What size battery is suitable for parking air conditioning?
3 Answers
Parking air conditioning requires a battery of 24V150A to 300A. Below is an introduction to parking air conditioning: Introduction to parking air conditioning: It refers to an onboard air conditioning system used during parking, waiting, or resting. Parking air conditioning is an in-vehicle air regulator that utilizes the DC power from the vehicle's battery to allow continuous operation of the air conditioning while parked or resting. It adjusts and controls parameters such as temperature, humidity, and air velocity inside the vehicle to meet the comfort and cooling needs of truck drivers. Reasons why parking air conditioning is cooling-only: Due to the limitations of the vehicle's battery capacity and the poor user experience of heating in winter, parking air conditioning is primarily cooling-only. It includes a refrigerant delivery system, cooling source equipment, terminal devices, and other auxiliary systems.
I used to drive long-haul trucks and would run the parking air conditioner all night. Regular batteries couldn't handle it, so I specifically installed a 200Ah deep-cycle lead-acid battery to solve the problem. This type of battery has a high depth of discharge, is durable, and affordable—just a few hundred bucks will do the trick. However, make sure to reserve enough power to start the vehicle. It's best to add a voltmeter to monitor the battery level and avoid running out of power unexpectedly. In summer, running the air conditioner consumes about 10 kWh per night, which translates to reserving at least 100Ah capacity in a 12V system. Now, I use a dual-battery system: the original vehicle battery starts the engine, while the parking battery powers only the air conditioner. No more waking up sweaty in the middle of the night!
My RV is equipped with a 1.5-horsepower parking air conditioner, and I chose a 150Ah lithium iron phosphate battery. It's more than twice as expensive as lead-acid batteries, but 20kg lighter and has better deep discharge capability. With the air conditioner's power at 1200W, it consumes 100A per hour, so the 150Ah battery can actually last for 1.5 hours. I recommend getting a 200Ah battery for more reliability, and with a vehicle charger, it can be fully charged in two hours of driving. If the budget is tight, you can also connect two 100Ah lead-acid batteries in parallel, but they're too heavy and take seven to eight hours to charge each time.
