Now FT RV living

Solar gain is the biggest problem so if you're in shade all day then your rv should be the same temp. as the air temp. In that case it shouldn't take too long to cool down if you turn on the ac when you get back.
However if you're in the sun all day then the inside temp will be much higher. Also keeping the rv closed up keeps the humidity level down inside.

Thanks for the responses. Rock Hill, in Florida you would never leave the windows open all day without being there due to the huge thunderstorms we get every afternoon.

BTW, the campground is full of trees and my unit seems to be in full shade all day.

Thanks,
Terry

trnfla wrote:
is it cheaper to turn off my AC while at work or just turn it up to 82? I left it off today and it was 86 when I got home and it took a good hour to cool it down to 74.

1. With the unit turned off while gone, it ran for 1 hour to cool down the RV once you returned home.
2. If you left it on but set at 82 degrees how long would it run while you were gone?
3. Once you returned home, how long would it run to cool the RV down to a comfortable level from 82 degrees?
4. If #2 + #3 is greater than #1, then it is cheaper to turn it off and start it up upon return home.

I suspect the unit will run longer than a total of 1 hour while you are gone plus the time it takes to cool down after you return home.

If you are in Florida if you were to stay home in the MH you will quickly find out that the AC can NOT cool down the MH to a comfortable temp from the hours of 12:00 to 4:00.

You can help it by putting van windshield sun shades in ALL the windows including the windshield of the MH, draping material behind the cab seats to block out the heat from the cab entering the coach, putting RV covers in ALL the vents, and skylights. Whew! A lot to do but it DOES work to help the AC unit, if you were to stay in it all day. Which BTW you will have to do all this come Saturday and Sunday if you want to survive the heat! :B

IMHO, JMHO
SHUT THE AC OFF and open all your windows while you are at work.

Put a windshield sun shade on the MH windshield AND cover the opening between the cab and coach. Put sunshades on the side of the MH that faces the west and leave those windows open also.

After experiencing the Florida heat during summer and what these Florida CG's charge for electric and seeing what MY bill was for running the AC 24 7's....If I was working during the day, I would definitely shut it off. All the AC will do while you are at work is struggle all day to keep it someone cooler than outside.

You will be returning after the hottest part of the day so go in shut all the windows and fire up the AC it will cool down quickly.

Good Luck.

I'm sure somebody has worked out an equation that will tell you what is cheapest, but I don't know what it is. I'm sure it depends on what the outside temperature is, what the inside temperature gets up to, how long the thing is un-cooled . . . and there is surely a combination of factors that argue one way or the other.

Maybe what you need is a programmable thermostat for the AC, so you could set it to back off on the cooling about the time you head out the door, then start cooling 'er down about an hour before you get back home in the evening.

I just got done replacing the thermostat in my rig, but just for the furnace. The one that came with it took the heat through a 10 degree swing between furnace on and off that made it only slightly less uncomfortable than no furnace at all, between throwing the covers off roasting hot, and shivering in a ball. I used a residential thermostat that has a set of AA batteries, and is pretty unsophisticated, but does not need a 24 volt connection. You would have to do some extra wiring and a little modification to your AC, but I bet it could be done.