Solarizing a 1978 Airstream

[leroylerot]

My wife and I are newbies wishing to solarize our 1978 Airstream to be as off the grid as possible. We will live in this year-round as we build a small home.
Has anyone had any success with this year-round solarizing at a permanent location? It would be in central CA.

-thanks in advance, leroylerot

[ddstech]

Is the home going to be off grid? If not I would consider putting a 30 amp rv plug on a pole. That way you can run the a/c. I just did this today for my parents 1978 31'.

[dwightdi]

Paint the roof white to reduce thermal input during the summer. Put awnings on all windows as well. I question if you will have enough power from the sun to run enough fans to make it livable in the Nevada summer. Likewise, the furnace fan uses a lot of power for the winter Nevada nights. I would install a catalytic (no fan) heater for that time of year.

[TG Twinkie]

Since your are in the construction mode. I would consider building a shelter for the trailer. Nothing fancy. I built a shelter for our 26' Argosy that is 12' x 30' x 12' high with a metal roof. Similar to a carport. Cost was just over $1K. Not only does it keep it out of the hot sun, it keeps it dry.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Since your are in the construction mode. I would consider building a shelter for the trailer. Nothing fancy. I built a shelter for our 26' Argosy that is 12' x 30' x 12' high with a metal roof. Similar to a carport. Cost was just over $1K. Not only does it keep it out of the hot sun, it keeps it dry.

Excellent idea, AND the shelter provides a place to mount way more solar panels than will fit on the trailer roof, if you orient it properly so that one side of the roof has maximum winter sun exposure (since you get less sunlight in winter, optimize the solar panel system for winter, and you'll still be fine for summer).