DC Breeze - The 12/24v DC Air Conditioner
Application Information
 
 

How much cooling do I need?

This is the hardest question to answer because there are so many variables.  In addition to the obvious ones like room volume, ambient temperature and humidity, there is also the question of personal preference.  One fellow's idea of air conditioning is to drop the ambient temperature by 10 degrees F and reduce the humidity.  The next guy wants a 60 degree boat on a 105 degree day.  Most marine industry manufacturers use a "rule-of-thumb" that calculates the capacity requirement based on the floor (or cabin sole) surface area and the location of the space in the boat.  While this doesn't address all the variables, it seems to produce satisfactory results for the majority of users.  Two ranges are given to account for a reduced requirement if the space is reasonably well insulated and has only small windows.  A higher capacity is required for spaces that have greater ventilation, more window space and poorer insulation.  In general, it says that you should plan on;

  • 60-100 Btu/hr per sq. ft. for better insulated spaces with modest ventilation
  • 100-150 Btu/hr per sq. ft. for poorly insulated spaces (large windows) with good ventilation.

In each category the lower range is indicated for moderate climates with low humidity while the upper range is for tropical and high-humidity areas.  Reduce the numbers if you feel you are more like the guy looking for a 10 degree reduction and lower humidity.  Increase them if you are looking for that 60 degree boat on the 105 degree day.

Following this formula would indicate that a single DC Breeze would provide sufficient cooling for;

  • 33 ft2 under the most extreme temperature, humidity and ventilation conditions.
  • 50 ft2 under typical summer conditions in most areas.
  • 83 ft2  in cabins which are under the main deck (or have an cored/insulated deck above them)

Remember that these are generalizations and make some assumptions about a number of important factors such as the color of the hull, the number of people on board and the personal preference of the owner.  They are also based on a 30% "over-capacity" since air conditioning systems generally cycle on and off rather than run continuously.  

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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