How To Insulate A Tent For AC: Stay Cool On The Inside

For humans, the most ideal power would be the ability to control the weather. Just imagine how easy it would be and you can avoid so many disasters. Unfortunately, it is in the hands of God.

But one thing mankind had learned is to control the weather, or more accurately temperature, inside a room. This is done via AC, and since its invention, it has been one of the most popular electronic items and one that provides you with comfort.

If you are also someone, who can’t live without AC and want it inside your tent as well, you will have to make some adjustments to your tent first.

So, in this article, we will guide you through everything you have to know for How To Insulate A Tent For AC. Let’s jump right into it.

When Do You Need Insulation?

Whether you are camping on a campsite or somewhere off the grid, you will need insulation throughout the year. At the beginning of the year, in January and February, it is winter in most places, so you need to insulate your tent for winter camping. As we go around the year, in June and July, it comes to summer, and you again have to insulate your tent for operating AC. The clock ticks and in October and November, you again have to prepare yourself for winter.

So, throughout the year, you need means to insulate your tent and that is why, we can advise you that if you are a regular camper or even a camper who goes once a year, to buy the necessary insulating materials.

Accessories Needed For Insulation

Firstly, let us begin with what accessories you will need for a good insulation of your tent for AC to work properly. Let’s see what you will need.

1. Tent

You might be wondering that obviously, you know that you need a tent. But actually, you need to have a tent that can be ripped. The tent you will be buying will have to be cut in a certain area so that you can connect the AC to it.

Also, the material has to be thick enough to provide some sort of insulation as well. Nylon tents and polyester tents are the most common tents, but if you want our advice for the best tent out there for insulating for an AC, you should look at canvas tents.

For the best canvas tents out there, you should have a look at them on 10 Best Canvas Tents For Camping: Your All-Weather Partner.

Another way is that some tents have an AC port inbuilt in the tent, so you can look at that option too.

2. Reflective Tarp

As you can guess from the name, the tarp has the property of reflection. They can knock back the sunlight falling on it. You will need reflective tarps to cover your entire tent from the outside. If you don’t have a reflective tarp, your tent will get heated by the sunlight and you will need more power from your AC. The tarp also has to be waterproof and windproof.

Depending on the size of your tent, you can buy different sizes of tarps and even buy tarps at different prices. The costlier tarps will be of better quality while the cheaper ones will be a little less durable and heat resistant.

3. Insulating Sheet

Even if you cover the entire tent, you won’t still be warm and insulated if the base of your tent isn’t insulated. When you camp on the ground, the dampness of the ground makes it cold. The cold temperature seeps from the ground to the base of your tent. If you sleep on the ground, you will realize how cold it gets and how susceptible it is to let the air conditioning gas escape.

So, you need an insulating sheet to cover the base of your tent. The sheet has to be either glued or taped. When it comes to buying an insulating sheet, you should always buy a good quality one, because this is kind of your last line of defense against the cold and also the air conditioning gas can seep through the ground.

4. Duct Tapes

This is easily portable, and small in size. It can be carried by anybody. But despite the small size, for insulation of a tent for AC, this is one of the most important components.

For, attaching the tarps and groundsheets to the tent, you will need duct tapes. You can also use glue but most campers use tapes. Also, for sealing minor leaks inside your tent, a duct tape can come in handy.

You can use both double-sided tapes or single-sided tapes for attachment, but for sealing leaks, you will need single-sided tapes only.

5. Emergency Blanket And Vapor Barrier Lining

From now on, the accessories aren’t necessary, like you have to carry them, but it is good to have them for a good trip.

The emergency blanket is a good option to keep the air conditioning gas inside the tent. You can attach it to the interior of your tent and enjoy the conditioned air.

The vapor lining can either be polythene or plastic. This goes on the outside of your tent, over the reflective tarp. It will keep the vapor from covering your reflective tarp.

6. Pool Noodles

Finally, the last accessory on the list is pool noodles. As we know, a minor leak can be enough for the air conditioning gas to escape to the environment and ruin your stay inside the tent. So, you need to take care of all the leaks, and for that, you need pool noodles. You can also use duct tapes, but duct tapes are a temporary solution, and pool noodles do a better job in sealing gaps.

How To Set Up AC Inside Your Tent

Now that you know, what you have to bring to your camp, for having AC inside your tent, let us get to the steps you have to follow to fix your AC and insulate your tent properly.

Step 1: Pitch The Tent And Set The AC

First and foremost, you have to pitch the tent over a dry place and a level ground. Try to pick a shady area for pitching. Make sure that the tent is clean so that glue and duct tapes can stick to the tent. Also, there has to be an electric port nearby for the AC to work. Next, is to set up the AC. Measure the size of the AC and cut the tent in the same size, in the direction in which you want to place the AC.

If your tent already has an AC port, the cutting doesn’t have to be done. Make sure that there are no gaps between the tent and AC otherwise all the das can go out through the holes.

Step 2: Insulate The Outside And Inside

After you have successfully set up the AC, you have to set up the reflective tarp. Cover the entire exterior with the tarp and attach it to the tent with duct tape or glue. Similarly, attach the insulating sheet to the ground of the tent as well.

If you have emergency blankets, you can attach it to the interior lining and finally use vapor lining to cover your entire tent, just the AC excluded.

Step 3: Check Your Tent

After you are done with the insulation, close the door of the tent, plug the Ac into a power source, and switch it on. Now, run your hand all over the tent and check if there is any leakage.

If you find any leakage, use the pool noodles or duct tape to cover them.

Step 4: Get To Your Tent And Enjoy

After you have sealed all possible leakages, turn the AC off, open the door and get inside the tent. After you close the door, you can start your AC again. Remember that you shouldn’t use a fan inside the tent or the AC won’t work.

Finally, enjoy a cool air-conditioned atmosphere inside your tent on a hot scorching day.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can you air condition a tent?

Yes, you can air condition a tent, but it won’t work if you don’t insulate the tent from the external heat of the sun. You have to use reflective tarps over your tent to keep the UV rays off the tent’s interior. Also, you have to have the interior insulated and then pass the air-conditioned gas into the tent.

How do I insulate my air conditioner for the winter?

For insulating your air conditioner for the winter season, you have to use a waterproof bag, maybe a polythene or nylon bag. Place a cloth as a cover over your AC, and then wrap the entire thing inside the plastic.

What is the best tent for hot weather?

For hot weather conditions, we can advise you to use canvas tents, because they are more breathable with AC. The natural material makes the ventilation very good and also the tent’s insulating material can repel the UV rays of the sun.
You can find the best canvas tents here.
There is another type of tent called air-conditioned tents. They can be quite expensive though.

What color tent is coolest in hot weather?

If you are looking to buy a tent for camping in hot weather, it is best that you buy a tent that is white, orange or blue, but it has to be light in color. Light color tents have a reflective quality whereas dark colored tents tend to absorb heat. So, you can choose any color as long as it is light.

How do I keep my tent cool?

There are several tricks that you can use to keep your tent cool. The easiest one is to use an air conditioner and insulate your tent according to it. But if you want something without electricity, you can use battery-powered fans, adjust your tent, wear light clothes, etc.
For more details on how to keep a tent cool without electricity, you can check How To Cool A Tent Without Electricity? 11 Untold Hacks.

Conclusion

On a hot burning day, it almost gets impossible to camp without an AC and so you can follow these steps to easily install an AC inside your tent.

Try to maintain a temperature of 76-degree F at all times to optimize the costs and experience. Also, you can wear light clothes inside the tent so that you don’t need to lower the temperature too much.

As campers, we can advise you to keep the temperature close to the normal temperature outside, because having too big of a gap in the temperature affects your health and also make it difficult for you once you step out of the tent.

Please share your wonderful camping stories with us through the comment section and tell us how you like to insulate your tent for AC.

Happy Camping Everyone!