How much wattage needed to heat a van in 12-32 deg. temps?

[jeff613]

I was just wondering what the nitty-gritty numbers are when it comes to how much of a heater you'd need, wattage-wise, to heat a van in those temps. Assume the van is reasonably well insulated and there is a somewhat thick dividing curtain between the front and back. Also assume this is a fullsized van.

I am going to lean towards electric power most of the time. It's just that-and this is another story all together-I had to buy a 1600 watt space heater for my aprtment recently and I'm rather surprised how much heat it doesn't put out. I need a bead on just what it'd take to keep the interior of a van toasty.

When I am at home or rather, in my home, I like to not have to wear cold weather gear. I'd prefer to have shirtsleeve temps in my van at all times during cold weather, which is by no means impossible giventhe proper knowledge, prep and equipment. Cold outside, warm inside is the idea, same as with a brick-and-mortar dwelling.

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

I'm not sure if this helps. I'm surprised that you say the 1600watt heater you have doesn't put out much heat. We have a tiny 1200watt cube heater that we've used on the few occasions we're plugged in someplace. It pretty much runs non-stop, but it keeps our large truck camper a tolerable temperature. Probably in the mid 50 degrees Fahrenheit range.

 

[Van-Tramp]

I use a small ceramic heater (1500 watt max) and it keeps up with my extended van with a high-top. But, wearing a T-shirt is an unrealistic goal, or at the very least a goal that will require a lot of extra costs to achieve.

Bigger question is, where are you planning to come up with the power? Plugging in will be mandatory as solar/battery will not work long term. Running anything larger that 1500 watts will require something greater than a 20-amp circuit. A longer extension cord will waste some of that amperage, and you will need a large gauge (expensive) cord. Then, does your van have wiring to handle that load? The answer is no unless you are pre-wired for 30 or 50 amps like a full sized RV.

If heating is so important, I recommend getting a hotel room on those super-cold nights

 

[user 423]

A van is many times smaller in volume than an apartment and is even quite a bit less than a typical bathroom. Try your 1600W heater in the bathroom. It should get pretty toasty. I've used small elect. heaters with thermostats and the erratic on-then-off all night made it hard to sleep. If you set it so it's always on it might get too warm, on top of being noisy. If you get the right kind of heater though, you should be OK. Just buy at Walmart and if it doesn't do the trick, just return it and get a different type.

 

[ice_maiden]

Slow makes a good point... all heaters are not created equal

I use this small ceramic heater in the bedroom of my 5th wheel (only slightly larger than a van). It has been between 12-32 degrees here recently. With the door closed I have had to turn it down because it became too warm on high.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Has anyone tried the 12-volt Roadpro heaters or blankets? I have read some reviews. People either like them a lot or hate them.

 

[steamjam1]

I've been meaning to try out the Lakso "my heat" 100 watt heater in my van. Right now I use a 750 watt small room heater on battery and as long as its on low, it will keep the insides at a tolerable 50 when its more like 25 outside and not kill my battery too fast.

 

[PastTense]

Well lots of people here use Buddy heaters, correct? What size Buddy heater do you use in BTU? With the numbers you should be able to do some conversions. A 1500 watt electric heater puts out 5,100 BTU.
For example this Buddy heater puts out 9,000 BTU on high:
http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-F232000-Indoor-Safe-Portable/dp/B002G51BZU/

Say someone here used this heater and needed to have it on high for very cold nights, our first estimate would be 2650 watts of electric heaters (assuming 100% efficiency). However my impression is that the consensus here is that you should provide some venting for the Buddy heater so it is less than 100% efficient, so it might correspond to 2300 watts of electric heaters.

 

[Donedirtcheap]

I have used a buddy in the back of an uninsulated pickup cap at 20 degrees on the 6000 btu setting. It was comfortable and I actually had quite a bit of ventilation. According to the calculator below you would need 1750 watts electric. I agree with Past tense in that I think it need more than that.

A 1200 to 1500 watt heater will run on a 15 amp circuit. In some places the 1500 may pop the breaker at times. Some line voltages will run a little low depending if you are in a park that's a little weak on wire size. They may have went a little far with minimum size wire. (Distance is resistance)


A 120 volt 15 amp circuit will carry 1800 watts in theory (depends on wire size, length)
A 120 volt 20 amp circuit will carry 2400 watts in theory
Volts times amps=watts
VxA=W

http://rapidtables.com/convert/power/Watt_to_BTU.htm

Buy a 1200 or 1500 at walmart, try it, return it if its too small.

AND, as past tense says you do need ventilation with the buddy heater. If you are hyper allergenic the buddy could cause air quality issues for you. Bob had a guest interview with excellent info on the buddy in his blog.

 

[Simran]

I spend all my time up north. Down to 0 a 1500W electric heater will keep my van comfortable. At 0 it is not REAL warm but warm enough. Below zero I start running my Big Buddy occasionally while I'm awake. At -10 I start leaving my Buddy heater on at night but sometimes it gets to warm and I just shut it off and turn it back on about an hour before I get up in the AM. Realize though, that my van has a partition behind the front seat and another ahead of the rear doors.

 

[jeff613]

Okay, good answers all, and based on your knowledge and experience even if there was no definitive answer. I see at least that if I am going to be leaning towards electric heat, I'll need to make sure the van or power source can handle the wattage. I also get the drift that I'd need something in the 2k wattage range. That 50 degrees in the van just ain't gonna be warm enough for me, though I get your point that it's better than freezing. Also, the constant clocking of a thermostat could get on my nerves as it already somewhat does.

I know from experience that the heater can keep my washroom pretty toasty, but then again my washroom isn't a van out in the cold.

Yeah, the 1500 watt oil-filled heater I have now has as it's advantage that it offers a steady heat, but it ain't that much. I laid a moist sweater on it the othetr night whcih H ad hand washed and well wrung out and it took over an hour or two to get it all the way dry. Aslo, I could hold my hand just above the heater and it (my hand) didn't get uncomfortably hot. Though one would figure it should when that close to the top of the heater.

I am sure it' far colder in some areas of the country but I live in Charlotte NC, and it's comparatively very cold right now next to what it would usually be this time of year, so just as when you're hungry it's a good time to contemplate what you're going to eat, when it's cold out, it's a good time to be thinking "If I were living in a van *right now*, what would I do to keep this kind of cold at bay? This kind of cold I'm feeling *right now* when I go outside. I'm sure I'll be asking that same question regarding the heat when it gets hot too.

 

[rinella]

Your heater might be defective. I have a cheapo 1500w oil filled heater and it gets so hot that I don't want to touch it.

 

[Phreedom]

I have to agree with Van Tramp. Running an electric heater purely from solar/batteries isn't feasible.

 

[66788]

The answer you are looking for is zero watts. You need an Olympian catalytic propane heater that does not use electricity. Safe, comfortable, and affordable.

 

[David]

Why not go with a RV style propane furnace that vents outside? This way you can have a thermostat allowing it to only run when needed and also be safe.

 

[Stargazer]

I have the E-150 regular top, regular length, windows well covered, curtain behind cab. When plugged in, I use a small electric heater from WalMart, $25, 1500 watts. I use a 12 ga, 15 amp outdoor extension cord that is dedicated to run only the heater, run through a small window directly to the outlet.

In temps below freezing (20's), it keeps us toasty warm. I use it only when AC power is available. Yes, the thermostat kicks it on and off but that doesn't bother me. I also used it in my 15 ft travel trailer, my winter home, again on the same extension cord plugged directly into the service outlet, to avoid overloading the electrical system in the TT. It kept us warm all last winter, through three ice storms.

You have access to AC plug in. A heavy duty outdoor extension cord and a 1500 watt small cool touch heater will keep you comfy and out of trouble.

One thing...I had one of those small heaters break down after a couple of months. In the mid to late winter, the stores may not have them. I recommend having an extra for backup, just in case.

Best wishes.

 

[akrvbob]

Stargazer, my girlfriend is working for Amazon at Reno NV and they put her up in an RV Park. She's going to do the exact same thing you are for heat. Thanks for the feedback!
Bob

 

[66788]

It would help when people post asking for advice like this OP if they mentioned that they were using shore power. Electric heating is not feasible on battery power, so the next best alternative is propane.

I guess I'm so used to boondocking that I don't even default to shore power.

 

[Stargazer]

Oh, I failed to mention that I ran that little heater 24/7, turned it down a tad at night and when I would leave to go to town or something. At this park, we pay for our electricity usage at 10.9 cents per kwh. With an electric water heater, which I would turn on only when I wanted hot water, then turned it off, the fridge, microwave and electric kitchen appliances, my highest bill for a month was around $55.00.

I dislike having to take propane tanks to be refilled (too heavy) so I rarely use(d) the propane.

Best wishes.

 

[1977dodge]

one way you could look at this is what can i insulate in the van so i dont need so much energy or use less energy
recently I parked my camper van next to a friends van similar size and was surprised at the early morning difference in temperatures .I am just starting out on the insulation of my van 1977 Dodge Tradesman high top .
anyway just an idea
Good luck