mght be of interest for those in need of ac

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The specs say 1100 BTU, 150w max, runs off of 12v, weighs 14 pounds.

Neat little unit but 50 Sq ft isn't going to do much more than give you a cool breeze and not much of one either. Look how close the kid gets to it to get his hair to move, not much fan there. Like any portable it has a hose to expel the hot exhaust and that hose gets hot. So keep it as close to the exit as possible.

Efficiency wise it is not comparable to a efficient window shaker that produces another 4100 BTU with just a extra 260w but it isn't 12v.
 
I saw that couple days ago before the kickstarter release. I also ran across this unit, while not 12 volt or energeny efficient I thought space wise this was pretty neat. http://www.noriahome.com/a-revolution-in-home-comfort

I wanna keep an eye out on the Zero Breeze before tossing down that much cash. Would be neat if it is a possible solution.
 
In an enclosed space that silly little a/c will end up heating up the space.  An A/C unit pumps out significantly more heat out it's heat side than the cold it pumps out the other side.   

A cheap $100 window style A/C unit will effectively out perform that silly little a/c by a nearly infinite margin than the unit in question as it will actually cool an enclosed space rather than heat it up.  By dumping the heat of the heat radiating external coils, the fan motor and the compressor to the outside of the enclosed space that it is cooling the window A/C will actually provide the expected.
 
The only thing better than a window unit is a mini split but they are expensive.

I had thought of making a coffin cooler for sleeping.   Essentially something like this 1100 BTU dc compressor unit (maybe a Danfoss refrig compressor) but it would cool a insulated "coffin" that you sleep in with your head sticking out.  Something where you could sleep comfortably in 90 degree temperatures while only consuming 50 watts or so per hour.  Good for a van which already has a tight sleeping arrangement anyway.
 
IGBT said:
The only thing better than a window unit is a mini split but they are expensive.

When you consider the cost of separate heat and cooling units some mini splits cost less.  For example some similar units are being installed in tiny houses and RVs:

https://www.amazon.com/Ductless-Con...1_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WBB2ZDJD9M957NP6020T

I have no clue how they are being hooked up as I'm not an electrician but I've seen a couple of bumper and back deck mounted units now so somehow they are making them work. When there's a will...
 
im wavering on the mini split or the portable two hose ac right now for my van. the portable will be a nicer looking hidden install but less efficent and heat pump only works down to 40 degrees instead of closer to 0. probably go with the mini split, will have plenty of solar to run it.
 
That's the most hipster doodad since the pimped up beer cooler.
 
AngryVanMan said:
 probably go with the mini split, will have plenty of solar to run it.

How much solar will you have, and what are the specs on the mini you're looking at?

I pretty much ruled out mini-splits as a viable option because the only units downsized enough to run off solar were very expensive, specialty units. Most were just like the one linked above, 9k btu, 220v units that's suck batteries dry fast as can blink...
 
9k, 120v, 23 seer, might get a 27 seer if i can find a 230v inverter i like. great thing with the inverter drive and the hi efficiency, from 2700-11000 btu/hr cooling based on demand, uses 2/3 power of best window model, about half what a portable use to cool the same space to the same temp. thats the grees from hd, theres better ones out there too

solar not sure on the final numbers yet, extended van + occasional trailer
 
in another month everybody is going to be talking heaters and AC will be forgotten for another 5 months at least. highdesertranger
 
AngryVanMan said:
 uses 2/3 power of best window model


Not sure I agree with that, but certainly open to more information. A couple of examples of why I don't think these units can get as low energy usage as a 440 watt window unit:

1) it's difficult to find nominal amp rating on many mini-splits, but where you do see it, it rates around 10amps, which seems to include the needs of both interior and exterior pieces. So at 220v that would be 2200 watts correct? And even if it were only half that, say 5 amps, wouldn't that still be 1100 watts?

2) Even a specially designed for off-grid, soft-starting DC mini split at it's lowest setting still draws 500 watts...and I believe the thing costs about $2000. It's actually pretty sweet and I'd buy it if money was no issue, but paid under $200 for my window unit.  Hot Spot DC Mini Split

So while I get that 12 SEER isn't as good as 20 SEER, I don't know how that translates into real world power usage numbers...but it just seems that the 220v splits are so high with nominal wattage that it doesn't seem possible to make up for that with efficiency..?
 
hi brad, yes watts are not a measure of efficiency just a measure of power requirements, only reason we need it is to size wire, breakers, inverter. seer is our efficiency measure, its btu/wh, so 12 seer moves 12 btus for 1 watt-hour energy, 20 seer moves 20 btus per 1 watt-hour.
 
BradKW said:
Even a specially designed for off-grid, soft-starting DC mini split at it's lowest setting still draws 500 watts...and I believe the thing costs about $2000. It's actually pretty sweet and I'd buy it if money was no issue, but paid under $200 for my window unit.  Hot Spot DC Mini Split

While that unit is good, it is not the most efficient mini-split unit available. This one is: http://www.geinnovations.net/HSAC_Productline.html

Yep, it costs around $2k but only draws 560 watts to produce 12,000 BTUs of cooling. But since the rotary compressor is scalable, (it slows down drawing less power after your space is cool) when you only need 5,000 BTUs of cooling (like a small window unit produces) it draws less than 300 watts. Plus that 440 watt 110v a/c powered window unit needs a 1,000 watt PSW inverter to power it. At best they are 90% efficient (in the $300+ range) the cheaper inverters (in the $150 range - 50% more than your window unit) are around 85% efficient meaning you will be drawing about 520 watts from your battery bank.

If on a budget, the window AC and an inverter is the way to go for only $250 vs $2,000. But that is only part of the cost. You will need about 8 GC-2 golf cart batteries to power the referenced HSAC-12C/C overnight (if that is your goal) at a minimum cost (from Sams) of $85 x 8 = $680 (plus the core charge if applicable for a total of about $800 + tax. Then you need to calculate your charging requirements for both. If using solar, here's a good chart: http://www.geinnovations.net/solar_panels_required.html . Remember you will need enough solar to both power the AC by day and recharge your batteries for running all night too. Then you need to consider oversizing them a little to account for cloud cover. So according to the chart you would need about 950 watts of solar to run the referenced HSAC-12C/C for 8hrs at night (assuming 5 hrs of sunlight). You would need more than this for your small window AC.

However if you only need to run your AC for a few hours in the peak of the afternoon heat and a few hrs at night to cool things off inside, then you can reduce your battery and solar requirements by half.

I'm planning on full-timing in a Class A in a couple years when I retire and spending most of my time off the grid in warmer climes, so I'm planning on installing a system like I described for cooling off the bedroom at night. With about 1,500 watts of solar I could run it day and night, partially cooling the RV during the day, (as much as its 12,000 BTU output can do), as long as the ambient temp doesn't go north of 85 degrees. I'm planning on 1,740 watts of solar - four 435 watt Sun Power E-20 panels, providing plenty of power for my other needs too. We can always huddle in the bedroom with the door closed to cool off when needed, moving to higher elevations seasonally, as Class A's burn much more fuel moving than an economical van that many of you use. I also can use my RVs onboard generator to run my other AC during peak daytime heat and recharge my batteries when faced with several days in a row of nasty weather. True a system like this will be expensive (I'm budgeting around $5k), but it should easily pay for itself in under 2 years in campground fees and electricity costs. $300/month avg. in a campground (If one could accomplish such a feat) is $3,600/yr, plus another $100/mo avg. in electricity usage means my solar ac system would save $4,800/yr paying for itself very quickly. If the batteries only last around 3 years (my biggest recurring expense) then they would average only about $20/month, and that's easy enough to budget for, even when living off of my DW and my modest social security checks.

Another thing to consider is that the high-efficiency mini-split referenced is also a heat pump, sparing propane use in cool weather (I don't plan on going where it freezes, as I'm used to Louisiana weather) saving not only the cost of propane but reducing the trips into town to replenish my supply.

Food for thought.

Chip
 
OK, I thought I was going to build a crazy big system, but it seems that I'm not nearly as ambitious as this dude:

That's an insane 7KW solar system on an RV!

Chip
 
On the mini A/C, it says will cool down to 44 degrees. That leads me to think this is one of those electronic coolers that are not very efficient. They don't work all that well in a cooler, so I think in a room they would be worthless.
 
Here's a new high-efficiency portable AC I found that might be of interest to some.

https://www.practicalpreppers.com/o...units/climax-v12-portable-ac-unit-detail-view

It runs off 120v and uses the same rotary compressor technology as the high-efficiency mini-splits do, so produces scalable cooling with no start-up power surge (so a smaller inverter can be used.) At $900 it is more expensive than a 1 ton window unit but less than a typical mini-split. It is unique in that it uses a dual air hose design to help make it 50% more efficient, using 1/2 the electricity of a typical window AC. They claim it can save up to 72% electricity under certain hot weather conditions.

Chip
 
Impressive. I think I might go for this.

The start up watts at 1100 would eat into my bank for a while but that would be replaced as the unit dropped down to 300w after that. My system is designed to run the window shaker during peak sun, it pulls 450w so I would be able to run the portable even later in the day. On the other hand the window shaker has a ultra brief start up surge, it starts out running at 350w and works it's way up to 450w under pressure. I can start it and run it straight off the bank for a while before the portable would compensate for the early high running wattage with the slower compressor.

On the plus side it is nearly three times the BTU output of the window shaker. It really struggled to keep the trailer in the low 80's when sitting in the sun on a 95 degree day. Humidity really cuts into its cooling abilities so the extra BTU's would be nice.

The other thing that would be nice is not having to move it. The window shaker has to be taken in and out for travel. It's not hard to do if you are allowed to, I am not. I could put this up against a wall and run the hoses straight through. I wouldn't get the heat off the hose that was a issue with the other portables I've used.
 
DannyB1954 said:
On the mini A/C, it says will cool down to 44 degrees. That leads me to think this is one of those electronic coolers that are not very efficient. They don't work all that well in a cooler, so I think in a room they would be worthless.

I thought the same. But according to the FAQ and video, It uses a small rotary compressor and R134a, so it is true mechanical cooling. I figure You could flip the thing around and use it to heat as well when it is no colder than 50 degrees out side.

Not a bad little unit.
 

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