Solar setup needed to run RV AC 13,500BTU

Supervstech · Oct 4, 2019

Craigslist may have used minis.
my supply house sells scratch and dent minis regularly.
I got a nice 12K unit for 450...
patience gets results also.
Another question for the OP.
Is the ac needing full time use, or just peak cooling or something?

Ceefiveceefive · Oct 5, 2019

After tons of research including much advice from here, I have decided this is the route I am going! The gentleman in this video has used his minisplit sucessfully for a year now in his medium / large sized RV. It can be done with proper preparation and selection of systems.
I will have to reinsulate my entire RV. It is a big project but I do have some expertise in the area thank goodness. I believe this route will work for my needs as they will be close to needing A/C 24/7 when I am working in the southern US during the spring, summer, and fall months.

bwalendy · Oct 5, 2019

Ceefiveceefive said:
I will have to reinsulate my entire RV. It is a big project but I do have some expertise in the area thank goodness. I believe this route will work for my needs as they will be close to needing A/C 24/7 when I am working in the southern US during the spring, summer, and fall months.

Excellent idea to re-insulate your RV. So many manufacturers are derelict in this area. Good reasons for your decisions and good luck.

Ceefiveceefive · Oct 5, 2019

Here is the part 2 "redo" to the first mini split video where he gives more info and clarifications.

Ceefiveceefive · Oct 5, 2019

bwalendy said:
Excellent idea to re-insulate your RV. So many manufacturers are derelict in this area. Good reasons for your decisions and good luck.

Thanks!
I will be making a step by step and posting it for others to learn from when I'm done. Maybe point out where I went wrong! Lol

RogerD · Oct 5, 2019

He recently put out a second video as well. I commented on the second video asking for details about the actual power consumption that he is seeing. He never responded.

My gripe about the videos is he never talks about the temp the unit is set to and amps or watts used based on ambient temp. I can't justify spending $1000 - $1500 on mini-split without having an idea of how it actually performs so that I can compare it against my 5K window unit.

However, since you have a 27 ft trailer, it is likely the most efficient way to go.

Reinsulating an RV is a huge task!!! I currently just have an extended chevy express van. I'm selling it and getting a box truck and will convert it. I will insulate all surfaces with 3" of Polyiso, which will give me 20.3 R-value.

Supervstech · Oct 5, 2019

RogerD said:
He recently put out a second video as well. I commented on the second video asking for details about the actual power consumption that he is seeing. He never responded.

My gripe about the videos is he never talks about the temp the unit is set to and amps or watts used based on ambient temp. I can't justify spending $1000 - $1500 on mini-split without having an idea of how it actually performs so that I can compare it against my 5K window unit.

However, since you have a 27 ft trailer, it is likely the most efficient way to go.

Reinsulating an RV is a huge task!!! I currently just have an extended chevy express van. I'm selling it and getting a box truck and will convert it. I will insulate all surfaces with 3" of Polyiso, which will give me 20.3 R-value.

Ya near NC? I’m selling my 04 express box truck...

cheap.

Ceefiveceefive · Oct 5, 2019

RogerD said:
He recently put out a second video as well. I commented on the second video asking for details about the actual power consumption that he is seeing. He never responded.

My gripe about the videos is he never talks about the temp the unit is set to and amps or watts used based on ambient temp. I can't justify spending $1000 - $1500 on mini-split without having an idea of how it actually performs so that I can compare it against my 5K window unit.

However, since you have a 27 ft trailer, it is likely the most efficient way to go.

Reinsulating an RV is a huge task!!! I currently just have an extended chevy express van. I'm selling it and getting a box truck and will convert it. I will insulate all surfaces with 3" of Polyiso, which will give me 20.3 R-value.

Im also going with Polyiso to get the high R value.
Yes, it is a HUGE task to say the least. I look at it as therapy, lol. One step closer to getting on the road full-time. I actually don't mind projects.

I posted the second video as you replied with this. I know he did say in his videos he aplogises for not responding to everyone like he wanted to. If I recall, he did mention the average comfortable temp he kept his class C at was in the low 80's. In this last video you can see the mini was set to or at 74 degrees and the killowatt was reading somewhere in the 200 range? Ill have to go back and check.

Ceefiveceefive · Oct 5, 2019

Ceefiveceefive said:
Im also going with Polyiso to get the high R value.
Yes, it is a HUGE task to say the least. I look at it as therapy, lol. One step closer to getting on the road full-time. I actually don't mind projects.

I posted the second video as you replied with this. I know he did say in his videos he aplogises for not responding to everyone like he wanted to. If I recall, he did mention the average comfortable temp he kept his class C at was in the low 80's. In this last video you can see the mini was set to or at 74 degrees and the killowatt was reading somewhere in the 200 range? Ill have to go back and check.

At the end of the last video it showed the mini set at 74 degrees with the Kill O Watt meter reading at 280 Watts.

eXodus · Oct 28, 2021

Dometic starting selling a 120v AC - Inverter type Roof A/C unit

RV Air Conditioners | Powerful, Quiet, Polished

Upgrade your RV comfort with smart design and powerful performance. Dometic Air Conditioners offer innovation, comfort, & sustainability wherever you roam.

www.dometic.com

Only available in Europe so far. But usually we get the stuff from Europe 2-3 years later in the states.

RandyP · Mar 10, 2022

Dalton Bourne said:
To upgrade a solar RV requires a certain amount of solar energy. I use the appliance energy approach to determine my RV's solar requirements and see how much solar I need for my RV? All electrical equipment has an energy rating expressed in watts and amps. You'll want to check each device's watt-hour rating and list them down. Next, it is important to determine how many hours you plan to operate each piece of equipment. Multiply each appliance's wattage rating by the number of hours the device will be in use.

"You'll want to check each device's watt-hour rating and list them down."
Appliances do not have watt-hour ratings, they have watt ratings.....

Supervstech · Mar 10, 2022

RandyP said:
"You'll want to check each device's watt-hour rating and list them down."
Appliances do not have watt-hour ratings, they have watt ratings.....

Many devices list watthour labels water heaters, refrigerators etc…

chrisski · Mar 10, 2022

Most electric equipment I brought recently does not have a watt rating. Big things might. Perhaps those yellow energy efficiency stickers are required after a certain wattage.

RandyP · Mar 10, 2022

Supervstech said:
Many devices list watthour labels water heaters, refrigerators etc…

Please post just one image of such a devices labeling please.

Supervstech · Mar 11, 2022

RandyP said:
Please post just one image of such a devices labeling please.

gelmjw · Mar 11, 2022

@ronm69
My TT is 17ft. Last June&July, I made a round trip from Oklahoma City to the SW Florida Coast near Punta Gorda. About half of that was dry-camping on solar, battery, and genny. There was a hurricane that hindered solar for a while.

I had a six year old 24V 4800Wh AGM battery bank with 410W solar and a Yamaha 2000W inverter to run an 11,000BTU A/C which consumes 1000W running.

I only used the A/C for overnight sleeping. That consumed around 2400Wh nightly, or 50% capacity. When setting up camp at EOD, the genny was used to pre-cool the TT and add some charge to carry A/C through the night.

No daytime A/C.

You will need a much larger system.

RandyP · Mar 11, 2022

Supervstech said:
View attachment 86874

Yep, that's the Estimated Yearly Electrical Use sticker required to be on some appliances by the government.
Definitely not the electrical specs for the appliance.
Typically Specs include electrical appliance
Voltage
Amp
and Watt
ratings.
-The specs can be used to do a power Audit of your RV Electrical System usage and size the Electrical System components properly.
-The label you posted is used to compare appliances and select the most efficient appliance you can afford for your use.

4thHorseman · Mar 11, 2022

My only suggestion is this. Coming mid 2022 (Yes, this is actually being produced by xponetpower)

Screen-Shot-2021-11-09-at-6.03.01-AM-1024x882.png

Supervstech · Mar 11, 2022

RandyP said:
Yep, that's the Estimated Yearly Electrical Use sticker required to be on some appliances by the government.
Definitely not the electrical specs for the appliance.
Typically Specs include electrical appliance
Voltage
Amp
and Watt
ratings.
-The specs can be used to do a power Audit of your RV Electrical System usage and size the Electrical System components properly.
-The label you posted is used to compare appliances and select the most efficient appliance you can afford for your use.

Yes...
This is an average usage Wh label.
Needed to approximately calculate bank sizing.
Only way to know EXACTLY what you use is to measure it.

RandyP · Mar 11, 2022

Supervstech said:
Yes...
This is an average usage Wh label.
Needed to approximately calculate bank sizing.
Only way to know EXACTLY what you use is to measure it.

Yea, measure it for a spell with a (Kill-O-Watt) meter device at appliance 110v cable plugin point. Then think and speculate, like we all must do to complete an energy audit. The public average yearly KWH use of an appliance does not reflect your use at all. That's why we all have to do our individual energy use audits to make our system match our planned use.
About the only things you would find energy use data on in an RV would be the refrigerator (if its a house model), the electric water heater (if it is a home model). I do not think the feds require 'yearly energy use data' postings on RV appliances, but could be wrong there.

What to do with the microwave, toaster, coffee maker, flat screen TV. They typically do not include appliance yearly energy use data. I would suggest getting each piece of equipments wattage rating and guestimate its hours of operation pre day. Watts x Hours = Watt Hours planned to use.
Here's a good energy audit tool :

System Energy Audit and Sizing Spread Sheet

To get the spreadsheet, click on the orange button at the top of this page. This sheet is intended to help you plan your system. Fill it out down to the last decimal place, look at the results..... and then make your best guess;) Notes...

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