Ventilation in your camper van is important, no matter how big or small your project is. A lot of things could go wrong with your conversion van if you let things like heat, humidity, and pollution get in the way.
The good news is that there is a simple way to keep these problems from getting worse. To enjoy fresh, clean, and cool air in your new campervan conversion, make sure there are enough vents.
Because camper van ventilation is so important, we’ll talk about why you need it, what happens if you don’t have it, and how to put together a system that works well.
This article will help you learn how to build the best ventilation system for your camper van, no matter how much money you have.
Ventilation in a camper van is very important.
Ventilation is the process of controlling the flow of air in and out of an area. It brings in fresh air and gets rid of old, damp, and smelly air. Ventilation can help you control the temperature inside your room, get rid of stale air, and fight bad smells.
In places where there isn’t enough ventilation, too much heat and water vapor cause condensation, which causes the relative humidity to rise. As a result, smell and other things will start to build up.
Condensation
There is condensation when warm, moist air comes into contact with colder surfaces. The vapor condenses and turns into a liquid. The most common places for it to happen are on surfaces that aren’t insulated, like your van’s glass windows and any metal that isn’t insulated.
There may also be “dead air space” in some parts of the van, such as under-seat storage compartments or dark places. This means that the air doesn’t move very much in those places. This can cause condensation, dampness, and the growth of mold.
Unfortunately, condensation is a fact of life in a campervan because of the way the vehicle is built. Even so, if the moisture it makes can’t leave, it will make the air more humid. This could cause health problems and make your camper’s overall environment bad.
Humidity
Humidity is when there is too much water vapor in the air, which can be caused by things like bathing, showering, cooking, boiling the kettle, and even breathing. It’s because humidity and condensation both make the air more moist that they are inseparable from each other.
Because humidity makes things wet, it encourages the growth of mold and fungus, as well as the ideal conditions for dust and mold mites to thrive.
Some mold and mildew can grow when there is a lot of moisture in the air. Mold can grow on clothes, fabrics, and even the inside of your van if you live in a humid place. This will make you feel and smell clammy and dirty, and it can even damage the van itself. Mold and mildew can make your van look bad and rust the wood inside.
Odour and pollutants
Odors and other pollutants will build up if you don’t have enough air flow in your camper. A bad odor can be caused by several factors such as natural body odor, garbage bag odors, and dirty clothing.
If you’re going to use gas to run your oven, fridge, water heater, or other appliances, you need to make sure there is always enough ventilation. It stops harmful gasses like carbon dioxide from building up in your van.
If you plan to cook inside your car, a vent near your cooking station will let gas and cooking smells out.
Passive and Active Ventilation
There are many ways that ventilation works. One way is to move air around the room. Your camper is also getting some air sucked out of it to make room for new air. It’s easy to keep your camper van fresh and aired because of the way air moves in and out of the vehicle.
Make sure that your mobile home has good ventilation so that you don’t live in a damp, moldy, rotten box all the time. But how can you make sure that there is enough ventilation in your home? Is there anything else that you could do in this situation?
Passive Ventilation
You can keep your camper cool with passive ventilation, which makes use of natural air currents and the buoyancy of hot air. This circulates air around your camper and helps it stay that way. So, when old air is let out of your camper through a passive vent, new air comes in to take its place.
It works in a natural way and doesn’t use any electricity from your van. The temperature and air pressure inside and outside your vehicle will be comparable if it’s a hot, still day. However, the flow of air will become less efficient.
Pros
- Generally, a much cheaper option.
- Very reliable with little/no maintenance.
- Eco friendly.
Cons
- It is based on the movement and pressure of air.
- Efficiencies go down when there is a lot of heat in the room.
- A drought could happen if it’s cold or windy outside.
Active Ventilation
Power-driven fans, on the other hand, are always running and don’t need natural air pressure to work. It will keep your camper nice and cool as long as there is a power source.
Fresh air is brought into your camper to replace the stale air that is being expelled by the fan. Vents in any vehicle work best when they are placed in pairs to form a circulatory flow.
In bigger vans, two power-driven fans, one at each end of the car, would be the best solution.
In bigger vans, two power-driven fans, one at each end of the van, would be the best way to keep the air cool.
Pros
- Can be more effective than passive ventilation.
- It works no matter what the weather is like.
- This machine will cool and ventilate the van quickly.
Cons
- It costs more.
- Wires and moving parts need to be checked on a regular basis.
- Only ventilates when the fan is turned on.
Choosing the right ventilation.
Ventilation Positioning.
Convection currents carry hot air around. The basic idea is that hot air rises and cold air sinks. Using this method, you can get great ventilation in your camper by combining two different types of ventilation.
You can get cold, fresh air from outside your camper by having one ventilation point that is low down. Meanwhile, some ventilation points at a higher place, can allow the hot, stagnant air to come out. In the end, this leads to the formation of a circulatory system.
Surrounding Environment
Even though all campervans need ventilation, where you go and what you do will affect how much ventilation you need. To keep your camper cool and fresh when you are traveling in hot places, you need a lot of air flow.
When you’re going to cold places, on the other hand, you’ll want to travel in a warm and comfortable van. However, if there is a big difference between the outside and inside temperatures, ventilation will be needed to fight condensation and humidity because these things can build up.
To keep cooking smells, heat, and gas buildup away, you’ll need enough ventilation. Similarly, having an onboard shower generates a lot of humidity that must be expelled.
M3/hour Explained
Cubic meters per hour or minute (m3/h or m3/min) is only used for fan-assisted ventilation. It is the measure of how quickly a certain amount of air moves through a certain space (the volume of extracted stale air per hour or minute).
For example, if a roof fan is running at 26m3/min, it could theoretically blow 26 cubic meters of air out of the room every minute.
If the fan is to work well, the room must be sealed, just like with air conditioning. As a result, if you leave a window or side door open, the fan will not be able to work at its full capacity.
When you look at it this way, the higher the m3/min (or m3/hr) rating, the faster and better the air in your camper will be circulated. A bigger number, on the other hand, doesn’t always mean a better ventilation system.
You should think about whether you really need a vent that can blow 28m3/minute through your campervan.
Roof Air Conditioner
There are a lot of air conditioner units on the roofs of vans and other recreational vehicles. They are on the roof and send conditioned air inside the car through a duct system that runs through the ceiling. This is how they work.
These may be good for recreational vehicles because they move air down into the van, allowing the cold air to fall.
The quantity of power required to run this sort of air conditioning equipment is one disadvantage. You will only be able to operate this type of air conditioner if your van is hooked with solar power. Some vans may have powerful enough solar systems to power a device like this, however the bulk of camper vans cannot run this sort of air conditioner solely on solar power.
These might also be hard to put up because of their weight and size. Because some of them might weigh more than 100 pounds, there is a lot of weight on your roof at all times. The installation of one of these often requires the help of two people.
Window Air Conditioner
The old-fashioned window air conditioner doesn’t have to be used only in places that aren’t moving. These can also be put in vans if the arrangement is set up in a way that makes it possible.
A lot of people have already put these in, and they have been found to be effective because most of them are strong units that provide good cooling. Keeping a small space like a van cool would be easy for a window unit.
The issue with this sort of unit is that it is not expressly designed to be utilized in vans. It will necessitate a one-of-a-kind layout, and you will most likely have to construct your whole layout around it.
Some van conversions have a place where the air conditioner can be installed. They can be in different parts of the van. Windows units may be the best way for you to get air conditioning if you need it very badly and don’t want to move it.
Portable Air Conditioner
If you know that you only need an air conditioner once in a while, a portable air conditioner is a great choice for you. When not in use, they can be stored and then quickly put together when it’s time to cool the air in the van.
Some of these units are big and take up a lot of space, but there are smaller ones that could be used in a camper van. As long as you have a small space, you might be able to get away with a unit that has 8000 BTUs.
Cooler Air Conditioner
There are many ways to get some relief from the heat. Even though it’s not really an air conditioner, the cooler solution is one of the most common. Companies make them, but you can also make your own if you’re good at it and have some ideas.
Use a cooler that has been filled with water and ice before being used. The ice cools down the inside of the ductwork, and then a fan blows air through the duct system, which cools it down as it goes. If you want to keep food and drinks cold, you can use this to have a cooler full of ice. It also cools the air in your home to make it more comfortable.
One problem that could happen if you do this is that moist air could get inside your van. This would be a problem, because it could cause mold or mildew to grow on it. Make sure that the air coming from the cooler is dry so that problems like this don’t happen again.
Roof Fan
I think it’s a good idea to have air conditioning, but it isn’t likely that you’ll be able to use it every day.
When you put a roof fan on the top of your van, it’s one of the easiest ways to save energy. These are common features in van conversions and recreational vehicles. They allow a lot of ventilation for the living area.
With a fan like this, you can draw air into your van, making sure there is always a flow of air in the vehicle. You can also pull air out, which is especially good when you have a window or door open. If you have both of these things in your car, you can make a lot of air flow and keep it cool.
Related Link: Kev’s Travel and Van Life Essentials
