solar air conditioning

[NewbeeMC9]

I thought this was interesting.


http://www.solcool.net/


Save on inverter

can use dc APU etc


have LED replacements for fluorescent bulbs, a little pricy, but if you want to be off the grid, 

Opinions?

[cody]

good information, there are many sites that could be helpful to the bus community, especially the fulltimers among us, one of the daily concerns is to make the most use of our limited resources. the solar industry is moving rapidly into areas that would benefit us all.

[paulcjhastings]

I want something like this, I have been looking for 24v dc motors to convert a normal split system. However, if this is even close to the right price I'd be verrrrrry interested. HVAC experts stop me, before I write a check.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Paul,

Before you get too excited.... It's 18,000 btu's  1 won't do it in your bus you better get two.

Nick-

[belfert]

I'm trying to figure how you would convert a split system to 24 volt Dc unless you're still going to run the compressor on 110 volts AC?  As far as I know compressors have internal motors.  (I am certainly not an HVAC expert by any means.)

If a split takes 12 amps at 110 volt, it will take around 60 amps at 24 volt DC.  Are you going to run this off the alternator or have a DC generator to run this?  Wouldn't it take a heck of a solar panel array to run one of these, let alone two of them?

I don't think these SolCool guys have done anything to make an air conditioner any more efficient other than eliminating the losses through an inverter.

[belfert]

have LED replacements for fluorescent bulbs, a little pricy, but if you want to be off the grid, 

I saw the LED flourescent bulbs, but I realized right away I have T12 bulbs that are two foot and not T8s so no good for me unless they have other sizes.

Anyhow, I remember reading that T8 flourescents with electronic ballasts actually use less electricity per lumen than LEDs.  Anyone else heard of this?  Most LED installations I see tend to have less light than regular light fixtures, but that might be good in cases where you just need enough light to move around without hitting things.

The four 24 volt flourescents in my bus provide a ton of light so it is almost like a baseball stadium with them all on.  We unplug all but one at night when driving so the driver can see.  (I will have reading lights some day so the main lights can be off when driving.)

[Lee Bradley]

I guess it is just me but I don't do business with anyone that doesn't post prices on the web when they have a website.

[belfert]

They don't sell direct so they don't set the prices.  I suppose they could list the MSRP.

I guess there are a lot of companies you don't do business with then.  There are companies I have bypassed due to no prices, but I have called plenty of times about prices.

[HighTechRedneck]

I really like to see some of the power hungry technologies improve.  But I find the power specs on this to be curious.  http://www.solcool.net/tech.htm

1000 watt power input/5000 watt cooling output?  It makes no mention of being a refrigerant/evaporative hybrid, but that is the only thing that makes sense.  If it is hybrid evaporative unit, then it would be virtually useless in several parts of the U.S.

The 50 amps at 24v is in alignment with the 1000-1200 watt rating, but down towards the bottom it says:

Cooling Input Current (A) 8.1 Max
Heating Input Current (A) 9.5 Max

Other places on the site it references to on-grid operation so maybe that is the amps at 120v.  But it makes no notation to that effect.

[Madmike]

Neah Power Systems, Inc. ownes Solcool and trades at 0 to 1 cent. Nice idea but not quite there yet. It does not say what happens when the wind is blowing 40-50 mph.

[paulcjhastings]

I'm trying to figure how you would convert a split system to 24 volt Dc unless you're still going to run the compressor on 110 volts AC?  As far as I know compressors have internal motors.  (I am certainly not an HVAC expert by any means.)

Aircraft have 24v dc systems, what I meant more than convert, was piece together a system from existing parts from multiple sources.

[pvcces]

It looks to me like their specs are phony; the R410A stuff I have been seeing has been around 1 KW per ton. The best units made that are credible might trim that down to 3/4 KW per ton.

Looking at the weight and all the other comments and seeing no valid ratings for heat or cooling made me feel that they are not quite there, as well.

The upper power numbers cannot be reconciled with the lower ones, but it made me wonder if they didn't just add an inverter to a split system. That might account for some of their claims.

For what it's worth.

Tom Caffrey

[paulcjhastings]

I was having trouble with the numbers as well, could the 8amps be possible while running and the 50amps be just for start up?
In a mockup I was working on a flap actuator motor would spike 240amps at startup, and run on a 30amp circuit breaker.

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Paul,

The numbers make some sence but, not all is true with conventional thinking.

What I do know is that the 25amps is at 48v dc and the 50amps are at 24v dc. This system is DC and inverter driven.

They are depending on land AC current for the inverter to run the system and charging the battery bank.  Bottom line, you need

a big enough battery bank to run the system for what your needs would call for without grid tie.

With my residential Frigidaire line, we have an IQ Inverter drive system that is 23 seer. The compressor is DC and variable speed.

At night the system ramps down to 900rpm's, and this is how socool is getting their #'s  you guy's are not comming up with. "Variable Speed"

If you notice, the socool system's are all dc. Even the t-stat.  Efficency is there but, the cooling capacity is not.

Good Luck
Nick-