HVAC costs $600 monthly?

[offroad]

I am new. &nbsp;But help me understand. If I have an Air Conditioner I need electricity. Most RV sites will charge you $20 per day at least. So the months from April to October (half a year) you will be paying $600 per month for electric site.<br /><br />How is this an inexpensive life style? &nbsp;Air Conditioning is not cheap.&nbsp;<br /><br />Are swamp coolers, fans, propane air conditioners any competition to electric AC?&nbsp;

 

[offroad]

So would need to invest in a small generator, and battery bank that can handle the compressor start load of an HVAC unit.&nbsp;<br /><br />All to shelter in place from the 100 plus degrees inferno Fahrenheit of a typical summer day.&nbsp;<br /><br />And has to be serviceable as these units do not last forever. Am liking how this&nbsp;is helping me get into the technology.

 

[Guest]

Hi Offroad.<br /><br /> Is there any way you can move with the seasons? That is how a lot of folks approach the weather.<br /><br />South in the winter and either further north or higher elevation in the summer.<br /><br />It is hard to come out financially if you have to pay for power. <br /><br />Most RV parks will give you a pretty good rate for long term residence...monthly or by the year....<br /><br />Where I live in New Mexico...there are RV parks that charge $135 to $150 a month plus your power. In the winter You only need a bit of heat, in the summer it is best to head to cooler country.<br /><br />Bri

 

[dfh]

If you plan on staying in one place for any length of time, check into RV parks that allow longer stays. I've seen them charge by the amount of electricity used, or have you billed directly by the electric company.<br /><br />Also, check into some mobile home parks. Lots of them allow RV's/van set ups and you'll set up your own account at the local electric co.

 

[mockturtle]

Most non-public facilities offer a monthly rate at a lower cost.&nbsp; However, you will then be charged separately for your metered electricity.&nbsp; Even so, you should be able to do it for well under 500/month.

 

[offroad]

Am thinking that the combination of AC device and the generator is going to cost $3k. &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />Then I think I need the RV of some type.&nbsp;

 

[iscius]

I am new. &nbsp;But help me understand. If I have an Air Conditioner I need electricity. Most RV sites will charge you $20 per day at least. So the months from April to October (half a year) you will be paying $600 per month for electric site.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;How is this an inexpensive life style? &nbsp;Air Conditioning is not cheap.&nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Are swamp coolers, fans, propane air conditioners any competition to electric AC?&nbsp;

Propane A/C: Propane is a clean fuel but not cheap anymore these days. If you can find a cheaper heat source (You would have to modify your fire chamber.) Maybe you could beat the system. But where are you going to find cheaper alcohol, or butane, or elixer x,y,z? That's the rub.

There is a very high efficiency wood stove / furnace design called the "Rocket Stove". You can look it up on the internet. It puts out very little smoke. It burns twigs. I think it COULD run an Ammonia/water A/C (which is what a propane A/C is.) And in the winter it would double as a stealth heater since they say once it is up and running it puts out very little smoke.

On the topic of Beating the System: To quote George Carlin: "...The table is tilted. The game is rigged. It's a Big Club. And YOU ain't in it..."

 

[wandering mike]

I recommend you move with the seasons and stay where the heat is bearable for you. &nbsp; If you however need to stay in South Carolina, you can get a spot in an RV park with electricity for less than an apartment. &nbsp;Swamp coolers work best in less humid areas. &nbsp;<br /><br />Then again, air conditioning for consumer use is less than a hundred years old. &nbsp;I wouldn't doubt your parents grew up with it. &nbsp;Ask them or another old geezer what they did? &nbsp;Many choose malls, libraries, etc. to be at during the day and someplace breezy for your rig at night. &nbsp;For me, I like finding a stream or lake or boat launch ramp to sit in for a bit whether or not I have the A/C running.

 

[She]

A couple of good fans(run on solar or&nbsp;rechargeable&nbsp;batteries)and a small dehumidifier? Talking about small like the EVA brand. The smallest is 22 watts and the bigger one is 75 watts.

 

[Les H]

In no way, shape or form should a rocket stove ( home made , tin can , cooking stove, or symtore bought version) be burned INSIDE a van, or any other e.closed area. No ned to reinvent the wheel here, either. The calculations have been done, and 1800 watts of battery bank would be to heavy and bulky to move around, unless you happen to be converting a large box van. Solar IS possible, but again, cost and size are limmiting , if not prohibitive , and thats just for the small 5000 btu window units, let alone a 10 or 13000 btu rooftop model. If you get a brand new roof unit installed at a rv dealer, it will be around a gran, or even more. A Honda 2000 generator will be around another grand, so not sure where $3k came from, but craigslist and ebay are only a fee keystrokes away. Its possible to have both for under a thousand. Other than that, think about some of the above suggestions involving shore power, moving with the seasons, parking in the shade, staying out of the vehicle during the heat of the day, etc. I dont have ac in the bus, not even dash ac, and i live in alabama. Painting the roof white and adding a roof vent lowered the inside temp by 20 degrees on the hottest days. It used to get 135 in there on a 100
Degree day. I can sit in the shade for a while untill it cools down some.

 

[offroad]

Les - so on 100 degree days you are only 80 degrees inside our van now, with the white roof, and the roof vent?&nbsp; Please confirm this.<br /><br />Thinking in a hot summer should find a nice mountain stream, to wade into and do some fishing for trout.&nbsp;

 

[Nemo]

A point no one has brought up, todays society doesnt seem to be very&nbsp;acquainted&nbsp;with it.. but when it comes right down to it, AC is a luxury... the house I grew up in, in the Az Desert, didnt have an air conditioner.. it was just part of dealing with summer.. &nbsp;But that seems to have gotten pushed to the side in our world these past few decades<img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br /><br />so you could do without it.. Park in the shade, Keep the doors open as much as possible, and like others said.. travel to cooler areas.<br /><br />

I am new. &nbsp;But help me understand. If I have an Air Conditioner I need electricity. Most RV sites will charge you $20 per day at least. So the months from April to October (half a year) you will be paying $600 per month for electric site.<br /><br />How is this an inexpensive life style? &nbsp;Air Conditioning is not cheap.&nbsp;<br /><br />Are swamp coolers, fans, propane air conditioners any competition to electric AC?&nbsp;

 

[blkjak]

South in the winter and either further north or higher elevation in the summer.<br />Bri

<br /><br />this is the solution .... blkjak

 

[angeli]

I'm in Florida, and in our first home here I used an old school bus as my art studio.&nbsp; It was parked under and between some live oaks so that it was always in the shade.&nbsp; I spent a lot of time in it in the summer because it was cooler than in the house with the clunker AC unit.&nbsp; Trees.