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Powering a Mint Split unit in an RV by solar and lithium batteries

snoobler said:
Aren't we getting pretty close to Will's solar shed here? That might be a good template for what works.
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I think Will's solar shed is one of the reference points that piques people's interest. I have watched his videos on the Air Conditioner portion, but have not researched all of the details. The climate is definitely extreme enough! For it to be a good parallel to a vehicle mounted system, the total panel area would need to be less than about 75% of the area you were trying to cool. There would need to be a fair number of windows on the shed and at least in my case, you'd need to avoid hanging blankets and such as part of the decor :)

I keep reminding myself that even though my RV is well insulated (for an RV) with double pane windows etc., On hot days, the existing power hungry roof AC still struggles to keep up until after the sun goes down. I can't imagine being able to attach enough solar generation and/or batteries to my RV to power that unit around the clock, and I have a bit of a hard time believing that a small mini-split, with less cooling capacity than the roof AC has, is going to magically be able to keep up with the cooling load either. Maybe mobile systems in hot climates are still out of reach, but we're getting closer....
 
cwstnsko said:
I think Will's solar shed is one of the reference points that piques people's interest. I have watched his videos on the Air Conditioner portion, but have not researched all of the details. The climate is definitely extreme enough! For it to be a good parallel to a vehicle mounted system, the total panel area would need to be less than about 75% of the area you were trying to cool. There would need to be a fair number of windows on the shed and at least in my case, you'd need to avoid hanging blankets and such as part of the decor :)

I keep reminding myself that even though my RV is well insulated (for an RV) with double pane windows etc., On hot days, the existing power hungry roof AC still struggles to keep up until after the sun goes down. I can't imagine being able to attach enough solar generation and/or batteries to my RV to power that unit around the clock, and I have a bit of a hard time believing that a small mini-split, with less cooling capacity than the roof AC has, is going to magically be able to keep up with the cooling load either. Maybe mobile systems in hot climates are still out of reach, but we're getting closer....
Click to expand...

Here is another well documented off grid person running a lot of stuff with a lot of solar panels and battery with extra power house trailer.

http://offgrid100.com/

It has data logger analysis of the solar and usage. Plus cold, hot, shady, and cloudy data. Please read the blog and technical articles to learn more. Not so much on youtube videos. Mainly blogs. It is like having a house for the trip without worries.
 
Archetype-IS said:
Here is another well documented off grid person running a lot of stuff with a lot of solar panels and battery with extra power house trailer.

http://offgrid100.com/

It has data logger analysis of the solar and usage. Plus cold, hot, shady, and cloudy data. Please read the blog and technical articles to learn more. Not so much on youtube videos. Mainly blogs. It is like having a house for the trip without worries.
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Cool website from the look of it.
 
FWIW my Fujitsu 240V split (ASTG09KMTC) is drawing about 167 watts right now in heating mode as it warms a room, outside is 16c, target inside is 25c. A decent unit doesn't use lot of power.
 
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That's maintaining 25°C, correct?

That's the benefit of an inverter-type unit where it can vary the power vs. being 100% ON or OFF.
 
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Yes, 25C. Once it gets there it will use even less power with the inside blower accounting for most of the draw (set to a fix speed rather than auto)
 
Nice. Eventual permanent dwelling in the high desert will have little need for A/C, but I envision a couple of these mini-split units as an option for optimal comfort.
 
Have you seen this video?

I would seriously consider a generator. You could power the mini split and charge during the hottest parts of the day. Look into a diesel heater when dealing with the cold.
 
vtx1029 said:
Have you seen this video?

I would seriously consider a generator. You could power the mini split and charge during the hottest parts of the day. Look into a diesel heater when dealing with the cold.
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Another cool video. Thanks for sharing. The diesel heater are the thing for campers for a while. If the car is already using diesel, you have spare fuel to use in the colder weathers. The ForestAir unit are cool for RVers. Just use more power compared to the others. Regardless, I would still pack a generator as a backup. You will never know. What if the battery bank is not working? Everyone is going electric stoves to cook nowadays. You have fuel for the car(if the same fuel types as the car), that could be use for the generator, or use the car to charge the battery via DC to DC charger.
 
It doesn't seem that unit can throttle the compressor load like the one in the other video .... but seems he has enough solar that it doesn't matter.
Not sure I like the way he routed the air from the condensor unit.
 
Bob B said:
It doesn't seem that unit can throttle the compressor load like the one in the other video .... but seems he has enough solar that it doesn't matter.
Not sure I like the way he routed the air from the condensor unit.
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The ForestAir unit is not a high SEER rated unit. It only has 8.8 SEER. No better than the windows air conditioner. The mini-split is just more efficient on running. Plus his Everlander has no windows like he first said in the video. Less heat from the sun. Good insulation.
 
Archetype-IS said:
The ForestAir unit is not a high SEER rated unit. It only has 8.8 SEER. No better than the windows air conditioner. The mini-split is just more efficient on running. Plus his Everlander has no windows like he first said in the video. Less heat from the sun. Good insulation.
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I'd rather have the windows .... with a high seer unit.
 
Bob B said:
I really. liked that Gone Boondocking video. With my Lance truck camper, if I removed the roof A/C and installed a mini split it would free up roof space for more solar and only use about 1/2 the power of my existing A/C unit. That might make it possible to boondock almost anywhere. The current roof A/C is not only taking up roof real estate, but also shading a significant area.

Very interesting that he is improving the efficiency even more by controlling the load by leaving it run all the time.
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I was thinking the exact same thing for my Lance. Usually we just move to a cooler place, but we've been stuck in hot areas a couple of times this trip and I wish I had some AC so I could work.

Lance 2014 992
2014 Ram 3500 DRW turbo diesel.
 
I wish that someone who has done this put out all the specs because it is so confusing. It's too much money to gamble on.
I saw some panels that were 195 watts and I believe I could get four on my roof and they are affordable. But the lithium batteries
might be the expensive part. But the site owner found some used medical batteries on the cheap.
The owner of this site did a small window ac but I wish he would do a split unit for a mobile install.
There is a real market for this if it can be done.
I need a cookbook method.
I can only imagine how nice it would be to be on the SC coast looking out the
windows with cold ac and no mosquitos with stealth style sound
 
Mini splits are getting pretty popular with skoolie builders and dwellers. If you search around on Skoolie.net (see here) there are a handful of posts on it, and more than a handful of people who have installed mini-splits in their buses, a few of which power them completely off of solar/batteries. The discussion over there is a bit less tech savvy, but there are some smart people, and a good amount of people with real world experience.
 
Michael B Caro said:
I have been running a mini-split in my bus for 3 years and instling a second one tomorrow.
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Nice (y) what size and SEER rating? Is your solar system able to keep up, or do you use a generator or other source to compensate?
 
Dzl said:
Nice (y) what size and SEER rating? Is your solar system able to keep up, or do you use a generator or other source to compensate?
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12K btu, inverter technology, heat pump, Air Con mini-split. I think this one is a 16 seer. The one I am putting in now is a the same but is a 20 seer made by Daizuki. I was running with 4 6v trojan L16's but I am now just in the process of switching over to a LifePo4 battery 24v battery bank. The L16's would do ok and but I am not sure if my 6 solar panels would have/will keep up or not because I never tried keeping the batteries topped up with just solar. I can also charge when hooked to shore power, have a 4K generator that can charge the house batteries, and have the bus cabled to charge the batteries off the alternator via the start batteries when running down the road.
 
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Alternative there are Inverter Window A/C Units starting to get into the Market.
www.midea.com

8,000 BTU U-shaped Air Conditioner White MAW08V1QWT | Midea - Make yourself at home

Introducing the first ever U-shaped Inverter Window Air Conditioner that allows you to open or close your window while the unit is installed.
www.midea.com www.midea.com

Which depending on the Setup (Van) might be easier to install.
I'm cooling a heavy insulated Chevy Express Hightop Van with a regular 6000 BTU Window Unit.

Looking into how much Solar I would need to run it.
Have you guys ever plugged your Units into a power-meter- kill a watt and measured how much it needs over a day?
 
HMMM ...That's an interesting unit .... but it looks like it may still not be as efficient as the high seer split units.

The energy sticker on that shows a 15.0 "combined energy effeciency ratio." Does anybody know if that is the same as a seer rating?

It would sure be nice if they would stick to some standard terminology when rating these things.
 
It's only one of many window units with inverter. LG makes one, as well as others.

I agree they are probably not as efficient as a split unit. But people in vans don't have the space most of the time for a external condenser unit.

So the choice is between a 9-11 seer regular window unit or a 15 seer inverter drive unit. You just can not add a 23 seer unit to a van. I got one for my garage. The outside unit is huge. Not heavy but high volume
 
That unit is interesting, but the mini-split is a lot quieter than 42 decibels, and has the advantage of being available in heat pump version.
 
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