Well, lets just face the plain facts involved. And I think most RV'ers will agree. When it gets that hot outside and insdie of the RV, that you feel you really need to run your A/C's, (Dash and RV A/C's) who really cares what it costs to be comfortable.
We sure don't. We never go cheap when it comes to our Enjoyment and our Comfort Levels.
We really do feel sorry for any RV'er, if the differance in the cost of running their RV's A/C, or the TV's A/C is really going to hurt them.
If they are really that tight for money, that they have to really worry about the cost of running their A/C's, then they probably should put some serious thoughts into some other form of traveling.
I've had one car in my life, when I was just first starting out in life after High School, that didn't have an A/C. I made myself a promise, that after that, I would never, ever in my lifetime ever own another Car, Truck, SUV, or RV with out A/C's. We also have never owned a House without an A/C either.
There are a lot of things, I/We are willing to live without, but an A/C is not one of them. And at this late stage in our lives, we are not about to go without anything, period.
We planned very well for our Retirement, and we plan on living very well, and for sure "Enjoying Ourselfs", for the rest of our Lives. Good Luck. Happy Travels. Dan & Jill
Another post offering ZERO help to the OP....*sigh* but glad to hear how well your retirement is going. *rolls eyes*
To piggyback on the OP's question, how would one figure out the cost of running AC if you are plugged in instead of running the generator? We have a 50amp hookup on our RV pad and run the AC sometimes when it is parked back there. I always wondered how to figure out what it costs to run them per hour assuming they are both running. Perhaps the better question is, what kind of power do they consume? I think our units are 13.5K and 15K, respectively.
* This post was
edited 05/04/12 08:40am by LongWeekends *
Michael
Just me, my wife, our 11 year old daughter and our two big, hairy Goldens.
2004 Coachmen Cross Country
370DS - 300HP - 2 Slides
To Longweekends - calculating cost.
Obviously, if you are a long term camper and you are on metered electric, you can measure this directly.
Otherwise, you can calculate it this way. Amps x volts = watts. So, if you are drawing a consistent 25 amps (you may have this display on your EMS), times 120 volts, that gives you 3000 watts per hour. Billing is generally done by KW hour, so you would have used 3 KW in this case. If you are charged .20 per KW, you are using 60 cents per hour.
Of course, if using the genny, you can figure your fuel consumption per hour and the cost of gas - your cost will certainly be higher in that case.
That's a start, anyway. Trouble is that your AC is probably not running full bore all day and night long, so how do you keep track of that? Also, electricity billing is complex: a service charge plus variable rates per KW hour depending on ovrall usage, sometimes time of day, etc.
CJ and Pepe
2003 Itasca Suncruiser 33V
Workhorse W-20 chassis
2004 Jeep Liberty Limited w/Blue Ox
This is what I looking for. I know it would be next to impossible to get an exact number but at least this way I can get a ballpark. Thanks!
PeppyPilot wrote: To Longweekends - calculating cost.
Otherwise, you can calculate it this way. Amps x volts = watts. So, if you are drawing a consistent 25 amps (you may have this display on your EMS), times 120 volts, that gives you 3000 watts per hour. Billing is generally done by KW hour, so you would have used 3 KW in this case. If you are charged .20 per KW, you are using 60 cents per hour.
That is awesome! When I read pearls like this I can hardly believe it comes at no charge to us. Thanks for mingling with us little people.
+1 on that. It really brightens my day to hear how some folks have invested so much more wisely than the rest of us that no amount of discomfort is allowed to enter into their lives. Especially since the "RV Lifestyle" is apparently much better if you have unlimited resources and can buy anything your heart desires. I have often thought that perhaps the RV lifestyle is not for me since I have to budget my expenses so it's heartwarming to know that some folks don't have to do that. And the fact that they are so happy to share their stories with us is truly wonderful.
Our first AC car was in 1960 whe they were very rare. We took a trip to B.C. with my parents in '64 and they had AC by then also. We have had 47 cars since and they all had AC that we run when we want it. My folks never had another one without AC either.
2003 Newmar Mountain Aire, Workhorse W22, 2008 Saturn Vue, Falcon 5250, & US Gear Unified Tow Brake
You know I don't believe this thread. I don't think I read one word about anyone saying that running the AC would cost them more than they were willing to pay or that they couldn't RV if they ran their AC do to cost. The OP ask if there was a difference in MPG if he ran his AC. A very good question. Not that he would not run it if it was hot, just a question.
I really doubt that a DP big RV notices even the slightest difference, but a smaller RV that is gas engine run, will definitely have a drop in MPG as the engine will be working harder. How much of a difference in MPG/s will depend on that persons rigs.
If you have an answer for the OP, please just provide it.
rondeb wrote: If you have an answer for the OP, please just provide it.
Sorry, but I just run the A/C and have not tried to figure it out. But if it is only a loss of 1 mpg, all I can say is so what. You probably lucky to be getting 8 to 9 mpg anyway. 1 mpg to run the air isn't bad.
If you have an answer for the OP, please just provide it.
Several people did provide an answer. One said that his mpg did not change as indicated by his computerized system monitor.
However... just common sense (and a little - very little - knowledge of basic physics says that whenever you change energy from one form to another you lose something; it's never an even trade. So given that physics applies universally (as far as we know - black holes notwithstanding) the answer is "Yes" whenever you increase the load (the work done) there must be an increase in BTUs burned.
Whether or not you can see it depends on what other work the power source is being asked to do. The higher the power of your engine (torque) the less you'll see in a mpg change. You'd see a larger increase in fuel consumption in a small engine doing a lot of work and a very small (perhaps not noticeable) increase in a big engine loafing along.
More food for thought. The energy content of fuel varies. I've seen Kerosene (D1) from 6.5 to 6.9 lbs per gallon as dispensed. Many larger outfits buy their BTU's at a specific temperature, usually 60F. Soooo, in the big scheme of things your dash AC will be lost in the the noise of variance. The generator will use ~.75 gal/hr.
To the OP, use as you please. The overall cost will be small compared to the other costs of ownership.
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