i want to convert the electrical system in my home air condition into solar energy. I have central air at this time.
4 thoughts on “how can I convert my home air condition system into solar energy?”
donfletcheryh
There have been reports in journal Science that indicate we should expect major reductions in the cost of solar electrical power over the next 4-5 years, sufficient to make solar competetive with nuclear.
This could make it very practical to wait for the newest generation of PV panels that are not yet to market. The expected cost is about $2 / watt of maximum capacity.
The most economical solar power installations thus far are in China, as solar roof on new housing. Because they use the solar panels in place of roofing, they are able to cut the house cost, and because the surplus heat of the panel is used to provide winter heating and water heating, there is enough benefit from having it on a new house as to pay the cost of the whole building from the PV system.
Retrofitting an existing home is far less economical. But worse, solar panel manufacturers are operating close to capacity, so taking panels for use on any but the best installations may reduce total benefits.
thomas p
A material question is not only how; but, is there a technical support team in your metropolitan area. I am assuming that cost is not a factor in your case. What would be the cost of a residential conversion to total solar? I don’t know. It is point of concern to me. My view would be that the cost would be high because there is no economies of scale in this emerging field.
shimnasazeez
u need a solar panel and a battery and supply electricity from the battery to the air condition system
get help from a technician
Eco_Dave_011
Depending on your location, the size of your home and cooling capacity of your central A/C unit it might be hard to covert 100% of the power use of your central A/C to solar. Not to mention very expensive.
Now if you have a 2,500 sq-ft house and use a 3 ton standard A/C unit at 16 EER it could draw as much as 25amps at 220v you would need about 5.5KW of PV plus a large battery bank to handle surges at (start up, blower, ect.) 250w PV panels are about $1000 each and figure about 2x the PV costs for batteries, inverter, installation, wiring, ect. You can see how this gets expensive quickly.
Living in different part of the US may require even more PV panels. Plus, you will need to put the PV panels on a tracking system (a mount that tilts the panels to be perfect aligned with the sun’s path) There are always cloudy days, so if the humidity is not too bad you can hopefully shut the A/C off and credit your electric bill by turning your electric meter backwards.
A better option might be to sell your central A/C and replace it with a heat pump system. A heat pump uses the ground temperature to cool and heat. It may seem more complex but is rather simple can be far less expensive than a full blown PV system. The heat pump can run 24/7 cooling or heating as needed and can provide 4 times the amount of energy they consumes.
There have been reports in journal Science that indicate we should expect major reductions in the cost of solar electrical power over the next 4-5 years, sufficient to make solar competetive with nuclear.
This could make it very practical to wait for the newest generation of PV panels that are not yet to market. The expected cost is about $2 / watt of maximum capacity.
The most economical solar power installations thus far are in China, as solar roof on new housing. Because they use the solar panels in place of roofing, they are able to cut the house cost, and because the surplus heat of the panel is used to provide winter heating and water heating, there is enough benefit from having it on a new house as to pay the cost of the whole building from the PV system.
Retrofitting an existing home is far less economical. But worse, solar panel manufacturers are operating close to capacity, so taking panels for use on any but the best installations may reduce total benefits.
A material question is not only how; but, is there a technical support team in your metropolitan area. I am assuming that cost is not a factor in your case. What would be the cost of a residential conversion to total solar? I don’t know. It is point of concern to me. My view would be that the cost would be high because there is no economies of scale in this emerging field.
u need a solar panel and a battery and supply electricity from the battery to the air condition system
get help from a technician
Depending on your location, the size of your home and cooling capacity of your central A/C unit it might be hard to covert 100% of the power use of your central A/C to solar. Not to mention very expensive.
Now if you have a 2,500 sq-ft house and use a 3 ton standard A/C unit at 16 EER it could draw as much as 25amps at 220v you would need about 5.5KW of PV plus a large battery bank to handle surges at (start up, blower, ect.) 250w PV panels are about $1000 each and figure about 2x the PV costs for batteries, inverter, installation, wiring, ect. You can see how this gets expensive quickly.
Living in different part of the US may require even more PV panels. Plus, you will need to put the PV panels on a tracking system (a mount that tilts the panels to be perfect aligned with the sun’s path) There are always cloudy days, so if the humidity is not too bad you can hopefully shut the A/C off and credit your electric bill by turning your electric meter backwards.
A better option might be to sell your central A/C and replace it with a heat pump system. A heat pump uses the ground temperature to cool and heat. It may seem more complex but is rather simple can be far less expensive than a full blown PV system. The heat pump can run 24/7 cooling or heating as needed and can provide 4 times the amount of energy they consumes.
Dept of Energy Heat Pump information
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/space_heating_cooling/index.cfm/mytopic=12610
Hope that answers some of your questions!