Truma North America will release a new air conditioner to its system offerings in early 2024: the Truma Saphir.
The Saphir is an under-the-bench air conditioner with electric heating capability. Truma said Saphir was built to discreetly install in smaller RVs. The compact air conditioner has been popular in Europe since its introduction in 2006 and now is certified for sale in the U.S. and Canada.
Truma Saphir is powered by 120-volt AC power and offers 7,000 BTUs of cooling capacity and 6,500 BTUs of heating. Saphir’s ducted installation gives manufacturing partners the flexibility to determine ducts’ location, size and shape to ensure effective cooling and heating.
Business Development Manager Nick Dunning said: “We recently had an OEM partner testing the Saphir at an event, side by side with a coach that had a competitive 12-volt unit installed. The competitor’s unit not only depleted all solar power, it did not actually cool the coach. On top of that, the unit was so loud that several scheduled meetings were moved into the unit that had the Saphir installed. Our partner was impressed with the efficient cooling capacity and low noise of the Saphir.”
The Saphir provides a cooling alternative for RVs lacking conventional flat rooftops, such as a teardrop trailer or motorhome with a rooftop tent. Truma said under-the-bench installation’s benefits extend to RVs with traditional roof lines as well.
Truma VP of Sales and Marketing, Tim Williams said: “As we look to the future, this is an option that allows manufacturers to use more of their roof space for solar energy while still being able to provide ‘Simply Better,’ energy-efficient Truma heating and cooling. We are also seeing the market shift towards more modern, streamlined aesthetics. The under-the-bench installation eliminates any large wall cut-outs, providing a sleeker exterior finish.”
In addition to three fan speeds for cooling and heating, Saphir offers Air Circulation and Night modes. A wireless remote control or the Truma CP plus control panel controls Saphir’s temperature and the two modes.
In RVs outfitted with a Truma Saphir and Truma heating system, the automatic climate control mode on the CP plus will maintain a set temperature by switching between the heating and air conditioning systems, just like a home thermostat.
