Keeping cool
Looks like this heat is going to be a more regular occurrence. Any tips for keeping our vans cooler?
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Its interesting that this recent hot weather coincide, within a couple of weeks, with the previous hot period in Cambridge a few years ago. For us I think if the timing becomes fairly predictable within a few weeks is either to travel to somewhere that is unlikely to be as hot or avoid that time of year altogether?
As to keeping the van cool I seem unable to keep the house cool so I not sure I would be anymore successful. I do have the advantage in my motorhome of having a MaxxAir fan fitted. This can be set, thermostatically to control temperature levels in the van. However its not air conditioning and I think it would struggle overcome the intense heat of recent days. However if used in conjunction with windows on the shady side being open. Don't forget also that if you have a Truma display you can set it to fan only which might help a bit. One of my son's lives in a three story house and at the top there is a fairly large roof terrace and he slept out there the other night. Just wondering if you have an awning perhaps try sleeping out there with a few flaps open?
David
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In the absence of a full air-con installation, which comes with a fair weight and cost penalty, it's always going to be difficult to keep a tin box cool whatever you do. Apart from shade and airflow, go north and/or go high.
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We managed last week in quite high temperatures and no ehu. Just like at home we kept the sunny side closed up, using maximum ventilation and canopy shade. We're lucky that our van has curtains and blinds, we find curtains at night let any available breeze through, blinds aren't so good. However with a motorhome the concertina blinds are useful for keeping the sun off. Other than that it was very warm and we just slowed up and had a relaxing break!
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We got back into caravanning in 2019 after a long break.
I retrofitted A/C soon after buying the 'van and after just a couple of trips away any "was it worth the expense/effort?" concerns were gone. We couldn't claim any green credentials but were very comfortable even on very uncomfortable days - and slept comfortably as well. The dehumidifying side effect is particularly welcome even when it isn't super hot outside.
So far we have only been touring in the UK.
Even so, this made powerful A/C on our new caravan an absolute must as we specified options with the factory.
One major practical issue (Carbon footprint aside) for most UK caravans is the weight of an A/C unit taking up a hefty chunk of what is usually a scarily small payload to start with. Luckily we are "payload rich"
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We have air con, specified it as an extra when we ordered our van in 2007.
At that time we were planning to spend 3-4 months abroad every year, which we did for some 11 years. But even in UK it is useful as our (now) older van is not so well insulated. We have certainly been glad to have it recently!
Payload is not an issue as we were able to have an 85kg upgrade, which more than covered the air con, mover, and a few other extras we installed.
Air con may not be "green", but we recycle a lot, repair rather than chuck away, we have solar panels at home, have just fitted a new more efficient boiler even though our existing one was working fine, though 34 years old so inefficient, so are trying to do what we can.
Still have our original kitchen after 34 years, and are only now replacing 34 year old bathrooms as we want showers rather than baths.
Otherwise, we seek shade where possible on sites, if none, then the air con is turned on.
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I think it's true to say that air conditioners burn up a lot of energy and produce polluting emissions so although they might keep the occupants of a poorly insulated van cool they are not really the answer. They will also add to site energy prices.
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Our air con uses electricity, and produces warm air and water, a bit like a fridge. It uses a max of 3 amps when cooling, so not excessive.
If we were at home in hot conditions, we would be running several fans, using our PV generated power. When we are not at home, that power goes to the Grid, and we get a very small payment.......about 1/6 of what we pay for the power we use from the Grid.
With the dangers of suffering heat stroke at our age, I will be 80 very soon, in the conditions we have had recently, we use our air con when necessary, rather than putting ourselves at risk.
Our recent 37 night trip has not been typical, due to the very warm weather, we used 437kwh in 37 days, this included all the HW for dishwashing and showers, for 5 people part of the time, the fridge/freezer, which we know from experience uses 4kwh per day, plus cooking using electric hob and oven, kettle, toaster etc, etc. TV, charging phones and i pads, lights and so on.
How much per night is in site fees for electricity? Difficult to know. We do not caravan in the winter, fortunately for sites! If we did, to heat and operate our van, using our own facilities, could easily take 40kwh per day when it is very cold. We have a meter in the van, so know exactly what we are using.
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Our air con uses electricity, and produces warm air...
Warm air?
People have managed not getting heat stroke without using AC Kj for a long time now? And using a fan costs about 3.4 pence per hour so not exactly a lot anyway?
But you sound as if you're trying to justify your use of AC in two posts and I'm not sure who to? You don't have to really and as I've said K use whatever you wish to enjoy your holiday, just give that same respect to others.
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My comments about air con were not directed at anyone and on our recent break we managed without ehu providing anything to cool us down. However vans are not the best residences in any weather extremes so I'm not advocating extreme measures. If it's too hot or too cold it's unlikely that a van will offer much comfort without excessive energy usage.
I think the OP was about keeping cool and we found it was possible with just some extra actions.
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Come on, Brue, share those keeping cool tips with us as Micky asked. What are those "extra actions"?
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These are my earlier comments TW, just basic actions. We would not have coped very well with the extreme temperatures that occurred this week but we managed to cope last week in the high 20s. I am not an advocate of endurance vanning when temperatures become life threatening.
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Ah, right, the usual common sense things. Thanks. 👍
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The OP mentioned ways to stay cool. A/C is one way to do that.
The A/C unit does indeed discharge warm air and condensate outside when in use in cooling mode. The Net warm air produced is small (the cold air generated at the same time balances a lot of it). The modern refrigerants don't have the same polluting effects as older variants. So end of life recycling not an issue either.
Some units like our Truma Aventa Comfort can also work the other way round and act as an air source heat pump to warm the caravan - which is considerably more efficient and so "greener" than heating with gas or a normal electric heater.
Given the number of days spent away and the proportion of those where the A/C is in use overall energy use and hence C footprint is relatively small. It's just on those few days we find the A/C worth its weight in gold.
Although we insisted on A/C that is for us. I'm not advocating universal adoption nor, as Cornersteady suggests, do we need to apologise for our choice. Equally, others have every right to make their own judgement on that choice.
A Caravan or Motorhome is not a particularly green pastime anyway, lugging round a relatively heavy accommodation module, buying duplicate domestic items and the like. It would be greener (and cheaper if all costs accounted for) to travel in a small car to a hotel.
We chose to caravan and do it in comfort. We love it.
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Yes, we do have AC but only use it sparingly. We take all the actions we can during the heat of the day to keep the van cool in these unusual circumstances then turn on the AC for a short period prior to retiring to bed. This way the fabric and the air in the van is cooled and allows sleep and the late night can then bring a little respite. I did notice one van which left it’s AC on all day mind, with windows open, just thought that was a little OT, very wasteful, totally hopeless and unnecessary.
Can’t be many climate change deniers left can there? Like dinosaurs they must be a dying breed!
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If you accept that in 30 Deg + temperatures, you can’t beat the heat, but you can help a bit. Assuming that your blinds have silvered backs, close all the ones facing the sun, along with closing those windows too. Open the windows wide on the shaded side. Open roof lites wide with their blinds partially closed. Take yourself off to the nearest woodland and use trees for shade. Transpiration from the foliage will reduce the air Temp (latent heat of vaporisation in physics). Fortunately most modern cars have AirCon which you can use as a last resort, especially if you have a dog with a thick coat. You can also spray your dog with water, plus wet the paws, which is a major area for dogs too lose heat when needed.
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You are so right about those who run their ACand also have their windows open
When OH was tec clerk at a big maintenance facility,she was always getting calls from some quarters that their AC was faulty and needed it looking at,and her reply was all ways the same "have you got any windows or main doors open? If you close them ring me if the fault still persists" no call was ever forthcoming
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We stayed in a hotel in Costa Rica where the AC automatically turned of in your rooms if any windows or doors were ajar. One time it happened we had to play hunt the open window, it was the tiny one in the en-suite! They are a very eco conscious nation mind! 👍
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Modern Truma Aventa roof mounted units are quiet enough in eco mode to leave on overnight in Spain for example, and cannot be heard outside by neighbours. They weigh 35kg which of course comes off your payload, and draw less than 4 amps in cooling mode. In reverse cycle mode they also heat! Looking at the weather for next week with temperatures in the upper 20’s early 30’s all week we will certainly be using ours. The best £2 grand we have spent (apart from the motor mover). People will knock aircon in a caravan, but trust me once you have experienced the lovely cool air when the thermostat climbs towards 30c, you will not want to go back.
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The most effective way to keep the temperature in your caravan down is to shade it from the radiated heat of the sun. Blinds 2/3 closed on sunny side with windows open, and blinds and windows open on dark side. Park your caravan in the shade, if there is any, on the East/South and let the sun in on the West side for the evening.
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nicho777 wrote
Modern Truma Aventa roof mounted units are quiet enough in eco mode to leave on overnight in Spain for example, and cannot be heard outside by neighbours.
In 2018, I think it was, I pitched next to a caravan with aircon at Englethwaite Hall. It was a very hot day and night and they left their aircon on through the night. I could hear the constant hum of the fan and I found it extremely irritating. Of course, I have no idea what their system was and I am not at all trying to dispute nicho777's claim. I'm just saying that not all are quiet enough to avoid disturbing some. Fortunately I was there for one night only and I was very glad to move on, bleary-eyed, the next morning. This is not something I have encountered before or since. However, I tend to avoid the very hot months and most of my trips are out of the main season.
I have to confess that I have aircon at home, only fairly recently installed. I understand the paradox and I worry about it. But in the UK, historically, we do not regard heating in winter with the same opprobrium any more than those in Dubai, for example, regard air conditioning - where it is universal. I don't know enough about the facts to know whether I can defend it, so I won't try. There's no doubt that air con in houses will become more common place in the UK as it gets hotter. But safety in numbers does not, of itself, justify it.
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How to stay cool in extreme heat, not easy.
We were recently in France where it got to 36c during the day and high 20s overnight.
We try to park the van in the shade, not always possible. We open windows not in the sun, close the blinds and curtains on the sunny side.
We use the Truma heater on cool fan to circulate air around the van once it starts to cool down in the evenings, by leaving it on low speed overnight its quiet enough to sleep with it on. We also have a couple of 12v fans mounted under the overhead lockers and above where we sleep.
Very light cotton bedding helps absorb moisture.
During the day we stay cool by swimming or cool showers often then staying in the shade.
I tend not to cook indoors when its that hot, so outdoor cooking or salads is the order of the day.
Plenty of shade round the van like parasols or canopies, a parasol can be moved around to help shade those windows in full sun.
Word of warning, do not fully close blinds when the sun is on them and windows closed as this can distort the windows, always leave a gap at the top/bottom to let the heat out or better still leave the window open on the night vent.
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I've been roasting in Suffolk in our tin box this week. Before going away I made some quick window covers from white sheeting to go on the outside of the windows as, once the sun gets through the plastic, the blinds, even though reflective, do not prevent the heat getting into the van. Has it worked? Not entirely but would probably have been a whole lot worse without them. Not enough payload for aircon but may install one of those Maxxair roof vents which seem a reasonable compromise and run on 12v. unlike aircon.
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