Electromechanical vehicle air conditioner question?

[XERTYX]

So... bear with me. Just a brain bubble. Obviously running the A/C in your vehicle will burn more gas than NOT running the A/C.

I'm not an engineer. I'm a reverse engineer. The compressor is ran from some manner of mechanical rotation from the engine. For most cars. Maybe all... I'm also not a car guy.

But IF you had a full solar bank that was either DC-DC or solenoid or some other manner connected to the starting battery would the excess potential solar energy offset any of the energy that the A/C needed other than just the blower motor?

 

[bullfrog]

The main reason AC causes poorer fuel mileage is the mechanical power required to mechanically turn the compressor which it gets via a belt run by the crankshaft. I uses a magnetic clutch for the engagement but only when running the compressor and electrical power for blower motor and some sensors as well. The electrical draw could be supplied by solar but at a savings of maybe a mile per gallon it probably wouldn't be worth doing. Better to use the solar for a house battery unless you have a lot of extra solar I would think.

 

[XERTYX]

Yeah that's what I was figuring. Like I say it just crossed my mind. I knew the mechanical operation of the compressor wouldn't be affected. The blower motor sure, and maybe a lil less taxing on the alternator so some fuel economy there.

It was just a thought. Thanks.

 

[DLTooley]

Using a house a/c instead of the vehicle a/c would be the simplest solution.

 

[chris84]

You can run the compressor and fan on electricity. You can even buy such a compressor already set up to run on electricity for a few hundred dollars. The amount of power it consumes is still very large. You need to have a fan turning for both the condenser and evaporator as well as the compressor.
It will consume a lot of power. More than solar panels will provide.

This is actually how the air conditioner on battery electric vehicles work. But those vehicles have massive batteries compered to most RVs because moving a vehicle requires even more energy than running an air conditioner

 

[XERTYX]

Yeah. Thanks all. Like I say, it was a hypothetical that popped into my brain way past my bedtime.

Hey you miss 100% of the shots you dont take right?