Solar Powered Air Con- possible?

[hadders]

Hi,

I have been searching the web regarding Solar powered Air Conditioning for my small house and came across the link below:

http://www.china-aircon.com/detail-10016623/48v-dc-powered-solar-ac-new-version.html

Could this unit work? and if so how many panels/batteries would I need to power the unit overnight (say 10 hours).
I would think it would need quite a large syatem.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

How many hours a day do you plan on running it?

What's your location so we can look up the insolation available?

WWW

[Sunking]

You are not going to like the real answers.

[SunEagle]

The add states a minimum of 800 watts of solar panels to run that thing so figure 1000 watts of panels to be sure.

The batteries AH rating should be equal your panel watt rating for each day of use. To be safe you should have a 5 day battery in case you have cloudy days and can't charge it as well as not hurting your battery by over discharging it.

So figure 800 to 1000 AH times 5 for your battery size. That 4000 - 5000 ah battery system will cost you thousands of $$. A whole house propane generator will cost you much less.

[hadders]

I am living up in the mountains in Thailand, we have power but due to frequent 'brown outs' in the area, not enough to use AC. Nearest 3 phase power is 2 miles away and would cost many $$$ to bring in.
I use ceiling fans most of the year, but the 3 months of Hot Season gets really hot and AC would be nice. I was just seeing if it was at viable idea, looks like a generator would be cheaper.

[Wy_White_Wolf]

I am living up in the mountains in Thailand, we have power but due to frequent 'brown outs' in the area, not enough to use AC. Nearest 3 phase power is 2 miles away and would cost many $$$ to bring in.
I use ceiling fans most of the year, but the 3 months of Hot Season gets really hot and AC would be nice. I was just seeing if it was at viable idea, looks like a generator would be cheaper.

For the smallest unit they offer my rough numbers come in at 800W array and 250AH @ 48V battery for every day hour that you want to run it. So if you turn it on at noon and off at 6pm then you need 4800W of panels and 1500AH @ 48V battery bank.

WWW

[Bryan]

On the subject of cloudy days, I know that thailand is hot, cloudy or not, but is it possible to increase the solar panels and have the AC cool when the sun is out and hottest while running as long as it can with less batteries and a cut off switch to protect the battery from over discharge damage on cloudy days when it is not charging as effectively? Would this reduce the cost and give some cooling at the hottest times?

Bryan

[Sunking]

Bryan the problem with off-grid solar is cost. If you have commercial power, use it. To go off-grid the power will cost you about 10 times more than if you bought it from the power company. At least th epower company only bills you monthly. Solar off grid is 5 years up front in cash. Then in 3 to 5 years you pay again to replace batteries.

[Bryan]

Thanks for the reply.

Cost is definitely a factor of course, I like to keep costs down too but it seems that in this case there is no good option for getting AC with the commercial power, so starting an off grid system would be better than nothing and one step closer to being self sufficient, even if the system will need to be upgraded over time. I' d like to see him have a go at it. As more of us begin getting off grid power system, (I am starting with my camping power requirements), I am sure that the cost will come down. We may pay more today for R&D that will benefit us tomorrow.............as long as I don't go broke doing it........

Bryan

[hadders]

Hi Guys,

The same company is advertising a 'Hybrid Solar Air Conditioner'

http://www.china-aircon.com/detail-10013956/solar-air-conditioner-wall-mounted-dc-inverter-series.html

Which if you download the specs would use 536W of power for the 9,000 BTU model.
I think we are still looking at a major investment even for this model. Daytime running is not needed as we are out of the house, but would have to run it nighttime for approx 8 hours.

[FloridaSun]

On the subject of cloudy days, I know that thailand is hot, cloudy or not, but is it possible to increase the solar panels and have the AC cool when the sun is out and hottest while running as long as it can with less batteries and a cut off switch to protect the battery from over discharge damage on cloudy days when it is not charging as effectively? Would this reduce the cost and give some cooling at the hottest times?

Bryan

sawasdee khap
You're much better off with passive cooling wherever you are in the world. Years ago I went to visit a girlfriend's uncle in Trat and his house was a very comfy 29C inside while 36C outside, without fans. Course he was an engineer and designed/built his own home. haha, I know that doesn't help if your renting but there may be some you can do, shade, ventilation, to bring down interior temps. More critical is a good supply of ice to pour the bia singha over!
chok di

[SunEagle]

sawasdee khap
You're much better off with passive cooling wherever you are in the world. Years ago I went to visit a girlfriend's uncle in Trat and his house was a very comfy 29C inside while 36C outside, without fans. Course he was an engineer and designed/built his own home. haha, I know that doesn't help if your renting but there may be some you can do, shade, ventilation, to bring down interior temps. More critical is a good supply of ice to pour the bia singha over!
chok di

actually there are some home built cooling systems that use a combination of ice and a ducted fan. it is not high tech but it will provide some form of inexpensive cooling.

[FloridaSun]

actually there are some home built cooling systems that use a combination of ice and a ducted fan. it is not high tech but it will provide some form of inexpensive cooling.

ice... inexpensive until you think about the Kwh it takes to produce ice.

[SunEagle]

ice... inexpensive until you think about the Kwh it takes to produce ice.

It will be cheaper to create ice using utility power than running an AC unit on battery power.

[hadders]

Luckily the fridge works fine and we have plenty of cold beer..!!

The house is all wood (see pic below) so normally AC is not required. It's just those 2-3 months of still, humid nights that are bad. We are way off the beaten track and our electricity supply is at the end of the line, so we often get power drops. I was looking into Solar power alternatives, but unfortunately unlike elsewhere in the world, the Thai Government doesn't give any incentives to install it.

Thai House.jpg