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NiyiOmoIyunade:
Please is this 'variable tonnage' inverter AC different from the normal LG inverter AC we all know?

Not really sure if all LG inverter types are the same, was just watching a YouTube presentation for this particular air conditioner.

However though, all inverter air conditioners are somewhat variable tonnage, since they all vary compressor speed, hence vary compressor input power (watts), thus, varying cooling output (btus) based on input watts.

The question is if the manufacturer puts that control in your hands, or just does it automatically through a processor.

So as an example, with a typical inverter AC, once the set temperature is reached, instead of shutting down the compressor like a conventional AC, it just reduces the power to the compressor, making it run at a reduced speed, reducing refrigerant pressure and temperature of the evaporator to match the set temp. This is all done with a processor with no user input beyond temperature setting. Now with this LG on YouTube, they give you the ability to manually control the compressor speed, instead of having it all done with a processor. So in essence, you can turn a 12,000btu air conditioner to about a 5,000btu air conditioner using the remote control.

Obviously, it would take much longer to cool at the lower power(btu) setting, but when you are load sizing and every watt saved helps, then this does come in handy to be able to pick and choose just how much power your air conditioner uses at any given moment, yet still enjoy a relatively cool environment.

Pharyn:
Kindly share the source, please.
Thanks.

http://www.nigeria.climatemps.com/index.php

it only has a limited coverage of Nigeria sadly, like only 10 states.

GeorgeD1:
this is one of the major challenges of solar - cloudy/rainy weather. however, with proper
system sizing, it can be easily overcome. that is why the rule of thumb for an ideal battery
bank size is 3 days minimum backup. this takes care of days when there is less than adequate
sunshine, rainy weather and total blackout just like dapsyra experienced in abuja recently.
but as always, the drawback seems to be cost. who can afford to buy so many number of batteries
to achieve that level of autonomy? and what about the solar panels that goes with it?
too many questions but few answers...

Exactly! I'd rather buy more panels than batteries, but then again, one needs the extra storage cause with more panels, you'd just be losing so much power when batteries are full in good weather and then you can't even run for long on that limited battery storage if the weather is really bad, sigh

Hopefully, the price of lithium phosphate batteries keeps dropping. Right now, one can get 12V 100ah LifePO4 Battle Born Batteries for $950.
https://battlebornbatteries.com/shop/12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery/

100 Amp Hour, 12 Volt Battery
LiFePO4 Chemistry
3000- 5000 Cycles
100 Amp Continuous Current
200 Amp Surge Current (30 Seconds)
1/2 second surge for higher loads
Drop in Replacement for Lead Acid Batteries
Acceptable Voltages 14.4 – 14.6 for bulk charging
3 Year Warranty
Designed and Assembled in the USA
12.75 x 6.875 x 9 (L x W xH)
29 lbs

Just imagine if this can get below $500, then most people can really have power independence.

It would be so nice to put on the Gen and drop 50amps directly into a 100ah lithium battery and have it charged up in just two hours, as opposed to spending like 10 hours charging on 10amps max for the lead acid counterpart and then having to go through the whole 3 stage bulk, absorption and float stages.

I will keep monitoring the prices so that when my batteries die in a couple of years, I can decide if it's economical for me to make the switch to Lithium.

dapsyra:
Today will go down in history as my poorest harvest since I ventured into renewable energy more than 10years ago.

There was just NO SUN in Abuja today. It rained almost all day.

I managed to harvest a meagre 3.000kWh ==> an efficiency of 0.667kWh/kW.

I have never had it so bad!

lol, Kpele!!

I am almost dreading the months to come, as it's gonna be rainy season in Lagos, with just 3 sun hours average per day

I use the following chart:

Hey guys, was still researching the topic of Air Conditioning and found an LG inverter AC that does variable tonnage.

That is beyond cool. So it can vary it's cooling BTU from 100% down to about 40% and being that it uses a variable speed compressor, the current at low tonnage is also less.

So what does this mean for us using solar Well, it means we can now have a 1hp Air conditioner that can run on just 560 watts on "LOW POWER MODE", i.e "LOW TONNAGE MODE".

So in essence, you can set your temps down to say 16 during the day and run it at 100% tonnage, using between 800-1000 watts of power. At night, you can still run it, but if you run at low power, you'd be drawing only 560 watts.

On a 48v system, 560watts divided by 48v = 11.6amps, which is very very manageable.

Setting the temperature to 27 degrees celcius at night, instead of the usual low 16 most people do would also help to improve savings as it cuts down on the compressors duty cycle. So for every hour, if you set the temp up to as high as 27 or 28, the compressor might only have to run for 20 minutes, thereby increasing savings in terms of current draw from the batteries.

This is great news, so you can now have an AC'd environment, 24/7 if you so desire, for just a little power, excellent.

ANEB:
My Journey into Renewable Energy.

2015! Yes 2015. That was the year I had to make a decisive and far reaching decision about the future of power generation and consumption in our "little" home. I approached my wife, (mind you, with caution) and my children to discuss this new project that could potentially reduce the astronomical cost of electricity (alas! In the future) in our "little" home. Solar power... using photovoltaic panels.

Let me back up a little bit... My street and indeed my entire neighbourhood gets roughly 20 to 22 hours of electricity in a week and sometimes, we would be waiting for electricity from the power company for a month or two. Oftentimes it's a transformer fault, high tension pole(s) dropping off like a sparrow. In many occasions, old and tired lines giving way after screaming for replacement for ages. To cut the long story short, we are often without power for a long stretch of time. The only option had been to run the portable generator. And this... brothers and sisters cost a small fortune monthly. Ten litres of petrol is required for my household for twelve hours. Multiply that by thirty days and slot in 145 naira per litre... you begin to feel like a 150kg of load on your shoulder. 43,500 naira for only 12 hours of electricity to run basic appliances. If we were to fire the generator for 24 hours, the bill would be 87,000 naira in a month. Eighty seven thousand naira? That's crazy. Really crazy. Like my friend would say... not sustainable. And that was just the financial aspect. The noise, fire hazard and the anxiety of something going wrong while I was away and the family needed to power the house... no price tag for it all.
Okay! Enough of the stories. We as a family, after weighing the pros and cons of the generator power... decided to embark on a solar power generation and consumption adventure.

Being a DIY person, I set out on the design. Base on personal data collection, I came to the conclusion that my household basic appliances electricity requirements was about 18KWH for 24 hours. That's a huge amount of power to generate considering that Calabar falls under a 4.5hour full sunlight per day region. I decided to cut down on some load... replaced all the light bulbs with LED bulbs. And  the load dropped to 15KWH in 24 hour usage. 

I believed modular design would work better for me. I set out to purchase the following equipment:

80amp charge controller (outback FM80.. though the seller sent me 60amp FM60. that was dubious of him)

5kva Ipower plus hybrid inverter... Zinox

Luminous 3.5KVA inverter (existing from my previous inverter project)

16# 250Wp solar panels (later upgraded to 26# ) i.e. 6500Wp panels in total.

16# 200AH AGM batteries in 48v system  (existing from my previous inverter project 4yrs old).
Some cables. 16mm and 35mm for moving the huge current from combiner box to the charge controllers.

Breakers as appropriate for the design. Constructed a stand for the solar panels (though some panels are roof mount)

NOTE: Due to the peculiar nature of house, I had to make some concessions.
Trading high angle 19° for a 3.5 hour shading from 2pm. I figured the losses would be less with high inclination compared to 3.5 hours of shading.

We completed the installation and power generation has been better than expected.

Challenges I have encountered so far...
The Zinox Ipower plus inverter though very good has one draw back. It only absorbed on utility mode. When on solar... it jumps the absorption mode to floating mode. As such, I had to reduce the number of panels to Ipower plus inverter and put more panels on Outback charge controller. I maxed out in amps on the outback FM60.

Future plans:
Purchase additional Flex max Charge controller (FM80)
Increase my panels to 9000Wp

Find out more about batteries... possibly the batteries with 3000 or more cycles.

Currently, we run 1.5hp borehole pump daily for 45minutes
Microwave oven for 30minutes
Other loads amount to 800Wp
In 24hours, we take from the solar average of 19KWH.

The system can do more but not enough good batteries yet to maximise it.

Most of my knowledge came from this forum. So gentlemen and ladies (If there's) thank you for contributing everyday and finding time to respond to questions and challenges. You guys are the best.

Wow, wow wow wow wow

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ExhaustedBoilingAllensbigearedbat-max-1mb.gif

wow!

This is so dope, congrats yo!

Yes, the weakest link in the whole solar system at present is the batteries. Too many unreliable ones and the great batteries with great chemistry are just soo pricey.

Kudos on your system, even at 3 sun hours with 6500Wp, you'd still get anywhere between 16000wh and WOW!

Nice one.

rezzy:
I saw lumos yello box at mtn office and I got interested because we have been in darkness for 1 year now.

I asked about 3 persons how reliable and efficient the lumos yello box is and was told it's rubbish.

One lady then advised me to install solar. I told her I don't have the fund, she said with about 250k, that I can install it.

My question now is, will that amount be enough to install solar?
Note; I will use it to power freezer, TV, decoder, and bulb.

Thanks

Yes, It can be DONE!

Freezer :- 1200 WattHours/Day
TV:- 150 watts
decoder :- 20 watts
bulb: 18watts max a piece

These are all estimates for your load, reality may vary.

www. konga. com /1-6kva-24v-sukam-pure-sinewave-inverter-3864046
Konga 1.6KVA sukam pure sine wave inverter : N90, 000

www. konga. com/100ah-inverter-battery-3802123
Konga 100ah lead acid battery N44,000 times 2 = N88,000

www. konga. com/12v-150w-polycrystalline-solar-panel-photovoltaic-3526250
Konga 150 watts poly panel N27,000 times 2 = N54,000

www. konga. com/talkers-solar-charge-controller-12v-24v-30a-pwm-dual-usb-port-2359716
Konga PWM 30A charge controller: N12,000

Total :- N244,000

Use the remaining money for Installation.

When you have more money, you can increase panel size to max out the charge controller, then next change charge controller, then change batteries and so on as the money comes. This however, should serve you well with delicate use.

Obviously, with such a small system, you'd need to monitor your loads, especially the freezer. Maybe run it only during the day, monitor your battery voltage and current draw like your life depends on it, good luck.

Ask suppliers like kiekie here for competitive pricing.

kiekie1:
Solnergypower,

Yes , you may be right . Makavele once said that "theory is theory whilst practical is practical".. 1hp split AC consumes approximately 800-850w on the cyberpower display screen below ; I will come up with 1.5hp consumption soon at my free time ! Cheer's

That is an efficient air conditioning unit you have right there.

Is it an inverter type air conditioner Please what is the continuous and surge power ratings of your cyberpower inverter

DMerciful:
So I thought when I opted for 1hp AC only to realise its up-to 1200w.The 1hp is only compressor... what about the fan that cools the radiator? What about the fan in the inside unit for circulation? Energy nor easy o

Hey, still on the topic of efficient air conditioners, check out the chart below for energy efficient inverter acs wattage vs convenctional compressor acs wattage.

http://www.thermospace.com/ductless_split/ymgi/energy-star-9000-btu-inverter-ductless-split.php

DMerciful:
So I thought when I opted for 1hp AC only to realise its up-to 1200w.The 1hp is only compressor... what about the fan that cools the radiator? What about the fan in the inside unit for circulation? Energy nor easy o

Well, it really depends on the model though. some 1hp acs just like you said, are rated for as much as 1200 watts, but there are other models out there that run under 900 watts, all electronics inclusive.

check out the specs for this 1hp LG inverter V: http://www.lg.com/africa/split-air-conditioners/lg-BS-Q0964NA0

Just 830 running watts.

efuro:
I remember saying " Naa Me Be Dis?" The first time my diy setup hit 1kw. I had the urge to grow it as much I can through out the terrible recession time. (It was only the marketers that constantly had smiles on their faces - after all - what you buy is what you sell, and prices stayed up there except for JUO).

For those starting, do not be ashamed/afraid to post ur harvest, it is an achievement which you would have paid discos to use. The thread is a place to share successes , troubleshooting, new aspirations etc.
In response to ur request, the pix is my harvest as at 6.32pm. apart from ironing clothes once or twice a week, my harvest has been 6-8kw daily with day time requirement of 680w .

Nice!! I love seeing harvest pics

True, even with a small setup, the power just keeps coming in.

Honestly, it's not even about not paying discos for the power sef, it's about freedom from their para. With your 8kwh harvest, obviously depending on your use, I'm sure you don't bother too much with NEPA anymore. Like if there is black out for one week, you will surely pull through comfortably. Such a wonderful feeling

ebocoms:
Good day All,

I have been a silent follower of this great forum for some years now. Please, I need your help in evaluating my installation below before upgrading.
Since about 10 months of adding solar to already installed inverter the highest watts i have seen is 402W; while the highest Amp. is 16A. Though, my batteries are fully charged before getting home daily. I'm not not offgrid. Just being curious why 1,200W panel is not generating upto 50% the of the rated capacity.

- 1.5KVA/24V Luminous Inverter
- 2 x 200AH Luminous Batteries
- 4 x 300w Mono Solar Panels - Parallel - (2 x Sunshine Panels + 2 x Joy Panels) - Installed on the roof South side (no sign of shading or interference because my building is a bit higher than others closeby)
- 40a MPPT CC (Chinco)
- 16mm cable

Attached are the pictures of my panels, CC and output.

Thank you.

Nice setup! What are you complaining about though, if your batteries are always full by the time you get home

Since you aren't really tasking the setup during the day time, I won't expect you to see much juice unless your batteries are almost dead.

Try to run some load on it while you're home on a weekend, in full sun, like around 11-1pm. See what you get. Maybe through a microwave on or something and see.

DMerciful:
Today was impressive..
5.4kwh from 1.5kw array. My highest so far.

how come at almost 25v, your display is showing battery low

dapsyra:
Lady Solar paid an unscheduled visit to Abuja today.

My 4.5KW Chinco Solar Array harvested 20.9KwH today. That is an efficiency of 4.644kWh/kW!!!!

See live data here: https://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?userid=46221

Amazing.

21kwh? wow! You could have run a 1hp/780watts air conditioner for a couple of hours without breaking a sweat.

keep your rooms nice and chilly while it's blazing hot outside.

more power to you.

davodyguy:
The best I got all day with 2*300 watts Panel

30amps dropping on my two batteries

Nice harvest bro! that's about 360 juicy watts pumping.

gosh, i love solar.

you guys should keep posting your harvests once in a while na!!

not bragging things, just to serve as encouragement for new comers and experienced guys as well.

you wont post now that it's sunny, but when june comes now with one week rain, you will be complaining

Rhaspody:
the updated Xbox 1 controller has Bluetooth support

Yeah, I just checked wiki and it says they had a bunch of revisions for the controller. First was the audio jack and then the Bluetooth.

I guess this is the first generation Xbox One Wireless Controller.

Rhaspody:
does it have Bluetooth?

I guess it should bro! It's the official "WIRELESS" controller, so I'm guessing Bluetooth is the means of wireless communication between the controller and the console, just like my PS3.

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