Has anyone looked into this setup yet?
http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/USA/Truck/HVAC-Solutions/109711/?productdataid=92539
http://www.dometic.com/enus/Americas/USA/Truck/HVAC-Solutions/109711/?productdataid=92539
Truck Cab A/C
- Thread starter MattK
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peacetara
Well-known member
Look at the draw, 8-12 amps!
Here it talks about the number of batteries needed, and the runtime..
http://www.dometic.com/enus/America...ery-Powered-HVAC-Guide/Specifying-The-System/
so for a single 8hr sleep session, you need 8 AGM 31 (100 aH each), so you need 800aH of battery for 8hrs of run-time (at only 60% runtime!). 800aH of battery is a LOT of battery.. not to mention how to charge that much battery.. your little alternator in a pickup/van would take 100's of hours of runtime(not actually calculated), and the solar panels required to charge that would be crazy as well.
so sure, it *CAN* be done, but holy smacks it's not remotely cheap!
batteries alone: 8 x $250 (list price is $300/ea) = $2,000 that's 550 lbs of battery you have to find room for....
Not for the faint of heart or wallet!
Bottom line.. sure you *CAN* run an AC system in your van off of battery, but it's not remotely easy or practical. it's way cheaper and more practical to just move to a cooler location (i.e. go camp on top of a mountain or next to an ocean).
With Love,
Tara
Here it talks about the number of batteries needed, and the runtime..
http://www.dometic.com/enus/America...ery-Powered-HVAC-Guide/Specifying-The-System/
so for a single 8hr sleep session, you need 8 AGM 31 (100 aH each), so you need 800aH of battery for 8hrs of run-time (at only 60% runtime!). 800aH of battery is a LOT of battery.. not to mention how to charge that much battery.. your little alternator in a pickup/van would take 100's of hours of runtime(not actually calculated), and the solar panels required to charge that would be crazy as well.
so sure, it *CAN* be done, but holy smacks it's not remotely cheap!
batteries alone: 8 x $250 (list price is $300/ea) = $2,000 that's 550 lbs of battery you have to find room for....
Not for the faint of heart or wallet!
Bottom line.. sure you *CAN* run an AC system in your van off of battery, but it's not remotely easy or practical. it's way cheaper and more practical to just move to a cooler location (i.e. go camp on top of a mountain or next to an ocean).
With Love,
Tara
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I'm very impressed with that page you found Tara, it is one of the most practical and realistic evaluations of AC from batteries I've ever seen.
I'd say if you have 1000 watts of solar, super-insulated your rig (3 inches of polyiso = R18) and had 8 golf carts, you might could get away with it. But you are talking about a lot of money, probably $5000.
Of course a trucker can just idle his rig and he runs all day anyway so for him it becomes pretty realistic.
Bob
I'd say if you have 1000 watts of solar, super-insulated your rig (3 inches of polyiso = R18) and had 8 golf carts, you might could get away with it. But you are talking about a lot of money, probably $5000.
Of course a trucker can just idle his rig and he runs all day anyway so for him it becomes pretty realistic.
Bob
peacetara
Well-known member
Stuffing 1000 watts of solar onto a VAN would be a pretty neat trick all by itself I think. (I haven't bothered to do the measurements, but I imagine it would be a tight fit if even possible)
I think $5k would be a very low number and only include parts.
I think $5k would be a very low number and only include parts.
Zil
Well-known member
No magic there. Just a 120 volt air conditioner running off an inverter. Heavy drain on the battery banks.
highdesertranger
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these are made for semis, where the weight of the system isn't really an issue. most of the truckers using them go with the aux power supply. which is really just a diesel generator. I don't know if they have all the bugs worked out of these yet, last I heard they were having lots of trouble with them. highdesertranger
I guess the economics work out for commercial road tractors. Plus states have been restricting truck idling and the major carriers are investing in these battery systems. I drove for 7 years in the 90's for a company that severely limited idling. A system like this would have been a dream come true. Sleeping in a cabover around the east coast in the summer is something I wouldn't do to my worst enemy. It felt like torture.
Here's some (somewhat dated) info on this topic if anyone besides me is interested. I can't help but dream that a smaller more efficient system might trickle down to the rv market. An auxiliary alternator like ambulances use would be required for sure and obviously it would be geared more for a vehicle that travels rather then sits the majority of the time.
Cold is easy but A/C is a real challenge for the eastern summer stealth crowd. Humidity is hell I want to retire in the west for sure someday.
www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/418.pdf
Here's some (somewhat dated) info on this topic if anyone besides me is interested. I can't help but dream that a smaller more efficient system might trickle down to the rv market. An auxiliary alternator like ambulances use would be required for sure and obviously it would be geared more for a vehicle that travels rather then sits the majority of the time.
Cold is easy but A/C is a real challenge for the eastern summer stealth crowd. Humidity is hell I want to retire in the west for sure someday.
www.transportation.anl.gov/pdfs/TA/418.pdf
