#12 volt air conditioner for van install#
#12 volt air conditioner for van generator#

On the other hand, a powerful battery-operated air conditioner would need a deeper dive into your wallet.Ī 12V RV swamp cooler, on the other hand, is a cost-effective solution if you’re mostly going to dry locations. Some of the largest 12V RV air conditioners can generate up to 12,000 BTU, which is sufficient to cool most standard-sized RVs. These technologies and models have gradually been switched from 24V to 12V to accommodate campers and motorhomes.

#12 volt air conditioner for van install#

Truckers who wish to turn off their cars overnight rather than letting them idle to keep them running regularly install 24V air conditioners. The majority of these cars owe their origins and inspiration to the transportation industry. Recommended reading: Best RV Air Conditioners of 2023 Do 12V RV Air Conditioners exist?Īlthough battery-powered RV air conditioners are not yet common, a few manufacturers have launched them to the market, including Dometic, Nomadic Cooling, Indel B, and Rigid. In a bigger RV, 24, 48, or greater voltage units are likely to be the best choice. This also implies that if you run the air conditioner aggressively, your batteries will charge slowly.Īs a result, 12V air conditioners are best suited for smaller RVs with reduced cooling needs. You’ll need a high-current converter or an inverter charger for this. When it comes to running 12V air conditioners from shore power, the excessive current demand rears its head once again. This implies that if you want to operate them on batteries overnight, you’ll almost certainly need to invest in lithium batteries. You’ll need a lot of battery capacity because of the strong currents. The wiring for a 12V RV air conditioner must be bigger, and the electronics must be able to withstand greater currents, which might result in voltage dips and efficiency losses. In our dwellings, we don’t utilize 12V since the cables would be too big. The current draw is the major disadvantage of a 12V air conditioner. Not to mention, if you’re staying in a public campsite, you won’t be bothering your neighbors all night with a noisy generator. That means you can spend a few hours outdoors and return to a cool RV. A battery-operated 12V RV air conditioner, on the other hand, uses less electricity and may run longer when the motor is turned off than a 120V AC air conditioner.

#12 volt air conditioner for van generator#

The trouble is, unless you have a generator or a solar system, it’s difficult to operate a 120V AC air conditioner continuously when the engine/generator is off.

Aside from that, a 12V DC RV air conditioner is more energy efficient, particularly when running on a battery, since you won’t lose a percentage of the converted power via the RV inverter. On the other hand, a 12V RV air conditioner may be powered straight from your battery without the need of an inverter. A generator is an useful backup option, but the noise it produces may be a nuisance, particularly if you’re boondocking late at night. If you don’t have an inverter, you’ll need a generator to power your RV’s 120V AC air conditioner.