Prius AC in a Van, and other ideas

[vanvanvanvan123]

Hey Aim, thank you for taking a friendly aim at my problems.
As it stands, I do not know how to resolve these wants or needs
not much above 70 degrees nor much below it... I am an older dude, and temp sensitivity seems to become an issue as some of us age! 78 degrees couped up in a van sounds like a punishment to me!
So lets say 75 max ! Colder temps suggest being wrapped up for long periods in thick blankets... that is actually inconvenient but not torturous.

noise in the van is really a drag.
my snoring or whatever noises I might inadvertently make, being heard outside is eventual grounds for being "discovered" in an unceremonious manner!

The Prius controls temps best but is so small, and privacy is nil, and zero noise control inside or outside the vehicle.. so many strikes against it... it seems like cargo van, vented, is best.

But again Cargo van has temp issue, any ideas are welcome.
How old a van is acceptable? Too old is an eye sore+ equals poor stealth in city/ urban lower income area where I am apt to live.
Too much GAS to travel to outskirts. And I think blending in with many cars is stealthier, BUT noise factor is an issue. DO you know that hearing, enduring noise takes YEARS ( I have heard 7 years.. an approx ) off your life span? SO this is a very relevant issue.

To summarize my rambling above
noise insulation ?
temperature insulation ?
Thank you for music suggestions, what kind of a hat ought I toss into the ring -)

Thank you Sir

 

[Lucky mike]

if you dont mind traveling for it there are several older class B type vans in florida with Generators /Air/ bathroom already in them for short money......that would keep you in the van mode but all the comforts of home........I have bought several in the last 2 years for resale purposes and hauled them up into New england and sold them ......something to think about

 

[AimlessWanderLust]

Indeed noise will always be an issue. When we lived in apartments we would still hear the neighbors TV or large trucks drive by outside. When visiting relatives in sticks and bricks houses, we can still hear trash trucks and kids playing out on the street while inside... noise is hard to eliminate even in traditional housing.

A good set of ear plugs (if you can get used to them) are about the best thing I can think of. Unless your snoring is as loud as a Harley-Davidson, I doubt the sound would carry very far outside of the vehicle, but if it does, park in a particularly noisy part of town with an even better pair of ear plugs, perhaps?

 

[Zil]

You almost answered your question. Living in a van requires compromising our "comfort". Living stealth in a van is even more compromising of our "comfort". As stealth van dwellers we can't expect too much.
The CO2 will be about the same at the ceiling as the floor. CO and CO2, while differing in molecular weight than some of the gasses in Air, mix into the atmosphere and disperse uniformly. once the O2 level is about 16% you in trouble. CO will kill you at very low % levels.
Your CO detector should be about 3 to 4 foot from floor.

 

[vanvanvanvan123]

The Prius heat/AC system still runs the gas motor. It just uses the hybrid battery system to allow the gas motor to cycle on and off. The same thing could be accomplished with a large battery that can charge fast, and a automatic way to cycle a standard generator.

Back in 2014 I had no idea how forums work. And I’m still new at it. All that to say I’m sorry I didn’t hit the like button

Are you suggesting the Prius system could be duplicated ( in terms of cool air comfort during the night ) in another vehicle ?? Some AC when Hot Temps
Is something I value . But I don’t value it enough to live in an apt with high electric bills !

 

[bullfrog]

Energy costs money. Grid electricity that is provided to a house is one of the cheapest. A small well insulated space is easier to heat and cool. A small well insulated van sized space in an apartment using a 5,000 BTU window air conditioner is most likely the cheapest solution. A Prius gasoline engine is able to run an automotive air conditioner which it comes with or can generate electricity as cheaply or cheaper than most portable generators. If modified to run a 3,000 watt inverter it could easily power a 5,000 BTU window air conditioner which could be used to cool a well insulated small trailer, tent or van. I had considered towing a Prius on a car trailer to use as a generator for my motor home while traveling as well as use the Prius for transportation when the motorhome was parked two weeks at a time to camp.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Are you suggesting the Prius system could be duplicated ( in terms of cool air comfort during the night ) in another vehicle ?? Some AC when Hot Temps is something I value . But I don’t value it enough to live in an apt with high electric bills !

Prius engineers did it so anyone with the knowledge, determination, time, and money can duplicate it. As bullfrog said above the cheapest way to run an air conditioner is off of shore power.

 

[BlueMarkOhio]

This thread is back after an 8 year nap!

I've been researching the options for Prius like climate control in vans.

In the Prius climate control system, the AC and heat run off of electricity instead of the gas engine since it has an all-electric drive train and the gas engine is only used as a generator to power up the drive batteries. Toyota uses an Atkinson Cycle gasoline engine, a high-efficiency design optimized for generators and not suitable for direct power to the wheels like an Otto cycle ICE.

I know of two hybrid vans with similar setups (there are probably more).

The Toyota Sienna Hybrid van is basically a big Prius with an Atkinson gas engine that only comes on when the drive battery needs to be topped up.

The Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid also has an Atkinson gas engine. Its larger drive battery can run in pure electric mode for 30 some miles without needing the gas engine to kick in - so it should be able to go longer in camper mode at night before the engine would have to wake up and top off the batteries.

One problem with the Pacifica is that if it is "on" but not driven for 30 minutes or so it will turn itself and climate control off. There is a DIY workaround to give the Pacifica all night camper mode just like the Prius here:

https://relentlessoptimizer.com/pacifica/circuit/
Since these hybrids will need to turn on their gas engines periodically they aren't suitable for stealth camping, but Atkinson cycle engines are pretty quiet as long as the exhaust system is in good nick, they should be OK in many campgrounds, parking lots, etc. It may be possible to quiet them even more by adding some sound deadening to the engine compartment.

 

[thetundrawolf]

I delved into this a few months ago, as the Prius system is ingenious, and very efficient.

However, the main reason it will not adapt to vanlife (Unless you have a 400V battery stowed somewhere) is that depending on year, it ran on anything from 377 to upwards of 400 volts. The motor is a three phase brushless type, which is good, but it also relies on sophisticated sensors and circuitry that are "part of other modules in the vehicle" that would require a LOT of space (Did I also mention the 300lb battery? And finding 400V charging stations in the desert) Granted, you could rewire the motor for 12VDC three phase, and run your own system, but then that's assuming the compressor mechanism isn't "Geared" for that voltage/current/3 phase controller. That said, if it were proven it could be done, it would be an AMAZING benefit for #vanlife people. If you vary the speed of the compressor, it also falls under the "Variable speed inverter" marketing, lol.

Edit: If someone were to accomplish rewiring of the Prius compressor motor, and using even the most common (cheap) control module, you would have complete control of your environment, by specifying the motor turn slower, or faster depending on your needs, drawing less current, and probably being at most, 40 (maybe 50 if you're willing to be slightly miserable lol but slightly is better than VERY, especially with summer before us...) percent more efficient than "Just a regular air conditioner", rather than cooling you air like a fridge. "Conserve it so you don't lose it when you need it most" type of thing for those of us who are on batteries.

Well, until then, there are other options: https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Con...ocphy=1013962&hvtargid=pla-1654935291024&th=1

The compressor for this system is around $300 new. Apparently, they are pretty popular in Europe, maybe it's time for them to be popular here, too? The only thing keeping me from owning one already is, I don't know enough about them.

 

[AmargosaWayne]

"the power consumption is about 750W, the current battery demand is about 75A"

We need more batteries and solar panels! Stat!

 

[Tundrawolf]

"the power consumption is about 750W, the current battery demand is about 75A"

We need more batteries and solar panels! Stat!

Like everything compressor air conditioned, that's with compressor at full speed, all fans on, etc, may only draw this on and off for a few hours until the space is cool.

The thing that draws me to it, is I am bypassing a 10 percent drop of efficiency of an inverter, to run what is likely a fixed speed compressor that probably isn't as efficient as a 3 phase DC motor design, so as far as power draw is concerned, this DC setup should be much easier on our batteries, without spending a small fortune on air conditioning. Also it can be upgraded to be a heat pump, so it can also serve as a heater in the winter, which I thought was very cool