Fantasy Van Solar Rig- Over 1kw of panels, 600lbs of batts, and of course, SOLAR A/C

johnnysaccc · May 17, 2017

I'm not going to lie to you I've had a few drinks..

Anyway.. I find myself yet again fantasizing about freedom, yet constrained to a job that keeps me in SUNNY Sweltering South Florida.

So.. just for giggles.. lets say one were to go all out on the biggest, baddest ram promaster high roof van, with the full intention of maxing out panel and battery capacity.
Could one theoretically reach the golden mecca that is sun powered climate control?

Where I live, there is no life without air conditioning. Seriously. You can't even get normal occupied homeowners insurance on a house if the HVAC isn't fully functional, or else it's considered un-livable space. Yes, I know there are van dwellers down here who get by without it, but there's no way I could do it.

Nor can I leave either.... so all that said.. anyone up for the challenge to design a maxed out solar power plant on van-sized wheels?

jimindenver · May 17, 2017

At the RTR last year there was a van with 1k of solar on it's roof. Like me he could run a small A/C off of its output in good sun.

TucsonAZ · May 17, 2017

I've been there and done that, 1,380 watts actually with a 6,000 watt battery bank.

johnnysaccc · May 17, 2017

TucsonAZ said:
I've been there and done that, 1,380 watts actually with a 6,000 watt battery bank.

Great image! Sure looks like freedom to me.
Was battery maintenance a nightmare?

BradKW · May 17, 2017

[img=500x425]http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/...ads/IMG_20160821_200257_zpskijuthwd.jpg[/img]

[img=500x425]http://i465.photobucket.com/albums/...ads/IMG_20160826_114856_zpsq6hlumtc.jpg[/img]

John61CT · May 17, 2017

Big trailer or truck body build would help with the batteries.

Check out the Overlanders.

Personally I lived most my life at the equator in third world cities, no AC is something your body gets used to, really just need fans.

Takes about two years to really get acclimated.

jimindenver · May 17, 2017

Yikes! We could start the solar A/C club right here.

Cammalu · May 17, 2017

That sounds interesting John61. Where did you live and do you have any good stories

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

IGBT · May 18, 2017

We do some limited A/C with 1100 watts on the roof and a small window unit ducted to be totally inside the camper (6000 BTU @ about 600 watt draw).

I would love to have a bigger battery bank though to stretch the A/C use into the evening and night hours.

jimindenver · May 18, 2017

There is a variable speed DC 12,000 BTU portable that starts out at 1100w and drops to 300w once it has the area cooled. It never cycles, just reduces the compressors speed to maintain the temperature. I've thought about it but in this chasing 70's life I have needed the A/C less than I thought I would. I ran it near daily in Yuma and Ehrenberg but not since. It's hard to justify the near $1000 expense and I'd have to move things around to get the venting for the hoses.

666JTK666 · May 18, 2017

jimindenver said:
There is a variable speed DC 12,000 BTU portable that starts out at 1100w and drops to 300w once it has the area cooled. It never cycles, just reduces the compressors speed to maintain the temperature.

Jim, please where can one find such a unit ? brand? mfr?
thank you.

jimindenver · May 18, 2017

I just knew someone was going to ask that. lol

Hold on

jimindenver · May 18, 2017

http://www.climax-air.com/

This is it. It wouldn't pose a problem for my 1185w system and the low end could easily run off the 675 Ah bank over night. 5000 BTU does well enough in my trailer, 12000 BTU would get it cooled off really fast and stay in the lower wattages.

666JTK666 · May 18, 2017

jimindenver said:
http://www.climax-air.com/

This is it. It wouldn't pose a problem for my 1185w system and the low end could easily run off the 675 Ah bank over night. 5000 BTU does well enough in my trailer, 12000 BTU would get it cooled off really fast and stay in the lower wattages.

I would be awfully good if the 120v ps could be bypassed and have the unit run directly of of dc that would cut out a lot of energy loss due to conversion. The brosure say's the compressor is dc of some flavor.
Thank you this ac unit is pretty fab.

jimindenver · May 18, 2017

It's probably just me but once I got to a certain point, I stopped being worried about the conversion loss. Most DC appliances are a far cry from their AC counterparts. I have a 12v coffee maker, it sucks compared to a Mr Coffee. My 20 inch box fan does much better than the O2cool fan I gave away. It would be nice to have the A/C run off of DC but like my water heater, I would have to run heavy wiring, fuse it etc. It's so much easier and cheaper to just plug it into a AC outlet.`

John61CT · May 18, 2017

I assume say in a mini-van, vehicle 12V factory A/C is pretty efficient.

Have people figured out how to get that running off a house bank with the engine off, or is that impossible for some reason?

BradKW · May 18, 2017

I looked at this awhile back... http://www.hotspotenergy.com/DC-air-conditioner/

johnny b · May 18, 2017

"I assume say in a mini-van, vehicle 12V factory A/C is pretty efficient."

12 volts runs the fan...vehicle engine turns the compressor.

John61CT · May 18, 2017

Ah of course, thought there's a reason hadn't come across such a hack

johnnysaccc · May 26, 2017

Do you think this solar system could support that A/C unit?

he goes into more detail at 12:45

It will give me a good starting place to price things out.

Fantasy Van Solar Rig- Over 1kw of panels, 600lbs of batts, and of course, SOLAR A/C

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