In the past few years, thousands of mobile-lifestyle enthusiasts – from full time RVers to weekend campers – have discovered something revolutionary in achieving air-conditioned comfort: A/C soft starters.
If you haven’t heard about them, A/C soft starters reduce the amount of amps that a typical RV air conditioner needs to start up its power-hungry compressor. As a result, A/C soft start products let RV air conditioners operate more reliably on limited power, which lets energy-savvy RVers keep cool and comfortable in more camping locations than ever before.
Background on A/C soft starters
Air conditioners consume, by far, the most electricity of any appliance that an RV has. That means that the A/C plays a central role in overall RV power management. Because of their growing use (especially as motorhomes get bigger and are equipped with two rooftop A/Cs), several problems associated with “hard-starting” RV A/C units have come to be widely recognized:
- Needing more than 30 amps to operate RV A/C and other appliances on the same circuit – added energy cost
- Needing more than 2000- or 2200-watt generator to power RV A/C and other appliances – added equipment costs and increased stowage space consumption
- Loud thumping noise when A/C starts – enough to shake you awake during an otherwise restful night – High inrush amperage superheats A/C compressor windings – repeated damage that can shorten the life of the A/C unit
- Constant monitoring of which appliances are in use at what times to avoid shutdowns – what is relaxing about that?
To solve these problems, A/C soft start products were created to reduce the high amperage inrush of startup power by up to 70%. By slowly ramping the A/C compressor up to its desired start speed – instead of a allowing sudden burst of power to jolt the A/C, soft start devices have allowed RVers to relax more comfortably with lower power requirements, with no A/C startup “thumps” and noise, with less compressor winding heating which extends A/C life, and with more time to gaze at the stars rather than their power usage chart.
Which A/C Soft Start is right for you
Several brands of RV A/C soft start products are available today. The one that The RV Advisor finds to be the most complete – from product quality and installation ease, to technical support and warranty – is the SoftStartRV™ A/C Soft Starter.
Complete performance information about the SoftStartRV product can be found at the SoftStartRV website. Also, watch and hear actual testimonials from our RV Expert and satisfied customers. These resources provide all of the features and benefits of SoftStartRV, as well as the real-life successful use and testing of the product in mobile living situations.
In addition to performance info and customer reviews, The RV Advisor believes there are several more important reasons that SoftStartRV offers the best choice in RV A/C soft starters.
One complete package
Smart solutions don’t always have to be difficult ones. That’s why SoftStartRV is the best choice to solve anyone’s RV A/C startup and resulting power management problems. Network RV has made the process for buying and installing a SoftStartRV product as simple and complete as possible. And they made a product that is guaranteed longer than competitive models.
Compact size fits on Any RV A/C
SoftStartRV is the most compact soft start that’s rated for up to 3-ton/36,000-BTU A/C units. Virtually no matter what size A/C you have, SoftStartRV will install safely under the rooftop A/C cover. Each unit includes all the connectors, zip-ties and other fasteners needed to secure the unit to the RV A/C. There are not many electrical devices today that can truly claim one-size-fits-all, but the SoftStartRV product comes about as close as possible.
Easy installation
Because soft starters must be wired directly to A/C units, many people have not added one to their RV because of concerns about the installation process. Dealing with anything electrical can be scary, especially when you’re 10-12 feet up on the roof of an RV. Understanding that people may be concerned about wiring a soft start device, SoftStartRV developed the industry’s ONLY “6-Step, No-Cut/No Splice” installation process. You can install a SoftStartRV without making any cuts or splicing any wires!
To help make the installation process even easier, SoftStartRV.com offers easy-to- find, easy-to understand installation schematics online, as well as thorough online and “live” customer support.
And if someone doesn’t see the instructions for their specific RV air conditioner, they can ask to have special instructions made. All it takes is submitting a picture of the electrical diagram of the air conditioner and information about the RV via a support ticket on the SoftStartRV website. Once they have that, a color diagram with step-by-step instructions will be created.
If someone is still not comfortable with the process, then they can schedule rooftop installation support. Set up a date and time with the support team and one of the technical staff members will walk the customer through the installation, step-by-step, over the phone.
Outstanding Customer Support
The SoftStartRV technical team consists of people with decades of experience in engineering and marketing products for the RV industry and other mobile living markets. By being directly involved with both manufacturers and users of RV products, the people at SoftStartRV understand that it takes much more than an outstanding product to satisfy a customer; it also takes great service throughout the life of the product.