How long will it take to charge?
Stage 1
- Shore power ONLY: roughly 4.5 hours from 0% with no loads on the system.
- Alternator charging ONLY: roughly 9 hours from 0% with no loads on the system.
- Solar charging ONLY: too many variables here to even begin to answer this.
Stage 2 and 3
- Shore power ONLY: roughly 4.5 or 6.5 hours from 0% with no loads on the system for stage 2 and 3 respectively.
- Alternator charging ONLY: In ideal conditions, it could be as fast as 1.25 or 2 hours respectively, but in reality it will be closer to 2 and 3 respectively. NOTE: if running the A/C or other high loads while charging, these numbers will be roughly doubled.
- Solar charging ONLY: too many variables here to even begin to answer this.
How long can I run my air conditioning?
A lot of variables here. If it is a hot day, sunny, no window covers, and no other load on the electrical system, 4 or 6 hours depending on how many batteries your system has. This estimate assumes 100% duty cycle of the compressor and fan running on high speed. If you are judicious with use and primarily use it on low at night when you are sleeping and there’s no sun beating down on the van, the number can be 2-3x more than that.
How will cold weather affect my system if there are no battery heaters?
The batteries are inside the heated/cooled space in your van, which means as long as the van heat is on, battery temperature is not an issue in cold weather. If the batteries are below freezing while the vehicle sits, they cannot be charged. If the batteries are below -4 °F while the vehicle sits, they cannot be discharged. The batteries protect themselves and they cannot be damaged if you try to use them when they are below -4 °F. When they warm up, they will wake up and act normally. It is extremely difficult to get the inside of your van to -4 °F even if it is much colder outside. If the sun is shining on your van, it will be passively heated from that.