sepisllib
Cresco, Iowa
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Joined: 12/05/2004
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On a different thread there was one poster stating that "solar" powering air conditioners were the coming thing.
Guess I have questions as to what they are, who they are, how big is the solor panels, capacity of the air conditioners and etc.
On my coach I have found that the dark color of the paint causes it to soak up the sun's heat very fast. On some bright sunny days it's all the roof AC's can do (and there are 2 of them) to keep it relatively cool inside.
I cannot fathom a "solar" powered AC system having that capacity.
I am aware of a small 12 volt powered AC system being offered to truckers as an "auxillary" cooling system that can be used to maintain coolness when they are parked - this allows for the truck diesel engine to be shut off and still be able to sleep comfortably. This system uses a large deep cycle battery bank that is recharged then when driving. I believe it will operate the AC for 8 hours with no problem.
Interesting
God Bless
Bill
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mike4947
N. Syracuse, NY
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First thing is to paint the roof white. You can do it so it's not visable from the ground and save a hugh amout of solar increase in BTU's.
We've had several of our full timers and snowbirds spend thousands on full body dark paint only to find their two AC units no longer keep the coaches comfortable. Several added a third AC unit and some painted the roof white and both solutions worked.
If anyone has a link to any of the "12 volt air conditioners" please post.
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Chris Bryant
DeLand, Florida, USA
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Joined: 03/26/2003
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Here's a couple-
http://www.dcairco.com/
http://www.dcbreeze.com/
The second one is a marine unit- needs water for the condenser.
-- Chris Bryant
My RV Service Blog
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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Also, it's a 5,000 BTU unit, I'd need three of them to replace one of my two heat pumps. Doesn't sound like a viable solution to me!!
Deen - Vancouver, WA
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sepisllib
Cresco, Iowa
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My roof is, and always has been, white. I am positive that this helps a lot too. Last summer I painted the AC shrouds white too - they had been painted the Burgandy.
The rest of the coach - well you can see. It literally "soaks" up the heat. If I ever buy a different coach it WILL be a light color.
God Bless
Bill
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david_42
Oregon
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All too often, solar-powered "air conditioning" is nothing more than an evaporative cooler or an ice box. If you've got 26,000 BTU of A/C on your RV, you'll need more photovoltaic panels than you have roof. That dcbreeze unit needs 600 watts for 5000 BTU and that's with the advantage of water-cooling for the condenser. A top-end A/C unit runs about 4KW for 2-tons. A typical solar panel is 150-200 watts, so 20-30 panels perfectly positioned.
Just doesn't work.
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sepisllib
Cresco, Iowa
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Yeah - I agree.
My thoughts are to just keep my roof white - park in the best shade possible and keep my roof AC's running. Both of them work really well but they are not rapid start systems. Once you turn them on they take a little while to reach their peak cool air output.
When the temp outside begins to reach into the high 80's our coach needs the roof air working - even when driving down the road as the dash AC will not keep up at that point.
I just this week moved the quartz hour meter from the panel on the generator up into the cab and installed a small red LED light on it so that I could keep an eye on whether or not it was actually running. I cannot hear it running when driving and the only clue is when the interior begins to turn warm.
God Bless
Bill
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shutdown
In The Dog House
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Joined: 03/13/2008
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^^^agreed. until the laws of physics are repealed there won't be a viable way of running an AC off of solar power.
NOW what about run off of propane? Think of it as a giant RV fridge. I am guessing that it would be cost prohibitive or someone would be making one.
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blkfe
Nebraska
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Ok...Ok...
I have often wondered if a gas or LP powered engine could directly drive an AC unit. The engine could cycle on and off. Could get by with a small engine because it would be very efficient. Could be very quiet as well.
Am I crazy or what?
Brad
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TMBLSN
Washington State
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Joined: 04/07/2008
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blkfe wrote:Ok...Ok...
I have often wondered if a gas or LP powered engine could directly drive an AC unit. The engine could cycle on and off. Could get by with a small engine because it would be very efficient. Could be very quiet as well.
Am I crazy or what?
Brad
Sure, it's called a generator. Honda and Yamaha make them in the quiet-inverter variety.
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Lee
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