Can Solar Panels Run Rv Air Conditioner

To run your ac off solar power you need 4 main components.

Can solar panels run rv air conditioner.

To size these solar components for regular air conditioning i determined how many amps my 13 500 btu rv air conditioner drew during operation. It has become a popular question if solar power can be used for an rv ac. Get your minds out of the gutter though we re talking solar. In general with two 100 watt panels installed a small to mid sized rv can be fully powered by the sun without air conditioning.

Adding a third or fourth solar panel could make powering an rv air conditioner a real possibility without disrupting the rest of the rig s energy flow from the panels. Portable air conditioners like a black decker bpact08wt can run on a solar generator but i would suggest a solar generator with at least a 1500w inverter something like the goal zero yeti 1000 or larger. Thus as a practical matter the vast majority of rv owners will never be able to set up their rv in a way that solar could power an ac unit. The yeti would be able to run the black decker for about an hour.

With our current solar battery set up and the addition of a soft start we would run our air conditioner to take the edge off the heat only when the sun is shining bright. Without further deliberation it is important to know that an rv air conditioner can be powered by using solar energy. Discussion of our rv solar powered air conditioner when rvers are considering using their air conditioners on an rv it is often because it is in a hot and humid environment. With grid connected solar installations you can pull electricity from the grid when your solar installation isn t producing electricity.

While it is technically possible to power an rv air conditioner with solar panels to generate enough power a large amount of solar panels and upgrades to the electrical system would be required. If temperatures get too hot or there is intermittent cloud cover we will most likely have to run the generator or head to a campground and plug in. Rather solar panels work by supplying power to your battery bank and this power is then distributed to the appliances in your rv. So it is important to consider that factor when trying to determine all the requirements to run the air conditioner on and off grid rv solar system.

One thing is evident if you want to use solar energy for your rv air conditioner complete hook ups. If you re wondering whether solar can power air conditioning as part of an off grid home the calculation is a little more complicated than what we did above.