Most efficient Air Conditioning for Vanlife. The only way to run A/C from Solar.
Most efficient Air Conditioning for Vanlife. The only way to run A/C from Solar.
Hands down, a mini-split is the most efficient air conditioning setup, and it’s very affordable.
@1:10 I also thought the same until I found the 12V DC AC ceiling units. I’ve only seen two, but the Dometic 12V AC roof system seems to consume at peak less than the mini split system your using and avg to avg about half, and its an all in one unit (easier to install overall, and no need for an inverter if running off solar (so you save another 10% loss you would otherwise have from inverter). Because its such low voltage it does require this big-arse 4 AWG cable though, due to the higher amps. Pretty certain its total BTU is less than the unit you show here, but its power consumption is a healthy bit less as well, and total size/weight of the system I’m sure is less as well. To me the best spot to install that condenser is on the rear of the vehicle on some type of custom mount (in perhaps a similar position as a spare tire) and then use some type of tarp to cover it while traveling. Not ideal for stealth camping, but it gives it all the proper airflow to get the maximum cooling benefit from it. This mount solution also costs zero in-RV space loss. Biggest benefit of your system is price, noise level, and possibility for heating (most mini-splits also heat).
can you add the link to your mini split. thank you 😊
Dude….. We need more info on your setup. I want this!
A 12v ac is also a good solution. You waste 20% just changing dc to ac
Link for the mini split you bought?
I bought a Confort minisplit on Ebay, and the damn thing doesn’t work, the seller " masterhvacinc" is ignoring my messages to get this resolved…
I’m an hvac technician and let me tell you that putting the condenser where you have it is gonna be it’s demise they have to be able to breath fresh air and efficiently expel the excess Heath from refrigerant
Get a mini split bracket and mount it outside the van or screw it to the roof
More than a few truck drivers have installed these in their sleepers. They seem to be pretty beefy and handle the stress of the road quite well from what I have seen. The compressor goes behind the sleeper mounted to the frame rails, run the lines into the cab and set the evaporator on the wall towards the ceiling.
You miss the most important part. The brand and model.
Damn that’s a 17 SEER unit too, how much power does it pull if you turn the AC on full blast? Looking to pull the trigger on a 12k 20 Seer unit to use with my Hysolis MPS3K and 800 watt panels.
Sportsmobile has been installing these systems for years. The flaw in their system is that they mount them under the van where they are subject to dirt ,grime and road debris.
Can you please compare this to Dometics 12v system? Cost, Energy, Cooling, etc.
Thank You!
Great Video ! The RV and vanlife community should be eating this up because the AC units they use are piss poor, as far as I can tell. Real mini splits have SEER ratings from like 18 on up to 33. but they require 240V. RV units generally are working with SEER ratings of like 10.
Won’t it get cold super fast? The Spilt AC is waaaay over powered for such a small "room" or the RV in this case
Put the outside part on the roof.
So you said the watts drop to around 360. Does the compressor ever shut off and just run the fan or even just shut off with no fan. Just curious if in a 24 hour period if it ever drops below 360 watts? Just so you know, a Kill-A-Watt meter isn’t capable of reading in-rush.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve seen super expensive van life kits that can be mounted below the van, like in a spare tire spot for the outside portion, but this seemed best for your setup. I would be super interested in more indepth of your solar setup, and ideas on where to mount if you had a windowless cargo van
I installed senville 9000btu inverter mini split in my sprinter 144 . I removed the pump from the condenser . Mounted the pump under the bed to keep it upright . Mounted the condenser under the back where the spare tire was . 60,000 miles later its still running great . Summer in Phoenix 110° it keeps the van a cool 74 all night on 200amp hr lithium battery to 3000watt inverter . Takes about 10 min to cool down the van at 800 +/- watts then bumps back an forth between 300 and 30 watts to maintain 74 °. Shopping at the store in hot weather the dog loves it or pulling over to just take a nap . No windows converted cargo van . Just looks like a work van . Park anywhere 🙂
They make a 12v AC for RVs now. Did you look at those?
Any information on make/model/online store would be highly welcome. It is very difficult to find small units like this one.
Rad setup
Evaporators don’t work in areas with high humidity, unfortunately. 🙁
Excellent setup. Watt readings were also very helpful. Thank you.
You should install a rv air conditioner
How many ton unit is the one in the video?
I installed my outside unit underneath shuttlebus. Protected it well. Works fine after a year in road.
Dual inverter LG window air conditioners are also very efficient and have soft start feature; if you don’t want to deal with the complication of mini split.
It’s certainly not the only way to cool your van with an AC from Solarwith the 12v options there is to buy. This is cheaper though but would be way overkill and clunky to install somewhere since it takes up so much space.
Inside mounting is very counter-productive
Very informative. Thanks for sharing, Lord-Jesus-Christ com
Japanese pint size RVs have been built with mini splits for some time now. Nearly all at the RV shows recently have them.
I wonder if you could mount it under the body of the van. Discretion is huge for many can people.
Does it actually run in solar? What about runnig it at night, does that require a generator or power source?
Cool setup man!
what is the make model specs and price of your mini sp?
What brand is that?