AC - Off the grid?

Quote:

Originally Posted by hoodoo Our desert cabin needs some cooling starting in a month or so.....I installed solar last year and want to put in a window unit or portable unit to lower the temperature to 80d or so. Any input as to types/brands/models? Our system is 2000 watts, (8) 6V batteries....it only uses about 40% at nights and charges back up by noon the next day, so it seems there is enough capacity to handle a little extra (esp since during the hot months, there are several extra hours of sun/battery charging) Does this make sense? I'm thinking a 5000 BTU window unit or thereabouts.....

What part of your system is 2,000 watts?

It's likely that you'll be disappointed. But some of the really small window units don't use a lot of power, but they only work well in a small, tight room. If you only use it when the sun is blasting and you have extra power, it might be worth it.

You need to know how many amps the AC unit uses, how many amp hours your batteries can store, and how many watts your solar panels can charge and for how long. They will be different voltages, lessening the value of "amps" which is why we convert everything to watts and watt-hours. But if you know those 3 things, we can figure out if you have any extra power for an AC unit.

So, how many watts in solar panels do you have, how many amp hours in battery storage do you have and at what voltage, and how many amps does the potential AC unit use while its running, and how long will you run it?

Using 40% of your battery capacity per day is about normal. You don't want to use more than 50% and many people prefer not to go below 25% usage, leaving 75% stored.

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AC - Off the grid?