alternator in that data is a serious step up.

Note: To understand why the XS is such a step up for mobile systems, let’s look at a quick scenario. Say you’ve got a van with a lithium battery bank. Today, you’re taking it to the ski hill and you’ll be out for most of the day. Now, you’ve returned to the van, and you’re ready to fire the system up. You turn on your engine, and it wants to start charging the battery. Because it’s cold outside, your battery bank might want the chance to warm up a little bit before it starts to accept a charge at full rate. The original Orion DC-DC chargers were not in a communication loop with the rest of the system to respond to a charge rate limit from a smart BMS. So, bringing the Orion XS into the loop via DVCC means that your battery, one of the most critical and expensive parts of your system, gets to be in charge of what is one of your fastest and largest charging sources in a mobile system (your alternator). This helps to ensure that your lithium battery bank gets the appropriate charge rate it needs as quickly, efficiently, and as safely as possible. 

Versatile Input Voltage

The broad input voltage range on the XS 12/12-50 provides tremendous flexibility for your charge source. Any voltage from 9-17V can be functionally used to charge your highly particular lithium battery, offering a device capable of using a variety of charging sources even beyond alternators. The Orion XS 1400 will offer an impressive input voltage range of 9-35V.

Advanced Charging

Utilizing Victron's latest charging technology, the Orion XS employs a sophisticated multi-stage charging algorithm that serves to optimize the battery’s lifespan and performance. The adaptive 4-stage charging algorithm means this charger is capable of charging any battery, including sensitive lithium battery banks that require their own charge curve. And, of course, the Orion XS is ready for use on FLA or AGM batteries as well - or even more applications with unique batteries or power supply needs. The Orion XS 1400 can output a voltage anywhere from 10V to a whopping 35V!

Safety Features

As with other Victron products, the Orion XS includes various safety features, including:

• Overcharge protection

• Short circuit protection

• Reverse polarity protection

• Temperature compensation

• Victron DVCC integration

• Remote on/off connector

The device's advanced connectivity with other Victron equipment prevents most issues that could happen while charging and a great set of built-in protection features ensure the safety of both users and the equipment.

Note: Here's another common scenario where the Orion XS shines. Say you have a boat system that is pulled out after 8 months of storage, and the battery isn’t fully discharged, but it’s at a very low 10% SOC. When a battery is super empty, it may not want to dump in a huge amount of charge in right away, and so it will slowly bring it up to charge, typically it will hit around 5-10%, and then the charge rate will increase. Being able to respond to DVCC means that when the alternator is running, you’ll be able to pull a trickle charge from the alternator without overloading the battery circuit and pushing the battery out of balance until it comes up to an acceptable level, and then it will let it open wide up and dump a bunch of charge until it gets to the point where the charge rate will drop again. 

Smart Alternator Compatibility

We find this charger significantly cheaper and easier to integrate into a Victron Energy power system compared to other "high power" alternatives.

Unlike WakeSpeed or Zeus by ARCO, the Orion XS works with your existing alternator—no dedicated externally regulated alternator required. A new secondary alternator with external regulation can easily cost over $2,000 in parts alone. With the Orion XS, you can use your vehicle's stock alternator or add a secondary one without the hassle of matching components to limited externally regulated options. This saves both money and installation effort when adding charging capacity.

Power Supply Mode

This function, found on the BlueSmart IP65 Charger and many other Victron battery chargers, allows you to use the Orion XS as a DC power supply. You would simply toggle from 'Charger' to 'Power supply' in the VictronConnect app and pick an output voltage to turn your Orion battery charger into a portable or benchtop AC to DC power supply. Devices requiring specific, and higher-than-average voltages can utilize this function. We see this used in sport fishing applications where users are looking for the edge and power their deep water fish finders with a little higher voltage than their battery bank provides. Another application is for sensitive network equipment that needs a steady and stable voltage for their DC power supply. 

Note: With an upcoming firmware update, the Orion XS series will also be capable of trickle charging the starter battery via a Bluetooth command in Victron Connect. Once this functionality is live, you’ll be able to start an emergency charge of a drained starter battery from your house system, all without needing additional equipment or relays. The traditional approach used a start assist relay that created separation between the two systems. While this worked in theory, the relay was prone to problems. We've observed cases where the relay system remained completely open and allowed back-feeding in one direction, but failed to charge the starter system. Unlike an open relay, the XS's trickle charge function deliberately controls the charge current flow. This unique feature sets it apart from other DC-DC chargers currently on the market.

Which Orion XS is Right for You?

There are currently three models of the XS:

• Orion XS 12/12-50A

• Orion XS 12/12-50A (Updated EMC)

• Orion XS 1400 (Stock available in the US starting in July, 2025)

The original Orion XS 12/12-50A is a fantastic charger that delivers 50A of charge current from a 12V alternator to a 12V battery bank of any chemistry. The "Updated" Orion XS 12/12-50A features several EMC improvements, specifically for VHF radios commonly used in marine installations—though in most land-based installations, these improvements will have limited or no impact on the system.

The major new addition, launching this summer, is the Orion XS 1400. This new version in the Orion XS lineup is a switchable charger that handles any combination of 12V and 24V systems—whether it's a 12V alternator to 12V house bank, or 12V alternator to 24V house bank. This 50A charger offers installers, retrofitters, and designers exceptional system flexibility while providing extensive communication capabilities with GX devices in mixed-voltage installations.

Conclusion

The Victron Orion XS Battery Charger represents a significant advancement in charging technology. It offers high-capacity charging in a versatile package. Its combination of power, efficiency, and safety features makes it a super compelling choice for those requiring reliable and robust battery charging solutions.

For more detailed specifications and pricing information, visit the product page here. For product or technical advice, send a message to our team.