Solar powering of airconditioners is it feasable?

Question

I want to use solar power to make my air conditioner work during powercuts(1.5 tn ,make-LG). How much do I have to spend for initial setup? And how much maintenance do these sort of things require? Need to know the cost of initial setup of alternate solar powered backup to run tube lights(2) & fans(2).

Answer 1

For the price of the solar panel and geno are = of having 4 generators run by diesel oil or organic oil. :P

Answer 2

3.5 kW per 12,000 BTU (one Ton) is one of the several conversion factors used in determining a sensible cooling load, but not for sizing the compressor power draw.
For an ambient air cooled condenser you will need about 1.3 KW per design Ton for the compressor and the two fans so in your case you will need to generate no more than about 2 kW of continuous AC power. You will need an instant surge of 2-3 times the compressor motor FL amps for starting so a bank of capacitors will be needed.
Forget any kind of conversion of this type. You can't afford it even at 1.3 kW per Ton.
For all you so-called A/C, solar experts, there should soon be a revival ( if not already) of domestic size absorption A/C heat pumps utilizing solar heat as the energy source, possibly piggy- backed onto domestic water heating. Of course during a commercial power failure an electric power supply will still be needed for the fans and controls and here is where you tap off of a standby diesel generator.
For first time installations or full replacements this technology looks attractive even when the current politicized "Gorebal Warning" hoop-la is history. Because of growing foreign competition for energy sources, energy costs are going to continue to rise so the smart had better get a lot smarter.

Answer 3

It's gonna be pricey !! Figure on $5000 for every KW. You have a 1.5 tn A/C and a tn is 3.5 kw so figure on a 4 kw system. So you're looking at $20K for the panels and the inverter to generate a.c. from the dc voltage will be at least another $2K.

With installation, you could probably figure on 25 to 30 K bucks.

Answer 4

Technically, it can be done, however, operating air conditioning can be expensive. Back up lights and fans are less expensive.

You'll need to define your kilowatt hr/day requirements and how many days you want available for back up system. (1/2 day to 3).

Your system will consist of 1.solar array & mounting 2.battery bank 3. inverter and various controls.

depending on set up, you can spend $5,000-$35,000. You can also start with a small array and back up system and gradually add more arrays. Contact me via the website below and I can give you more info.

Answer 5

Heat exchangers draw 1200 W or more...

Inverter + solar cells are going to be pricey...

A diesel generator running on vegetable oil is cheap...