Solar Air Conditioner
Okay for all boondockers needing to run air conditioning, gotta love ingenuity! :B Solar Air Conditioner
Forum Discussion
I just saw a new development in solar ACs that are even more efficient, requiring even less battery power. Here's the link: http://www.geinnovations.net/Specifications.html
This new super high-efficiency heat pump (EER = 21.43) only requires 560 watts (11.5 amps) of 48v dc to produce 12,000 BTUs of cooling - about 60% of the previous high efficiency solar heat pump I linked to! Plus, like the previous system, the rotary compressor doesn't cycle on and off like a typical ac unit. It ramps up and down from 5,000 BTUs to 12,000 BTUs as required, so no high current start-ups are needed, saving even more power. Yes, a solar ac system will still be heavy, but 1,500 watts of solar should be sufficient to replenish your 8 - 6v GC-2 battery bank, not 2kw as was previously suggested with the other less efficient AC unit. As time passes and technology improves, the prospect of solar ACs gets more and more practical, extending one's boondocking season even longer, especially if you plan on only cooling a single bedroom at night, for a good night's sleep (when it's cooler outside anyway) and not the entire trailer, as you would during the day when there is plenty of solar power available. Let's say you start the night with 200 ah in your batteries (at 48 v) or 100 ah available and your AC averages only 6 amps draw (about 1/2 power, as things are cooling off), that means that you could run it for over 16 hrs. before you reach 50% battery capacity, leaving extra power available to run other things. Or you could cut your battery bank in half - say only 4 - 12v deep cycle batteries and still run your solar AC for a full 8 hrs before your batteries reach the 50% level. Let's say you have 4, Trojan T1275s (150 ah 12v batteries, leaving power to spare). Since you are normally outside most of the day and won't be using your AC then anyway, a full day of sun on those 1,500 watt panels and you should be good to go for another night of comfortable sleep (and an evening of a couple hrs. TV viewing, lighting and water pump use to boot). If it's a cloudy day, a back-up EU2000 Honda run for few hours or a supplemental wind generator should be enough to make up the difference and get that battery bank up to capacity again.
Chip
This new super high-efficiency heat pump (EER = 21.43) only requires 560 watts (11.5 amps) of 48v dc to produce 12,000 BTUs of cooling - about 60% of the previous high efficiency solar heat pump I linked to! Plus, like the previous system, the rotary compressor doesn't cycle on and off like a typical ac unit. It ramps up and down from 5,000 BTUs to 12,000 BTUs as required, so no high current start-ups are needed, saving even more power. Yes, a solar ac system will still be heavy, but 1,500 watts of solar should be sufficient to replenish your 8 - 6v GC-2 battery bank, not 2kw as was previously suggested with the other less efficient AC unit. As time passes and technology improves, the prospect of solar ACs gets more and more practical, extending one's boondocking season even longer, especially if you plan on only cooling a single bedroom at night, for a good night's sleep (when it's cooler outside anyway) and not the entire trailer, as you would during the day when there is plenty of solar power available. Let's say you start the night with 200 ah in your batteries (at 48 v) or 100 ah available and your AC averages only 6 amps draw (about 1/2 power, as things are cooling off), that means that you could run it for over 16 hrs. before you reach 50% battery capacity, leaving extra power available to run other things. Or you could cut your battery bank in half - say only 4 - 12v deep cycle batteries and still run your solar AC for a full 8 hrs before your batteries reach the 50% level. Let's say you have 4, Trojan T1275s (150 ah 12v batteries, leaving power to spare). Since you are normally outside most of the day and won't be using your AC then anyway, a full day of sun on those 1,500 watt panels and you should be good to go for another night of comfortable sleep (and an evening of a couple hrs. TV viewing, lighting and water pump use to boot). If it's a cloudy day, a back-up EU2000 Honda run for few hours or a supplemental wind generator should be enough to make up the difference and get that battery bank up to capacity again.
Chip
