5 RV Electricity Saving Tips for the Summer

When I hear the word summer my head conjures up images of ice cold drinks sitting in the cup holder of a lounge chair that faces the water. That perfect summer day begins to fade away however when I start to think about what the summer is going to cost me in electricity. When the temperatures rise it can cost a pretty penny to keep an RV comfortable through the summer months. Here are five electricity saving tips for the summer.

1. Insulate.
The reason your RV is so much harder to keep cool than a house is the insulation or rather the lack of insulation. Most RVs are poorly insulated. Even the four-season style RVs don’t have the six-plus inches of insulation that a house does. It is necessary to add a little bit of insulation to save some electricity.

Related Read: 6 RV Hacks for Keeping Cool in Extreme Heat

The first thing one should do is find any holes that can be plugged. If your rig is new, then there might not be any, but it doesn’t hurt to check. When it’s dark outside, shine a flashlight anywhere that slides attach or anywhere that might allow air to escape. If you have a motorhome, you may want to shine it around the engine compartment as well. While you shine the light, have a partner take a note of any spots that the light is visible.

Once you know where the holes are then use your best judgment on how to plug them. Some spots you may only want to plug temporarily. Others, you might be able to use expanding foam to seal the area for good. Anything you can do to keep the cold air in and the warm summer air out will cut down on air conditioner time.

Many people use skirts in the winter time to keep their RV warmer. We used ours in Las Vegas during the summer time to keep the underbelly cool. Any time you can block the sun the shaded spot will be cooler. Placing a skirt around your RV gives an extra layer of insulation you didn’t have before.

Related Read: Skirting Your RV to Skirt The Cold

Other energy loss spots are the roof vents. If the weather is tolerable outside, the roof vents can circulate some air to cool your rig down. However, once it heats up to uncomfortable temperatures outside, it’s a good idea to put some insulation in the roof vent. There are actually pillow looking products sold for that purpose.

Once your rig is given an insulation boost your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard or as long to maintain the temperature of your rig. This will result in some energy savings in the long run. Many insulation tips meant for cold weather will also work for hot summer insulation. This website has some good tips.

2. Close off areas you will not be in.
Most larger RVs come with a way to close off some areas. In many cases, the bedroom can at least be separated from the rest of the rig. The air conditioner vents can be closed off in unused rooms, as well. By only cooling the areas of your rig that you are in at the time, you will save some stress on your AC during those hot days. This may result in saving some energy costs as you are not trying to cool the whole rig at once.

3. Use fans to circulate air.
Seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit feels warm to me. However, 77 degrees with a breeze feels just fine. Placing a couple of small fans inside an RV helps circulate the air and in many cases makes it feel a little cooler than it really is. Placing a fan on the floor and aiming it up will help circulate cool air that has settled on the floor. By circulating this air, you help your RV cool much more evenly and can actually result in your air conditioner having to work less. Any time your AC gets a break in the summertime so too does your electricity bill.

4. Use shades effectively.
It is always cooler in the shade than in the sun. Anytime sunlight touches something on a hot summer day it will heat up. If that something is the side of your rig or through your window, it will heat up inside and quick. The more your AC has to compensate for this, the more it’s costing you in energy.

Related Read: DIY: Installing Insulating Blinds in Your RV

One way to keep the sun out is to use shades effectively. If you are able to put out an awning then do so. Use your window shades to cover any windows in direct sunlight. We stayed at one RV park that had our rig facing north to south. To keep our rig cooler we would pull the shades on the east side of the RV in the morning and leave the west side open. Once the sun had traveled to the west we would pull down those shades and open the east side.

Another way to cut the sun out, especially if you own a motorhome, is to invest in a Sunguard product. Sunguard makes shades for the outside of a rig. They are made of perforated vinyl that blocks out up to 90% of sun rays. The nice thing about them is you can still see out from them, but during the day, others can’t see in. So not only does it help keep your rig cooler in the summer, thus saving you energy, it gives you some extra privacy as well. You can learn more about Sunguard shades on their website, http://www.sunguard.com/.

5. Cover skylights.
When we spent a summer in Vegas, we noticed that a lot of the heat coming in was due to the large skylight over our shower. Considering the shower area was always getting wet, we could not insulate it from the inside. Our fix was to cover it over from the roof using Reflectix. Reflectix is foil covered bubble wrap that you can find at most home improvement stores. Out of all of the things we tried to keep the rig cooler and save energy, covering the giant skylight helped drop that area of the rig several degrees.