-40 from the outlet is impossible, not even the evaporator fins will be anywhere near that cold. I use IR thermometers as a guide to relative temperatures (before and after changes) or ball park figures never for accurate readings. Just put any thermometer in that air outlet and you will find it is nearer to +10 degrees C than -40.
Andy, I see that the air conditioner has two places where you can put a tube behind, I think it is able to have two tubes behind, one for taking air from outside and one for pushing air outside, it would become more effective if you would use both since it won't suck from inside air already cooled to push it outside heated. (If it is actually true that you can put a second tube)
It blows my mind that the single-hose type are not only legal in California, but it's almost impossible to find a dual-hose type at a local retailer. You have to special order the good ones. The negative pressure sucks hot air in through the leaks in the building, greatly reducing efficiency and overall capacity. Single-hosers should be outlawed, period. Save $1 on hose, a couple of hours of operation and the electricity difference has exceeded that. I guess the IT industry is to blame - the single-hose types are simpler to use in a data closet with localized hot spots that need a cooling boost, but have a more efficient A/C already cooling the whole building. I guess in that situation, the negative pressure helps keep the server room's heat from leaking out into the rest of the building, and that temperature might be higher than outdoors?
I'm glad you posted this as I also had this issue until I modified my unit to have another hose that sucked in from the outside of the room being cooled. The transformation in performance was night and day.
I use one of them in my room, pro tip: Insulate the "exit" hose. I use a triple layer old sheet and it reduces the temp "dump" into the room by a massive margin. The raw pipe feels hot, the sheet doesn't. Cost? an old sheet and 5 minutes with a sewing needle. I would estimate an extra 10-20% efficiency.
Hi Andy. You can use smart IR controller (Sonoff WiFi-IR Remote IR Control Hub Wi-Fi) to remotely control the air conditioner. Just teach it from your IR remote controll. You can use some automations (when sonoff socket is on - turn on air conditioner).
Andy you need a small power room with a 9000btu about 2.7kw cooling dual inverter split unit they use like 800-900watts super efficient, the LG split units are very good.
Yep Those air conditioners (vented by a hose units) are the least efficient ones you can get. Midea inverter ac 12000 btu for less than $500 us. Live in Florida and I use them in the work shop. On solar
@@rbartsch I was just going say this, it's a major design flaw of portable air conditioners, if your pumping air out of the room then air will be drawn in. I used to have one in the office at work and when I turned it on you could hear the wall creak as they were sucked in. From a design point it's so easy to fix, either use a twin wall hose, or two hoses, one for air in to cool the condenser, and one for air out.
Me again. Affirmative, what Guy7wrote is absolutely correct. You need an enclosure to the PV System, und a window AC not the portable device. Forget about the “heat exchanger” system. Trust me …. It’s a gimmick. The system is simply “reversing” the Freon supply and ythe system will STILL run the compressor ! Meaning ..simply wasting 1750 Watts, draining LiFePo4s. Since you, already invested in capital appropriation, why invest on devices, which you’d, discard later anyway? 12000BTU (1 ton) small window air conditioner mounted at the top of the enclosure, test thermostat settings by trial n error. A air circulating fan is highly recommended . 60 D F is assured. The VICTRONs will love the cool condition😆 Return the item you procured, please. Guten abend.
You could add a IR led on the Raspberry with a small program to activate the AC from the Pi. Just emulate the remote control. Watching al your vids always with a cold Jagermeister next to me 😁
I had a hard time using a Raspi to control an AC with an IR LED. I tried the LIRC project, but I just didn't get it to work. I was able to control my TV with it, but not the AC. The timings which were provided on the GPIOs were just not accurate enough for my Mitsubishi AC. It never accepted any sent datagrams. The difference between an AC and a TV is that most ACs use very long datagrams compared to TVs. That makes it more error prone when timing issues occur. Then I switched to an Arduino and it just worked out of the box. I measured the timings with an oscilosocpe and you could see how much better the Arduino was performing. I am currently using a very cheap Arduino with an ESP 8266 SOC. I bought 5 of them for just 16 Euros. They have wifi. So I can control them with my phone because they are in the Wifi of the house.
As always, a great video thanks Andy. As others have said, portable A/Cs are not good, not efficient, very noisy, and super power hungry. Luckily of course your power is “free”. As an example a good reputable 2.5kW cooling inverter split system such as MHI or Panasonic will draw under 600w flat out. They also have very low power ramp up when turned on, with absolutely no start surge. Other benefits include great dehumidification and super efficient heating in winter, (but yes of course more money to buy.) Also, because cold air is heavy, if you can seal around the lower areas such as the bottom of garage doors, though not ideal, that gap at the top of the roller doors doesn’t matter too much. If you really want to stick with the portable for now, make sure both hot air outlet AND inlet are plumbed to the outside.
Agreed, a proper setup inverter split is worth doing the battery area or a whole workshop area very efficiently & effectively, could probly do something pretty good for the price of one of those Victron inverters.
Hi Andy, thanks for all you inspiring videos. I have got the inspiration and I am now in the beginning of getting a system at my house. This is actually the 2nd time I am writing this, yesterday we had at very rarely blackouts, here grid fails not even every year, but for sure it did yesterday between me writing this and before I had convinced myself to post it. Similar to you Andy, I already have a grid tied solar system that I cannot change before end of 2032, without economic consequence. Therefor I want to move all small or constant loads to a battery system. I have already some of the parts to the system delivered at my house. Battery cells LF280K, BMS JK-B2A24S20P, Linx rails incl shunt, Cerbo GX, 3P energy meter ET340 that communicate with Cerbo. Plan is to buy MultiPlus-ii 48V/5000VA and a MPPT RS450/100. I know there is combined systems that do more or less the same, but I preferer separate units, if something fails. Plan is to charge batteries from grid in case of low solar input at night time at low tariff or when there is really low and event negative tariff for the old solar system, yes that happens. Intension is to have AC grid constantly connected to Multi. Loads should be supplied from battery power but maybe it is better setup inverter to run a bit lower power to safeguard against exporting battery power to grid. Battery stored power is not allowed to be exported, and probably not economically sensible. My question is now: - What way is the best to connect the MultiPlus. Grid and load. - Can I choose when to charge batteries from grid, with a simple digital input in the system Multi or Cerbo, relay controlled by external PLC. - Can I setup the Multi to run load, maybe using small W input from grid, the rest from batteries as long there is SOC is above a set value, according to actual measured W in ET340 energy meter. Sorry for the long post, for now I will try to get help this way, maybe I should have divided up into several posts. Best regards
I think the Air Con should definitely stay in the garage. It keeps things cooler for YOU, most importantly, and also for the equipment and batteries. Since you have 15Kw of solar power coming in for most of the day, you might as well use it to cool off the Off Grid Garage. It will be useful in the winter as well since it is dual purpose with cooling and heating. The only thing you need to do is find a permanent place to pump out the exhaust and water line. That will allow you to keep the garage doors shut and keep the garage nice and cool when it's 40°C outside, or even 4°C outside and you can stay nice and warm making videos in the winter. Its a win win situation, and you paid an amazing price for the unit 👏 👍 Bravo, Andy! Great video as always and finding the big portable A/C for just $125 AUD is a steal as well. Stay cool my friend 😎. You have a power plant worth of energy now, so you might as well use it to stay cool and comfortable!
You can remotely control that AC unit. If the remote uses IR, you can record the signal and then program an IR blaster with a small mcu to start/stop the unit as needed or to trigger based on temperature. Same if the remote uses RF. Just use an RF recorder and replay the signal with a small RF emitter attached to a tiny mcu. You could do this with about A$15 worth of parts.
It's about time to hear our German host speaking in his native tongue! I always thought it would be awesome if you started off each video saying, " guten tag" welcome to the ........ On a separate note, I too understand the frustrations of limited space and then to add something else is not fun. But the air conditioner is a necessary evil unfortunately. But having it as a heater is at least nice for the cool winters to though. It is at least 2 pieces of equipment in 1.
Since the power is 'free' maybe efficiency is not a concern, but he AC would work much more efficiently if the intake for the condenser was routed to the outside. As it is, the unit is sucking hot air from the outside into the garage and then blowing hotter air out of the garage. Having said that, I agree with @Marcus B that a mini-split is much better. The comment at the end of the video about running out of space is another reason to get a mini-split. The condenser would be outside and the cooling head could be mounted up and out of the way.
121722/0316h PST 🇺🇸 121722/2116h 🇦🇺 Guten Abend. Hallo, mein Freund. schön zu hören, dass du deutsch 🇩🇪sprichst. I’m thrilled to hear it. Such command of the language, when spoken! I also smiled at the Deutsch und Englischer Schalter 😀 Danke schön. More later. 73…
Hey Andy, great and entertaining video as usual ! To cool the MPPT controller in my Caravan I have a simple 12v computer fan placed above the controller, works a treat, dropping the temp by 5 or ten degrees at max load. Forces a lot of air across the heatsink :-)
Nice experiment. But i would really insulate your garage. Insulating is the best thing you can do. Paired with your ac unit, that would be amazing. You could keep the garage at 25°C without problems. I have the opposite Problem :) i have to heat my batteries daily to not destroy them.
Had one of those portable units. Ran it for a couple of weeks. It did cool that room, but negative pressure sucked hot outside air into the house. Sold it on gumtree fully cleaned with all the accessories to a person who wanted to cool a garage. He figured it was the way to go. Who was I to say otherwise. Now investigating a portable unit for caravan, but one that has input and output hoses to outside as well as seperate input and output hoses for inside - no mixing of air and no negative pressure drawing hot outside air into the caravan.
Hello Starting to thank you for all the good movies you make. Looks like you can finally get it a little cooler in the garage. See how you measure the temperature and that it doesn't go down that much. It becomes a bit inefficient with this type of cooler as it takes all the air from inside, some of the air comes back cold, the warm air that is blown out is also taken from inside, this means that you get negative pressure in the garage, which means that the warm air from outside is sucked in via the ventilation. SINCERELY Larry
Yep, so many of these domestic units only turn on when commanded from its panel and can't be configured to run when power is applied. Getting info from OEM is difficult. I have found LG does have option for some spiit's and monobloc (but not suited for my application for other reasons). I am still looking at other Monoblocs to find d one that works for me. As you have a remote, these are Usually IR, so if you can find a code (maybe online otherwise make a receiver and capture codes). Then a ESP32 WITH IR transmitter could be used to turn it on off based on need. I would also include a SONOFF or Shelley with power monitoring so you can verify AC turns off, and if not remove power as IR can be prone to interferene
A decent split system is much more efficient. My large shed I've insulated and run a large split system, if I leave it on 24/7 it's much easier to manage and power varies anywhere between 45w and 1400w. I'm in seQld so just knocking the humidity out alone is great 🙂
Very cool! Ran the AC and still charged batteries. Nice job. Imagine, if you enclose the space around the equipment, it will cool even lower. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing.
For the amount of heat you are generating you need atleast a 18000btu inverter split type aircon if you build an isolated room from the first garage door. You can have heating and cooling. The devices lifetime increases if they are running cooler.
I have an older one very similar to that one. It has worked great for many years! When I moved into the new house, It has "normal" windows, so I installed more efficient window units in each room.
I saw that Signature Solar (and others, I'm sure) is selling a solar powered mini split heat pump that would be perfect for Andy's Garage. And the mini splits are way more efficient than whole home. We just put in a 16 or 17 SEER HVAC. I've seen mini splits with a 22 SEER rating. Andy said he didn't like extra equipment laying around so a mini split would work for him, especially if he walls in his equipment like he spoke about maybe doing.
There is not much heat pumps for air cons on the Aussie market that I have been able to find. We have hot water heat pumps I just installed Thermann x split hot water heat pump but looking hard to find one for an air con 😅 I have seen American you tubers getting them off EG4 and Mr Cool but they are not in aus yet
Hello again Andy, one problem you will find is after spending time in your nicely cooled garage the outside heat will hit you much harder until your body regulates again. I traveled Australia and found it was really hot getting out of an air conditioned car when l arrived at a camp site. I found it easier to travel without air conditioning. Maybe my car got more colder than your garage will. See how you go. Best wishes Jason from Melbourne Victoria.
That type of AC is not efficient unless you have an intake tube from outside. The AC is sucking the cool air out of the room creating a negative pressure which sucks hot air in from outside to replace it. If you add an intake tube from outside you will notice a huge difference.
Andy. If that unit has provisions for the intake of outside air (the round hole next to the exhaust?) it may be a good idea. Remember, the hot air you exhaust out needs the be replaced through other gaps and openings with hot air from outside. I would recommend a mini split, but the price you got is good.
Totally agree, a dual hose version for inlet and outlet air always has a better efficiency. A single hose version takes already cooled air from the room and blows it to the outside. Producing a reduced air pressure inside the room, whick sucks in hot air from the outside. Well, I think it will never be as efficient and silent as a split system, just because of the smaller vents which have to run at higher speed. 😉
You might also extend the output hose above the gear, then create a drop (or force air from below) "curtain" of cold air. This is kind of what we do in the data centers. Cold Isle/Hot Isle with a curtain in-between.
Some aircons have a setting, just like in the BIOS of your computer, to do with power and what to do on resumption of AC. If the aircon is installed in a critical application such as in the room for a cellphone tower, you want it to always fun after a power failure. But in your house, you don't want it to auto start. Just what a problem if you have just left home for a 6 week holiday and the power goes off then back on. But being a portable unit, it may not have such a feature.
build a room around the power wall and such and use the air conditioner to cool it in hot weather then in cold you open the door to let heat into garage and when are out there working simply open door to get some A/C when its hot.
I'd be more inclined to mount a fan on the ceiling pointing towards the powerwall, even though it's probably pushing warm air over the equipment it'd still considerably cool everything down, also easier to control, uses way less energy, and would take up minimal space and wouldn't get in the way as its attached to one of the roof beams. 😀
Andy, 1. Yesterday our HVAC condensation drain froze in Frankfurt am Main 2. You violated the "insulation before Installation" rule for HVAC systems 😉 3. You can add an infrared transmitter diode and Install LIRC on your RaspberryPi to control the air conditioner 4. Have Phun 😉
Hello, in the marina world we often use the dehumidifier function and to make sure it turns back on after power cuts I bypass the power on switch to be on all the time so a plug in timer works on the power lead.
Some PC fans on the solar charge controllers would do the trick. RV people do it because it can increase their output on some models. Apparently Victron has it in the circuitry to not produce as much electricity when they get hot.
Aw Man, I thought you would of got one of them AC/DC EG4 Hybrid Solar Mini Split Air Conditioner Heat Pump | 24000 BTU | Direct Solar Input..... Rock & Roll!😎
If the air coming out of front vent is truly that cold the condensate water on evaporator coil will freeze creating a block of ice that will block air flow across evaporator. Maybe it goes into heat mode to defrost evaporator but that would be rather stupid as you don't really need evaporator coil lower than slightly above freezing temp for cooling. For reverse cycle heat pumps in heating mode, the condenser coil (which is actually evaporator in heat mode) may get below freezing depending on outside air temp. In heat mode it periodically goes back into cooling mode for a minute or two to defrost condenser coil of ice buildup. Relative humidity of outside air determines how fast any ice buildup happens. On a cheap self-contained portable unit like that, it may just have air baffle doors to redirect air flow, switching inside air from evaporator side to condenser side for changing between cooling and heating. You can't expect too much from such a low priced unit. Only putting hot condenser exit air vent to outside means the condenser inlet air is creating a garage negative pressure sucking in outside air from any air leaks in garage, which is warm air, back into garage. Best to put condenser inlet air to closer to ground cooler shaded area outside location and condenser hot exit air near roof height to avoid sucking it back into condenser cooling air inlet port. You should put a screen over the outside ports to prevent critters from making a home in your air conditioner. Most all air conditioners have a timer that prevents restarting compressor within 5 minutes of power loss until gas pressures equalize on compressor. This prevents starting compressor motor against high head pressure. Hard on compressor motor and creates a higher startup surge current.
So now it's time to think about the node red included in the Victron image on the Raspi. That in combination with the sonoff or some shelly, you could automatic switch the air-condition on at too high temperatures
With a 1 hose portable ac your not conditioning the space but just spot cooling. Without an intake hose for the condenser your pulling outside air in as makeup air. Split much better option and you can DIY after watching a few videos 😉
Andy - ahhh the joys of too much power :) I too have experienced that conundrum - if it’s not used it’s wasted right? And power is work.. work ethic dictates it must be used :) I’ve tried things like pulse width modulating my hot water system to exactly track the excess power on the shunt (I think there’s a vid on my channel somewhere from years back) and even considered setting up a distillery to… erm.. make ethanol to power the Ute 😂😂
Andy, further to my other comment, don’t worry too much about heat and the Victron gear. I have about 50 75/15’s ‘in the wild’ and have had for half a decade. One project in particular has them sitting in ambients of 45 to 48 degrees Celsius during much of the summer and seeing board temperatures of around 85ish. Haven’t had a single failure. They’re very well species to handle the heat just fine. Cooling them will make YOU feel better but seems unnecessary in practical terms. Batteries however - I guess Arrhenius applies to them but I also see extremely long lives on them too just by charging and discharging conservatively.
You can emulate the AC remote control with an Arduino + RF module (or IR diode if it is infrared) or the quick and dirty solution: solder wires to the keys of the remote and connect them to your control circuit.
Since it only needs to be temporary, hang a heavy canvas painters tarp from the ceiling down to the floor to "wall off" that corner of the garage and contain the cooler air.
Seems like it was a good deal on that A/C... at least worth it for testing. Maybe you could end up using it in the house or just sell it if you determine you won't need it. Might want to keep it around for 6 months so you can test the heating in the winter then you'll know for sure whether it can be of use.
Anthony is in wonderment as he observes and learns. His little mind has drifted off straightaway imaging the possibilities of using the refrigerator he has seen on projects in paradise channel; it averages less than 60 watts. Maybe the VECCS and half of the batteries could fit in one and a second refrigerator may hold the remaining batteries; he wondered. Because he doesn't understand thermal dynamics he just quietly repeats, " A bird in hand is worth two in the bush", in passivation. Certainly the refrigerator would keep the batteries warm in winter, he thinks.
Andy, wouldn't make more sense to add a Peltier cooling module to the back of the heat sink of the equipment you want to cool. You would only be using a few watts to place the cooling exactly where you need it.
Regarding the Seplos batteries, if the BMS can deliver the low and high cell voltage, should be able to push all the cells (cellid) with voltage and resistance to the Venus Os. So, maybe is possible to see all the cell information on VRM, so from outside home, you could check any cell (even you have the large Venus Os, and that includes Node-red, pretty easy to work with!!)
To cool the MPPT chargers look up this fan BG0903-B044-VTL its a blower fan with temperature speed control there is a thermistor in it that as the input temp of the increases it speeds up to blow more air I pulled out the sensor , extended the wires and attached it to the heat sink in a power supply so the hotter the heat sink the more air it blows you could mount them under your MPPT units with the sensor on the heat sink put them on a timer so they come on during the day note they blow a huge amount of air when flat out (vacuum cleaner level) but make a lot of noise but it has to be very hot for this.
I love ur stuff Andy & for $150 this is a great experiment & video, but let me tell you, these A/C’s are the most inefficient models on the market for too numerous reasons. I think u are already drawing this conclusion anyhow. You should consider sectioning off a wall with a big glass sliding door maybe for access to batteries & gear with the visual aspect as well, with a nib wall 1m-2m wide to mount a nice little R32 split system, (which u can program to auto start or not), blowing the air from front to rear of shed/battery area, with a ceiling & insulation, the other end could have a door access to allow cold air into your work area or not, which is also sealed and insulated. A 3-9kw R32 Inverter split air con would work well for ur purposes to cool/maintain temp for both batteries & workshop area. R32 is a more efficient gas overall & COP etc, & I didn’t say u can regas them with a BBQ bottle to some degree if u know what ur doing. A nice quiet little Inverter split just outside would be nice to cool ur batteries or ur whole workshop area with a little more construction of ur workshop area, and would use less power to do a much better job, quietly & professionally, I think it would be worth it! Maybe use Perspex or glass for the top half of ur workshop & battery area’s for an open & visual feel. I used one of those 4.2kw AC to cool a smallish size room in a unit, it ran for 2 days solid and it wasnt much cooler, so I then fitted it to the window encased in a custom made plywood & foam enclosure to seal the hot side outside & the cooling area inside only, after this process it started to cycle within 20 minutes next time I used it, that is how you get a useful 4kw from a mobile type unit as otherwise they recycle most of the heat they are trying to get rid of, put simply. Cheers
I can see cooling the batteries, particularly since the battery box is already enclosed. The batteries will definitely last longer at 30C than at 40C. You could extend some ducting to the charge controllers too (but otherwise keep them in free air). I would expect, though, that the charge controllers already have an internal firmware temperature servo. Being solid state, the internal electronics should already be spec'd to operate normally at commercial temperatures (up to 65C). What does the Victron manual say? I'll look it up.. Ok, for the MPPT 150|70 the manual says: "Over-temperature protection and power derating when temperature is high". "Operating temperature -30 to +60C (full rated output up to 40C) That's what the manual says. Therefore you don't need to cool the Victron charge controllers. At worst, maybe just a fan if they derate more than you want (only happens above 40C as per the manual). And then you can go with your original concept of using a smaller A/C and just worry about the batteries. 250A @ 48VDC = 12kW. Battery compartment: 95% one-way efficiency (minimum or worst case)... 12kW/20 = 600W of cooling needed to stay ahead of it. Actually less. Assuming a COP of 2 for the A/C, you would only need 300W of A/C (600W of cooling equivalent). -Matt
Hot air goes up. In a chimney the upstream of the hot air sucks cool air into the oven. If the mppts have a something like a chimney on top of the cooling body this could be an option for a airflow optimization - without elektricity and self regulation.
Would be interesting to know your loss of efficiency due to heat. Easy to figure out with the data you collect. Of course the real benefit will be in extending the life of your components. Also your compressor is just protecting itself from a quick attempt to restart which is a killer with too much head pressure.
There are lots of universal remote options that include timers and even remote IR control via the Internet from anywhere, but it also shouldn't be that difficult to hack the air conditioner remote (or better yet, a cheap universal one) with a relay across the power button so your system could automatically turn the cooling on and off itself as needed.
Build your own chiller cabinet water and fan elements using a chiller unit as used in the Pub cellars for cooling the beer or one of the smaller chiller units that they fit in the delivery vans for chilled goods
Probably i'm not the first to say: oh no not a mobile air conditioner with horrible efficiency... But for testing purposes or with a surplus of power it's not that bad, Or if you live in a rental property where the owner does not want you(or a company) to install a split unit
Dear Andy, if you have to much heat, just send it to me in Germany, I can send back some really cold SPAT out of my garage. ;-) And i can feel your gernan roots, because you buy an ac for the gear, and not for your comfort. ;-)
The portable AC units are not as efficient as a fixed split unit which would use about 1KW @ 230V. Mine is powered from ACOUT2 on the MP2 which is programmed via Assistants to come on at 99% SOC (99.5%) and go off at 99% (98.9%) I also have hot water immersion 1500W on this circuit. Luckily my AC unit retains settings when powered off so it just works and my RE Cabin stays at 25 C.
Can you control the AC using zigbee? I have just installed zigbee2mqtt on my RPi running the Venus large image. Node-red sends commands to an IKEA Smart Socket, a Ruuvi senses temperature and NR decides if the Smart Socket should be on or not.
You need the insulate your garage better at least for the air leaks. As for the air conditioner it needs the second hose. It's designed for two hoses to run outside. It will work 100% better if you did that. With insulation maybe even a thousand percent
1:30 Na klar sobald deutsch gesprochen wird läuft Festzeltmusik! XD The infrared signals of the remote control can also be generated with a single-board computer. You only need to read the signal from the remote control that switches the air conditioner on and off. Universal remotes do the same. Perhaps an air conditioning split system is also better suited for the garage. It takes up no floor space and runs more efficiently. Of course, it can also heat in winter.
Hi Andy! I'm curious, what would the temperature gradients look like with a high-output fan rather than an air conditioner? I'm guessing air movement alone would be sufficient. I have found that equipment temps at 40C is fine, and the equipment still produces 100% output. You know you have to compare the cost:benefit of running the air conditioner to just a fan. Maybe someone who wasn't German would skip the comparison, but not you. ;-)
Gallium nitride instead of silicon is coming. Will improve efficiency roughly 2%, have much higher heat tolerances and last roughly twice as long (20 years instead of 10)
17:16 You have a pool outside right? water has very high thermal capacity. how about getting a computer water-cooling radiator kit, pipe water through it and install inside the battery box. But of course this AC is for the room. no arguing against that. As for the SCC, install fans blowing at the back (where the heatsinks are)
I like the idea to include the water from the pool - that would definitely solve the heat issue for all the solar equipement but it would probably be quite labor intensive to install such a system. Because of that I would also go for some standard AC minisplit solution - the installation can be done pretty easily. Also it provides the heating capability which you don't get with the water cooling solution. I don't know whether Andy is heating his pool at summertime - if he is, than he would lower the power usage for the heating when he goes for the water cooling approach.
Why not building a smaller Room inside for your Equpment good insulation and with the aircon. Now all your cooling runs out of this thin Walls. But good Video
Und ich hab mich immer gefragt, ist er deutschsprachig. Mega. Aus Interesse an Solar, auf einen Australier getroffen und aboniert und dann stellt sich raus, Mensch,… deutsch. 😂 Viele Grüße aus Hamburg!
Good Idea to use a portable airconditioner. But suggest to use high voltage PV controller to 48V then use MPPT 11KW(parallelable) AC off grid inverter. I will save more $$ to buy the inverter, the other pack of 280Ah 48V battery and change the water heater from gas to electricl and later buy the Ecar like EX90 Volvo 2023. offgride the gas and try to run one year if OK then offgride the electrcity in order to save more $$.
-40 from the outlet is impossible, not even the evaporator fins will be anywhere near that cold. I use IR thermometers as a guide to relative temperatures (before and after changes) or ball park figures never for accurate readings. Just put any thermometer in that air outlet and you will find it is nearer to +10 degrees C than -40.
Andy, I see that the air conditioner has two places where you can put a tube behind, I think it is able to have two tubes behind, one for taking air from outside and one for pushing air outside, it would become more effective if you would use both since it won't suck from inside air already cooled to push it outside heated.
(If it is actually true that you can put a second tube)
Yes, that is correct Andy. Get yourself another hose so you are not under negative pressure inside.
It blows my mind that the single-hose type are not only legal in California, but it's almost impossible to find a dual-hose type at a local retailer. You have to special order the good ones. The negative pressure sucks hot air in through the leaks in the building, greatly reducing efficiency and overall capacity. Single-hosers should be outlawed, period. Save $1 on hose, a couple of hours of operation and the electricity difference has exceeded that. I guess the IT industry is to blame - the single-hose types are simpler to use in a data closet with localized hot spots that need a cooling boost, but have a more efficient A/C already cooling the whole building. I guess in that situation, the negative pressure helps keep the server room's heat from leaking out into the rest of the building, and that temperature might be higher than outdoors?
I'm glad you posted this as I also had this issue until I modified my unit to have another hose that sucked in from the outside of the room being cooled. The transformation in performance was night and day.
I use one of them in my room, pro tip: Insulate the "exit" hose. I use a triple layer old sheet and it reduces the temp "dump" into the room by a massive margin. The raw pipe feels hot, the sheet doesn't. Cost? an old sheet and 5 minutes with a sewing needle. I would estimate an extra 10-20% efficiency.
Hi Andy. You can use smart IR controller (Sonoff WiFi-IR Remote IR Control Hub Wi-Fi) to remotely control the air conditioner. Just teach it from your IR remote controll. You can use some automations (when sonoff socket is on - turn on air conditioner).
DIY solutions based on ESPHome also work great
@@oznerol256 I agree. I just suggested "works right out of the box" solution:)
The Raspberry Pi may also be able to do this.
So much power we can run ac with the door open , Nice !
Andy you need a small power room with a 9000btu about 2.7kw cooling dual inverter split unit they use like 800-900watts super efficient, the LG split units are very good.
Yep
Those air conditioners (vented by a hose units) are the least efficient ones you can get.
Midea inverter ac 12000 btu for less than $500 us.
Live in Florida and I use them in the work shop.
On solar
When a mono-block air-conditioner blows air to the outside, the under-pressure sucks in hot air from the outside.
@@rbartsch I was just going say this, it's a major design flaw of portable air conditioners, if your pumping air out of the room then air will be drawn in. I used to have one in the office at work and when I turned it on you could hear the wall creak as they were sucked in. From a design point it's so easy to fix, either use a twin wall hose, or two hoses, one for air in to cool the condenser, and one for air out.
Me again. Affirmative, what Guy7wrote is absolutely correct. You need an enclosure to the PV System, und a window AC not the portable device. Forget about the “heat exchanger” system. Trust me …. It’s a gimmick. The system is simply “reversing” the Freon supply and ythe system will STILL run the compressor ! Meaning ..simply wasting 1750 Watts, draining LiFePo4s.
Since you, already invested in capital appropriation, why invest on devices, which you’d, discard later anyway?
12000BTU (1 ton) small window air conditioner mounted at the top of the enclosure, test thermostat settings by trial n error. A air circulating fan is highly recommended . 60 D F is assured. The VICTRONs will love the cool condition😆
Return the item you procured, please. Guten abend.
@@sreekumarUSA
That’s why he got it for cheap
They are power hogs.
Having a hot compressor in the area your trying to cool isn’t smart
You could add a IR led on the Raspberry with a small program to activate the AC from the Pi. Just emulate the remote control.
Watching al your vids always with a cold Jagermeister next to me 😁
I had a hard time using a Raspi to control an AC with an IR LED. I tried the LIRC project, but I just didn't get it to work. I was able to control my TV with it, but not the AC. The timings which were provided on the GPIOs were just not accurate enough for my Mitsubishi AC. It never accepted any sent datagrams. The difference between an AC and a TV is that most ACs use very long datagrams compared to TVs. That makes it more error prone when timing issues occur. Then I switched to an Arduino and it just worked out of the box. I measured the timings with an oscilosocpe and you could see how much better the Arduino was performing. I am currently using a very cheap Arduino with an ESP 8266 SOC. I bought 5 of them for just 16 Euros. They have wifi. So I can control them with my phone because they are in the Wifi of the house.
Wemos D1 with Tasmota and an IR-LED should do the job for 2 bucks only!
@@Juergen_Miessmer I will have a look at it! Thanks for the recommendation!
As always, a great video thanks Andy.
As others have said, portable A/Cs are not good, not efficient, very noisy, and super power hungry. Luckily of course your power is “free”.
As an example a good reputable 2.5kW cooling inverter split system such as MHI or Panasonic will draw under 600w flat out. They also have very low power ramp up when turned on, with absolutely no start surge.
Other benefits include great dehumidification and super efficient heating in winter, (but yes of course more money to buy.)
Also, because cold air is heavy, if you can seal around the lower areas such as the bottom of garage doors, though not ideal, that gap at the top of the roller doors doesn’t matter too much.
If you really want to stick with the portable for now, make sure both hot air outlet AND inlet are plumbed to the outside.
Agreed, a proper setup inverter split is worth doing the battery area or a whole workshop area very efficiently & effectively, could probly do something pretty good for the price of one of those Victron inverters.
Hi Andy, thanks for all you inspiring videos.
I have got the inspiration and I am now in the beginning of getting a system at my house. This is actually the 2nd time I am writing this, yesterday we had at very rarely blackouts, here grid fails not even every year, but for sure it did yesterday between me writing this and before I had convinced myself to post it.
Similar to you Andy, I already have a grid tied solar system that I cannot change before end of 2032, without economic consequence. Therefor I want to move all small or constant loads to a battery system.
I have already some of the parts to the system delivered at my house.
Battery cells LF280K, BMS JK-B2A24S20P, Linx rails incl shunt, Cerbo GX, 3P energy meter ET340 that communicate with Cerbo.
Plan is to buy MultiPlus-ii 48V/5000VA and a MPPT RS450/100. I know there is combined systems that do more or less the same, but I preferer separate units, if something fails.
Plan is to charge batteries from grid in case of low solar input at night time at low tariff or when there is really low and event negative tariff for the old solar system, yes that happens.
Intension is to have AC grid constantly connected to Multi. Loads should be supplied from battery power but maybe it is better setup inverter to run a bit lower power to safeguard against exporting battery power to grid. Battery stored power is not allowed to be exported, and probably not economically sensible.
My question is now:
- What way is the best to connect the MultiPlus. Grid and load.
- Can I choose when to charge batteries from grid, with a simple digital input in the system Multi or Cerbo, relay controlled by external PLC.
- Can I setup the Multi to run load, maybe using small W input from grid, the rest from batteries as long there is SOC is above a set value, according to actual measured W in ET340 energy meter.
Sorry for the long post, for now I will try to get help this way, maybe I should have divided up into several posts.
Best regards
I think the Air Con should definitely stay in the garage. It keeps things cooler for YOU, most importantly, and also for the equipment and batteries. Since you have 15Kw of solar power coming in for most of the day, you might as well use it to cool off the Off Grid Garage. It will be useful in the winter as well since it is dual purpose with cooling and heating. The only thing you need to do is find a permanent place to pump out the exhaust and water line. That will allow you to keep the garage doors shut and keep the garage nice and cool when it's 40°C outside, or even 4°C outside and you can stay nice and warm making videos in the winter. Its a win win situation, and you paid an amazing price for the unit 👏 👍 Bravo, Andy! Great video as always and finding the big portable A/C for just $125 AUD is a steal as well. Stay cool my friend 😎. You have a power plant worth of energy now, so you might as well use it to stay cool and comfortable!
Thanks!
Thanks a lot for your ongoing support, Sree.
As always, herzlich Wilkommen mein freund.
You can remotely control that AC unit. If the remote uses IR, you can record the signal and then program an IR blaster with a small mcu to start/stop the unit as needed or to trigger based on temperature. Same if the remote uses RF. Just use an RF recorder and replay the signal with a small RF emitter attached to a tiny mcu. You could do this with about A$15 worth of parts.
That's right! I don't understand how such a smart man doesn't now about home automation with ZigBee/Alexa.
It's about time to hear our German host speaking in his native tongue! I always thought it would be awesome if you started off each video saying, " guten tag" welcome to the ........
On a separate note, I too understand the frustrations of limited space and then to add something else is not fun. But the air conditioner is a necessary evil unfortunately. But having it as a heater is at least nice for the cool winters to though. It is at least 2 pieces of equipment in 1.
Since the power is 'free' maybe efficiency is not a concern, but he AC would work much more efficiently if the intake for the condenser was routed to the outside. As it is, the unit is sucking hot air from the outside into the garage and then blowing hotter air out of the garage. Having said that, I agree with @Marcus B that a mini-split is much better.
The comment at the end of the video about running out of space is another reason to get a mini-split. The condenser would be outside and the cooling head could be mounted up and out of the way.
121722/0316h PST 🇺🇸 121722/2116h 🇦🇺 Guten Abend. Hallo, mein Freund. schön zu hören, dass du deutsch 🇩🇪sprichst. I’m thrilled to hear it. Such command of the language, when spoken!
I also smiled at the Deutsch und Englischer Schalter 😀 Danke schön. More later. 73…
Hey Andy, great and entertaining video as usual ! To cool the MPPT controller in my Caravan I have a simple 12v computer fan placed above the controller, works a treat, dropping the temp by 5 or ten degrees at max load. Forces a lot of air across the heatsink :-)
Nice experiment. But i would really insulate your garage. Insulating is the best thing you can do. Paired with your ac unit, that would be amazing. You could keep the garage at 25°C without problems. I have the opposite Problem :) i have to heat my batteries daily to not destroy them.
Had one of those portable units. Ran it for a couple of weeks. It did cool that room, but negative pressure sucked hot outside air into the house. Sold it on gumtree fully cleaned with all the accessories to a person who wanted to cool a garage. He figured it was the way to go. Who was I to say otherwise. Now investigating a portable unit for caravan, but one that has input and output hoses to outside as well as seperate input and output hoses for inside - no mixing of air and no negative pressure drawing hot outside air into the caravan.
😅
Hello
Starting to thank you for all the good movies you make.
Looks like you can finally get it a little cooler in the garage.
See how you measure the temperature and that it doesn't go down that much.
It becomes a bit inefficient with this type of cooler as it takes all the air from inside, some of the air comes back cold, the warm air that is blown out is also taken from inside, this means that you get negative pressure in the garage, which means that the warm air from outside is sucked in via the ventilation.
SINCERELY
Larry
Yep, so many of these domestic units only turn on when commanded from its panel and can't be configured to run when power is applied. Getting info from OEM is difficult. I have found LG does have option for some spiit's and monobloc (but not suited for my application for other reasons). I am still looking at other Monoblocs to find d one that works for me.
As you have a remote, these are Usually IR, so if you can find a code (maybe online otherwise make a receiver and capture codes). Then a ESP32 WITH IR transmitter could be used to turn it on off based on need. I would also include a SONOFF or Shelley with power monitoring so you can verify AC turns off, and if not remove power as IR can be prone to interferene
Thanks Andy 👍 🎄
A decent split system is much more efficient. My large shed I've insulated and run a large split system, if I leave it on 24/7 it's much easier to manage and power varies anywhere between 45w and 1400w.
I'm in seQld so just knocking the humidity out alone is great 🙂
Very cool! Ran the AC and still charged batteries. Nice job. Imagine, if you enclose the space around the equipment, it will cool even lower. Can't wait. Thanks for sharing.
For the amount of heat you are generating you need atleast a 18000btu inverter split type aircon if you build an isolated room from the first garage door. You can have heating and cooling. The devices lifetime increases if they are running cooler.
I have an older one very similar to that one. It has worked great for many years! When I moved into the new house, It has "normal" windows, so I installed more efficient window units in each room.
I saw that Signature Solar (and others, I'm sure) is selling a solar powered mini split heat pump that would be perfect for Andy's Garage. And the mini splits are way more efficient than whole home. We just put in a 16 or 17 SEER HVAC. I've seen mini splits with a 22 SEER rating. Andy said he didn't like extra equipment laying around so a mini split would work for him, especially if he walls in his equipment like he spoke about maybe doing.
There is not much heat pumps for air cons on the Aussie market that I have been able to find. We have hot water heat pumps I just installed Thermann x split hot water heat pump but looking hard to find one for an air con 😅
I have seen American you tubers getting them off EG4 and Mr Cool but they are not in aus yet
Hello again Andy, one problem you will find is after spending time in your nicely cooled garage the outside heat will hit you much harder until your body regulates again. I traveled Australia and found it was really hot getting out of an air conditioned car when l arrived at a camp site. I found it easier to travel without air conditioning. Maybe my car got more colder than your garage will. See how you go. Best wishes Jason from Melbourne Victoria.
Oi! We have no choice with our -5C :D
Ps. It is so nice to listen to your native language :D
That type of AC is not efficient unless you have an intake tube from outside. The AC is sucking the cool air out of the room creating a negative pressure which sucks hot air in from outside to replace it. If you add an intake tube from outside you will notice a huge difference.
With not much FURTHER TO DO I will watch the show!
Vielleicht sollte ich mal bei deinen anderen Kanälen vorbeischauen, um mein Deutsch noch etwas zu üben.
Andy. If that unit has provisions for the intake of outside air (the round hole next to the exhaust?) it may be a good idea. Remember, the hot air you exhaust out needs the be replaced through other gaps and openings with hot air from outside. I would recommend a mini split, but the price you got is good.
Exactly what I was thinking during the video
Totally agree, a dual hose version for inlet and outlet air always has a better efficiency. A single hose version takes already cooled air from the room and blows it to the outside. Producing a reduced air pressure inside the room, whick sucks in hot air from the outside.
Well, I think it will never be as efficient and silent as a split system, just because of the smaller vents which have to run at higher speed. 😉
You might also extend the output hose above the gear, then create a drop (or force air from below) "curtain" of cold air. This is kind of what we do in the data centers. Cold Isle/Hot Isle with a curtain in-between.
Some aircons have a setting, just like in the BIOS of your computer, to do with power and what to do on resumption of AC. If the aircon is installed in a critical application such as in the room for a cellphone tower, you want it to always fun after a power failure. But in your house, you don't want it to auto start. Just what a problem if you have just left home for a 6 week holiday and the power goes off then back on. But being a portable unit, it may not have such a feature.
build a room around the power wall and such and use the air conditioner to cool it in hot weather then in cold you open the door to let heat into garage and when are out there working simply open door to get some A/C when its hot.
I'd be more inclined to mount a fan on the ceiling pointing towards the powerwall, even though it's probably pushing warm air over the equipment it'd still considerably cool everything down, also easier to control, uses way less energy, and would take up minimal space and wouldn't get in the way as its attached to one of the roof beams. 😀
True, but it's a great excuse to help make the shop more bearable to work in :-)
Andy,
1. Yesterday our HVAC condensation drain froze in Frankfurt am Main
2. You violated the "insulation before Installation" rule for HVAC systems 😉
3. You can add an infrared transmitter diode and Install LIRC on your RaspberryPi to control the air conditioner
4. Have Phun 😉
*"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that made all the difference."* -Robert Frost
Hello, in the marina world we often use the dehumidifier function and to make sure it turns back on after power cuts I bypass the power on switch to be on all the time so a plug in timer works on the power lead.
You had me smiling too. Nice unit. Humidity is lowered. You’re going to use the work bench.
Some PC fans on the solar charge controllers would do the trick. RV people do it because it can increase their output on some models. Apparently Victron has it in the circuitry to not produce as much electricity when they get hot.
Aw Man, I thought you would of got one of them AC/DC EG4 Hybrid Solar Mini Split Air Conditioner Heat Pump | 24000 BTU | Direct Solar Input..... Rock & Roll!😎
Cheap large airduct attached to the cool output of the aircon. Smalle airduct branching out to mppts, inverter, battery box and workbench :)
12:45 'MDP' (Maximum Dynamic Pressure)
If the air coming out of front vent is truly that cold the condensate water on evaporator coil will freeze creating a block of ice that will block air flow across evaporator. Maybe it goes into heat mode to defrost evaporator but that would be rather stupid as you don't really need evaporator coil lower than slightly above freezing temp for cooling.
For reverse cycle heat pumps in heating mode, the condenser coil (which is actually evaporator in heat mode) may get below freezing depending on outside air temp. In heat mode it periodically goes back into cooling mode for a minute or two to defrost condenser coil of ice buildup. Relative humidity of outside air determines how fast any ice buildup happens.
On a cheap self-contained portable unit like that, it may just have air baffle doors to redirect air flow, switching inside air from evaporator side to condenser side for changing between cooling and heating. You can't expect too much from such a low priced unit.
Only putting hot condenser exit air vent to outside means the condenser inlet air is creating a garage negative pressure sucking in outside air from any air leaks in garage, which is warm air, back into garage. Best to put condenser inlet air to closer to ground cooler shaded area outside location and condenser hot exit air near roof height to avoid sucking it back into condenser cooling air inlet port. You should put a screen over the outside ports to prevent critters from making a home in your air conditioner.
Most all air conditioners have a timer that prevents restarting compressor within 5 minutes of power loss until gas pressures equalize on compressor. This prevents starting compressor motor against high head pressure. Hard on compressor motor and creates a higher startup surge current.
Hello Andy, you can use (Sensibo Air or Sensibo Sky) to controle the AC remotely
Ah, great info. Thanks a lot...
You can use a remote IR controller (such as a Broadcom device) to turn it on remotely.
So now it's time to think about the node red included in the Victron image on the Raspi. That in combination with the sonoff or some shelly, you could automatic switch the air-condition on at too high temperatures
With a 1 hose portable ac your not conditioning the space but just spot cooling. Without an intake hose for the condenser your pulling outside air in as makeup air. Split much better option and you can DIY after watching a few videos 😉
Andy - ahhh the joys of too much power :) I too have experienced that conundrum - if it’s not used it’s wasted right? And power is work.. work ethic dictates it must be used :) I’ve tried things like pulse width modulating my hot water system to exactly track the excess power on the shunt (I think there’s a vid on my channel somewhere from years back) and even considered setting up a distillery to… erm.. make ethanol to power the Ute 😂😂
Andy, further to my other comment, don’t worry too much about heat and the Victron gear. I have about 50 75/15’s ‘in the wild’ and have had for half a decade. One project in particular has them sitting in ambients of 45 to 48 degrees Celsius during much of the summer and seeing board temperatures of around 85ish. Haven’t had a single failure. They’re very well species to handle the heat just fine. Cooling them will make YOU feel better but seems unnecessary in practical terms. Batteries however - I guess Arrhenius applies to them but I also see extremely long lives on them too just by charging and discharging conservatively.
You can emulate the AC remote control with an Arduino + RF module (or IR diode if it is infrared) or the quick and dirty solution: solder wires to the keys of the remote and connect them to your control circuit.
Since it only needs to be temporary, hang a heavy canvas painters tarp from the ceiling down to the floor to "wall off" that corner of the garage and contain the cooler air.
Seems like it was a good deal on that A/C... at least worth it for testing. Maybe you could end up using it in the house or just sell it if you determine you won't need it. Might want to keep it around for 6 months so you can test the heating in the winter then you'll know for sure whether it can be of use.
They make a split system ac that you can run on solar only. I think a 12000 btu uses 3 400 w panels, also reverse cycle for heat.
Andy, when are you going to install the victron EV charging station? It can fully integrate with Venus os and charge with excess solar.
Anthony is in wonderment as he observes and learns. His little mind has drifted off straightaway imaging the possibilities of using the refrigerator he has seen on projects in paradise channel; it averages less than 60 watts. Maybe the VECCS and half of the batteries could fit in one and a second refrigerator may hold the remaining batteries; he wondered. Because he doesn't understand thermal dynamics he just quietly repeats, " A bird in hand is worth two in the bush", in passivation. Certainly the refrigerator would keep the batteries warm in winter, he thinks.
Nice, very nice !
Andy, wouldn't make more sense to add a Peltier cooling module to the back of the heat sink of the equipment you want to cool. You would only be using a few watts to place the cooling exactly where you need it.
I was thinking the same. And less risk of condensation that may occur
Regarding the Seplos batteries, if the BMS can deliver the low and high cell voltage, should be able to push all the cells (cellid) with voltage and resistance to the Venus Os. So, maybe is possible to see all the cell information on VRM, so from outside home, you could check any cell (even you have the large Venus Os, and that includes Node-red, pretty easy to work with!!)
To cool the MPPT chargers look up this fan BG0903-B044-VTL its a blower fan with temperature speed control there is a thermistor in it that as the input temp of the increases it speeds up to blow more air I pulled out the sensor , extended the wires and attached it to the heat sink in a power supply so the hotter the heat sink the more air it blows you could mount them under your MPPT units with the sensor on the heat sink put them on a timer so they come on during the day note they blow a huge amount of air when flat out (vacuum cleaner level) but make a lot of noise but it has to be very hot for this.
I noticed on your vrm it shows dc loads what is measuring the dc loads? Total through shunt minus inverters and dc to dc converter?
I love ur stuff Andy & for $150 this is a great experiment & video, but let me tell you, these A/C’s are the most inefficient models on the market for too numerous reasons. I think u are already drawing this conclusion anyhow.
You should consider sectioning off a wall with a big glass sliding door maybe for access to batteries & gear with the visual aspect as well, with a nib wall 1m-2m wide to mount a nice little R32 split system, (which u can program to auto start or not), blowing the air from front to rear of shed/battery area, with a ceiling & insulation, the other end could have a door access to allow cold air into your work area or not, which is also sealed and insulated. A 3-9kw R32 Inverter split air con would work well for ur purposes to cool/maintain temp for both batteries & workshop area. R32 is a more efficient gas overall & COP etc, & I didn’t say u can regas them with a BBQ bottle to some degree if u know what ur doing.
A nice quiet little Inverter split just outside would be nice to cool ur batteries or ur whole workshop area with a little more construction of ur workshop area, and would use less power to do a much better job, quietly & professionally, I think it would be worth it!
Maybe use Perspex or glass for the top half of ur workshop & battery area’s for an open & visual feel.
I used one of those 4.2kw AC to cool a smallish size room in a unit, it ran for 2 days solid and it wasnt much cooler, so I then fitted it to the window encased in a custom made plywood & foam enclosure to seal the hot side outside & the cooling area inside only, after this process it started to cycle within 20 minutes next time I used it, that is how you get a useful 4kw from a mobile type unit as otherwise they recycle most of the heat they are trying to get rid of, put simply. Cheers
I can see cooling the batteries, particularly since the battery box is already enclosed. The batteries will definitely last longer at 30C than at 40C. You could extend some ducting to the charge controllers too (but otherwise keep them in free air). I would expect, though, that the charge controllers already have an internal firmware temperature servo. Being solid state, the internal electronics should already be spec'd to operate normally at commercial temperatures (up to 65C).
What does the Victron manual say? I'll look it up.. Ok, for the MPPT 150|70 the manual says:
"Over-temperature protection and power derating when temperature is high".
"Operating temperature -30 to +60C (full rated output up to 40C)
That's what the manual says. Therefore you don't need to cool the Victron charge controllers. At worst, maybe just a fan if they derate more than you want (only happens above 40C as per the manual).
And then you can go with your original concept of using a smaller A/C and just worry about the batteries. 250A @ 48VDC = 12kW. Battery compartment: 95% one-way efficiency (minimum or worst case)... 12kW/20 = 600W of cooling needed to stay ahead of it. Actually less. Assuming a COP of 2 for the A/C, you would only need 300W of A/C (600W of cooling equivalent).
-Matt
On the other other hand, No possibility of frozen batteries. And you can keep the garage to 20C in the winter should you choose.
Hot air goes up. In a chimney the upstream of the hot air sucks cool air into the oven. If the mppts have a something like a chimney on top of the cooling body this could be an option for a airflow optimization - without elektricity and self regulation.
Would be interesting to know your loss of efficiency due to heat. Easy to figure out with the data you collect. Of course the real benefit will be in extending the life of your components.
Also your compressor is just protecting itself from a quick attempt to restart which is a killer with too much head pressure.
There are lots of universal remote options that include timers and even remote IR control via the Internet from anywhere, but it also shouldn't be that difficult to hack the air conditioner remote (or better yet, a cheap universal one) with a relay across the power button so your system could automatically turn the cooling on and off itself as needed.
A network IR transmitter could be used to turn on the air conditioner. Another Rpi and Home Assistant might be a future video series?
Build your own chiller cabinet water and fan elements using a chiller unit as used in the Pub cellars for cooling the beer or one of the smaller chiller units that they fit in the delivery vans for chilled goods
..... der Schalter war spitze. Ich meinte Dich, du bist Spitze!!!🤣 werde (leider) weiterhin die Übersetzung wählen (müssen).😉
You could remotely control the a.c. with your Arduino or Pi and do it anywhere too with a ir output and some code.
Do you have any plans for the fence solar system try to build a ground Mount
Probably i'm not the first to say: oh no not a mobile air conditioner with horrible efficiency... But for testing purposes or with a surplus of power it's not that bad, Or if you live in a rental property where the owner does not want you(or a company) to install a split unit
I have wondered if the underside of the panel is very cold would it be more effective.
Dear Andy,
if you have to much heat, just send it to me in Germany, I can send back some really cold SPAT out of my garage.
;-)
And i can feel your gernan roots, because you buy an ac for the gear, and not for your comfort.
;-)
The portable AC units are not as efficient as a fixed split unit which would use about 1KW @ 230V. Mine is powered from ACOUT2 on the MP2 which is programmed via Assistants to come on at 99% SOC (99.5%) and go off at 99% (98.9%) I also have hot water immersion 1500W on this circuit. Luckily my AC unit retains settings when powered off so it just works and my RE Cabin stays at 25 C.
Mit der warmen Abluft kannst Du einen Hähnchengrill eröffnen ;o)
Can you control the AC using zigbee? I have just installed zigbee2mqtt on my RPi running the Venus large image. Node-red sends commands to an IKEA Smart Socket, a Ruuvi senses temperature and NR decides if the Smart Socket should be on or not.
You need the insulate your garage better at least for the air leaks. As for the air conditioner it needs the second hose. It's designed for two hoses to run outside. It will work 100% better if you did that. With insulation maybe even a thousand percent
You could disassemble the remote and wire a timer on the on off button.
In my RV I use a fan on a “thermo cube” wall plug from Amazon that goes on at 78 degrees F and off at 70 degrees F for the lower energy consumption
1:30 Na klar sobald deutsch gesprochen wird läuft Festzeltmusik! XD
The infrared signals of the remote control can also be generated with a single-board computer. You only need to read the signal from the remote control that switches the air conditioner on and off. Universal remotes do the same.
Perhaps an air conditioning split system is also better suited for the garage. It takes up no floor space and runs more efficiently. Of course, it can also heat in winter.
Oh my, I've been under a rock. I had no idea that a portable heatpump was available.
What about an IR blaster from the Raapi to act as a remote that sends the signal to the aircon to turn it on and off?
Think you might end up with a Condensation issue inside the controllers blowing cold air on them?
Get yourself a broadlink rm mini. You can control the AC remotely with that 👌
Hi Andy! I'm curious, what would the temperature gradients look like with a high-output fan rather than an air conditioner? I'm guessing air movement alone would be sufficient. I have found that equipment temps at 40C is fine, and the equipment still produces 100% output. You know you have to compare the cost:benefit of running the air conditioner to just a fan. Maybe someone who wasn't German would skip the comparison, but not you. ;-)
Running just a fan makes sense, let us see Andy do it.
Top. Welche Temperatur Sensoren benutzt du?
Gallium nitride instead of silicon is coming. Will improve efficiency roughly 2%, have much higher heat tolerances and last roughly twice as long (20 years instead of 10)
17:16 You have a pool outside right? water has very high thermal capacity.
how about getting a computer water-cooling radiator kit, pipe water through it and install inside the battery box.
But of course this AC is for the room. no arguing against that.
As for the SCC, install fans blowing at the back (where the heatsinks are)
I like the idea to include the water from the pool - that would definitely solve the heat issue for all the solar equipement but it would probably be quite labor intensive to install such a system. Because of that I would also go for some standard AC minisplit solution - the installation can be done pretty easily. Also it provides the heating capability which you don't get with the water cooling solution. I don't know whether Andy is heating his pool at summertime - if he is, than he would lower the power usage for the heating when he goes for the water cooling approach.
Nice video as allways, recommend you use the ducting to take the hot air from the ac outside.
Hi Andy as bilingual do you think in German or English? just curious that's all.
if the remote is RF and not encoded you could use an RF bridge linked to homeassistant and activate/deactivate it
There it is, LIKE# 1
Add another Sonoff to the on/off button ... then use Home Assistant to turn it on at a predefined temp :)
Why not building a smaller Room inside for your Equpment good insulation and with the aircon.
Now all your cooling runs out of this thin Walls.
But good Video
Under 15 degrees?? That is a nice fall day in New England, US. You really don’t need a heater. 😉
Und ich hab mich immer gefragt, ist er deutschsprachig. Mega. Aus Interesse an Solar, auf einen Australier getroffen und aboniert und dann stellt sich raus, Mensch,… deutsch. 😂 Viele Grüße aus Hamburg!
Also Andys deutschen Akzent hört man ja schon sehr deutlich, wenn er Englisch spricht.
Good Idea to use a portable airconditioner. But suggest to use high voltage PV controller to 48V then use MPPT 11KW(parallelable) AC off grid inverter. I will save more $$ to buy the inverter, the other pack of 280Ah 48V battery and change the water heater from gas to electricl and later buy the Ecar like EX90 Volvo 2023. offgride the gas and try to run one year if OK then offgride the electrcity in order to save more $$.