Solar Air Conditioner
Okay for all boondockers needing to run air conditioning, gotta love ingenuity! :B Solar Air Conditioner
Forum Discussion
"Does the KWH rating of PFP batteries reflect total KWH, or usable (available) KWH (70% of total capacity)? Also, did you have to get a special solar controller or was the Morningstar folks able to reprogram your controller with LFP voltage curves?"
Chip
The 9.6 kW-hrs is total energy storage, we can safely use 80% DOD for several thousand cycles (according to work done by Liberty Coaches) so we have just under 8 kW-hrs of usable energy. Our older son (as noted in earlier posts) has been in solar for almost 30 years as a researcher and first licensed solar/alternative energy contractor in New Mexico(has BS in electro-mechanical engineering and is a licensed master electrician). As noted elsewhere he designed and fabricated the panels and low voltage (under 1000 V probaby)for a 1.8 megawatt system for the power company near Las Vegas, NM. He did the reprogramming required for LFP voltage curves along with Manzanita industries. The Manzanita batteries came with internal battery management system that seems to work well (after 13 months with no hiccups)
I think our plan is to put a much smaller a/c unit into our bedroom that would (750 W) that would cool that room for sleeping. The outside temperature was in mid-90s today and we kept the 34' fifth wheel down to low to mid 80s which is quite comfortable. A single a/c unit is insufficient when it gets above 105 and we do not plan to go anywhere like that again. The Fantastic-Fans and the smaller 12V fans we plug into the 12V outlets make life quite livable. If it gets over 100, we go to much higher elevations, and we primarily boondock at dispersed camping in BLM/NF areas. We are currently "mootchdocking" for several days on the street visiting my cousin in Missoula, MT. We have not hooked up - and of course cannot open the slides on the street. City and neighbors are happy.
But we shall look into the 48 V DC heat pump. If it does use 1/3rd the wattage, it would be most affordable at $1.8K
We see no reason to add LFP batteries since 256 pounds is quite enough. The front bay is rated at around 400# so it could be done within frame, pin weight and pickup rear axle loadings.
I can send you photos of system via e-mail if you like since I have not figured out how to attach photos to this forum
Reed and Elaine
Chip
The 9.6 kW-hrs is total energy storage, we can safely use 80% DOD for several thousand cycles (according to work done by Liberty Coaches) so we have just under 8 kW-hrs of usable energy. Our older son (as noted in earlier posts) has been in solar for almost 30 years as a researcher and first licensed solar/alternative energy contractor in New Mexico(has BS in electro-mechanical engineering and is a licensed master electrician). As noted elsewhere he designed and fabricated the panels and low voltage (under 1000 V probaby)for a 1.8 megawatt system for the power company near Las Vegas, NM. He did the reprogramming required for LFP voltage curves along with Manzanita industries. The Manzanita batteries came with internal battery management system that seems to work well (after 13 months with no hiccups)
I think our plan is to put a much smaller a/c unit into our bedroom that would (750 W) that would cool that room for sleeping. The outside temperature was in mid-90s today and we kept the 34' fifth wheel down to low to mid 80s which is quite comfortable. A single a/c unit is insufficient when it gets above 105 and we do not plan to go anywhere like that again. The Fantastic-Fans and the smaller 12V fans we plug into the 12V outlets make life quite livable. If it gets over 100, we go to much higher elevations, and we primarily boondock at dispersed camping in BLM/NF areas. We are currently "mootchdocking" for several days on the street visiting my cousin in Missoula, MT. We have not hooked up - and of course cannot open the slides on the street. City and neighbors are happy.
But we shall look into the 48 V DC heat pump. If it does use 1/3rd the wattage, it would be most affordable at $1.8K
We see no reason to add LFP batteries since 256 pounds is quite enough. The front bay is rated at around 400# so it could be done within frame, pin weight and pickup rear axle loadings.
I can send you photos of system via e-mail if you like since I have not figured out how to attach photos to this forum
Reed and Elaine
