How to Power an air conditioner on solar power 

If you want to power an air conditioner, you are going to need a massive solar power generation system. This will require a VERY large vehicle. 28 foot+ minimum.  Lets estimate the the power consumption first:
  1. Most roof mounted RV/van air conditioners use 15 amps at 110 volts. This means for each hour that the air conditioner is running, it will require 1,650 watt hours (15 amps x 110 volts = 1,650 watts)
  2. The air conditioner will require an inverter to run, which will cause a 15% loss. Due to this loss, the true consumption of the
    air conditioner will be 1,897 watt hours per hour
  3. This means that for every hour you run your air conditioner, you will need 150 amp hours of battery power
​That means you will need 45 pounds of lithium iron phosphate battery, or 198 pounds of lead acid battery, to run your air conditioner for a single hour. That is a lot. That means that we will require the largest battery bank that your vehicle can carry, and a large roof that is completely filled with solar panels. 

In my honest opinion, it's a bad idea. You are better off running a generator to power an air conditioner. Or you could use a lot of fans to keep yourself cool and open all of your windows. 

But running an air conditioner on solar power is still possible. You will require a lot of sun, and you should only run the air conditioner while the sun is directly above your rig. 

How to Power a SMALL air conditioner with solar power

Instead of powering a full size air conditioner, you can power a 5,000 - 8,000 btu air conditioner. They are smaller and cheaper, and work great! They require 600-900 watts and can be powered for a few hours with a large vehicle mounted solar system.

So lets do the math: 
  1. A 8,000 btu, 900 watt air conditioner powered by a 90% efficiency pure sine wave inverter will require: 990 watts of continuous power to run. 
  2. To power this air conditioner for an hour, we will need 82.5 amp hours of battery power at 12 volts (or 990 watt hours).
  3. A good battery size for this setup would allow you to run the air conditioner for 6 hours on the batteries. This would require 495 amp hours of lithium iron phosphate battery, or 990 amp hours of sealed lead acid batteries.
  4. In order to power this system from most latitude lines in the united states, you would require 1500-2000 watts of solar panels. (Rough estimate and would really depend on your location).  This would allow you to power the air conditioner and have a little bit left over to charge your batteries. 

Minimum Solar Power system Sizing for running a small air conditioner

  • 1500-2200 watts of solar panels on your roof or more (or cover entire roof with panels) -click here
  • 150-200 amp solar charge controller -click here
  • 500 amp hours of lithium iron phosphate batteries/ 1000 amp hours of lead acid batteries/ 5kwh tesla battery module -(check out my battery section)
​​If you use a smaller sized system, you will not be able to run an air conditioner for much time. If you have a 40 foot class A rv, or a school bus, you should be able to run an air conditioner with this system. Be sure to station the batteries in a strategic location so that you are loading your vehicles suspension in a safe manner. Do not place all of the batteries on one side of the vehicle unless you may cause problems. 

So it is "technically" possible to run an air conditioner in a vehicle on solar, but it should not be attempted unless you know what you are doing and you are ready to spend a lot of money. In all honesty, I would simply run a generator and call it a day. Or you can move to a cooler location because you are mobile. If you are stationary but living in a vehicle, you can make a ground mounted solar power system with 2000-3000 watts of solar panels that can run your air conditioner with an extension cord. 

A small Air conditioner worth checking out

If you choose to use a small air conditioner, realize that it will have exhaust heat that needs to be pushed out of your vehicle. This will require an elaborate ventilation system, or an air conditioner with a window kit hose. This will allow the air conditioner to expel the hot air to the outside of your vehicle.

This air conditioner uses 900 watts of continuous power to provide 8,000 btu of cooling power. It is small and works well! 

Click here for a cheap price on amazon