Solar Generator

[Buc]

I’m curious if anyone knows of a solar generator capable of powering a AC unit. Ours won’t run off of a standard household circuit (rather, it trips the breaker after a minute or so).

If that’s not an option, is overkill better for the power needs? Since we work remote, being able to power a laptop and small monitor, along with various electronics for the kids and our phones. We’re considering the Oupes 1800 model with a 240W panel. One of my wife’s employees recommended it, but we’re certainly open to other options.

 

[Rich W.]

I don’t know much about these products but a 240w panel and a 1500w battery will not run an air conditioner. My daughter managed to run a 13.5k btu AC on a honda 2000i gen but that was about the limit and IIRC she wasn’t always able to make it happen. The specs on the Oupes 1800 (1488Wh Capacity | 1800W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter, 4000W Surge) would support the other items you mentioned but not an AC.

Your “household circuit“ is probably 15amps, maybe 20 (so 1800-2400 watts) and if that isn't enough for what your trying to run, you need something bigger than an 1800 watt inverter, and lot more battery than 1488wh. Maybe I’m missing something here?

I ran an AC with a 3kw Victron inverter and around 16kwh Li-ion from a Nissan Leaf battery, and 1575w of solar panels. The panels would give me a full charge by late morning, and together with the battery bank would run one 15k btu AC all day and about 8 hours after sundown.

I could see one of these smaller solar generators working for running everything else, and a 3kw Honda (or other) generator to run your AC.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I don’t know much about these products but a 240w panel and a 1500w battery will not run an air conditioner. My daughter managed to run a 13.5k btu AC on a honda 2000i gen but that was about the limit and IIRC she wasn’t always able to make it happen. The specs on the Oupes 1800 (1488Wh Capacity | 1800W AC Pure Sine Wave Inverter, 4000W Surge) would support the other items you mentioned but not an AC.

Your “household circuit“ is probably 15amps, maybe 20 (so 1800-2400 watts) and if that isn't enough for what your trying to run, you need something bigger than an 1800 watt inverter, and lot more battery than 1488wh. Maybe I’m missing something here?

I ran an AC with a 3kw Victron inverter and around 16kwh Li-ion from a Nissan Leaf battery, and 1575w of solar panels. The panels would give me a full charge by late morning, and together with the battery bank would run one 15k btu AC all day and about 8 hours after sundown.

I could see one of these smaller solar generators working for running everything else, and a 3kw Honda (or other) generator to run your AC.

Wow that sounds unbelievable, maybe one day you can tell me how that worked over a weeks time!

 

[mjeds]

the EcoFlow Delta Pro with an extended battery (total of 7200wh) will run my Highland Ridge AC for 5 hours alone, only 2 -3 hours if using any other electronics.

the Delta pro has a 30 amp connection directly on the unit, 7200wh are good for 14 hours running the lights, TV and the "fireplace", if not using the fireplace I can go 20-24 hours on the trailers various electronics (lights fridge, TV, etc), however I have a rather large computer rig setup now, with a 3000watt ups, so I doubt I would see more than 8 hours, haven't tested it since moving my computer setup for work.

If I use the HVAC it dies after 2-5 hours. my HVAC is a 13.5K BTU,

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the unit and the extended battery fit perfect in my basement (have to put it in sideways then stand it up.

I run a 30 amp cord from the dock port to the basement and installed a cable door hatch in the basement door, as well as cable hangers (heavy duty J hooks) under the trailer to keep the cord off the ground and hidden.

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so when boon docking the batteries are secured in the basement

 

[Rich W.]

Wow that sounds unbelievable, maybe one day you can tell me how that worked over a weeks time!

If you’re refering to my solar/Li-ion rig, it worked ok as long as there was sun, but the down side was that I had to park in the sun to optimize it which somewhat defeated the purpose. It was best for running the AC while driving, parked short term (grocery stores, restaurants, POIs, etc) for the dogs where shore power wasnt available, and also evenings boondocking after driving all day. It’s worth noting that at time I had a noisy gas Onan genny.

But I wouldn’t want to try to live that way. I only brought it up as an example of what it takes to run an AC with inverter/solar/batteries. It was more a hobby and proof of concept thing. Also 8 hours after sundown is great unless its still 90°+ after midnight. And that system cost me around $7,000 for equipment and materials. If you paid for a system like that it would probably be $30k. Also good used Nissan Leaf batteries are hard to come by these days and more expensive since they have been “discovered”.

I created a plan for a system that would be sustainable involving a 24-30kwh chunk of Leaf battery (they are 62kwh now) and a bigger inverter. That system would have cost me around $10k and it would have been a worthwhile accomplishment if I planned to boondock a lot in hot areas.

But I decided I would rather just travel in cooler areas in the summer and spend my hobby $ elsewhere. Also the “quiet diesel” 8kw gen on my current rig isn’t any louder than my two ACs, and I am not much into boondocking anymore. So these days my panels are just a big battery charger for the lead-acid bank (AGMs next time) that came with the rig which is good enough for me. My new strategy is just to stay out of the south during the summer.

 

[mjeds]

that 1800 watt unit will not power the HVAC for more than about 15 minutes.

a 13.5K btu unit uses about 700-1000 watts, so you would need at minimum a 3000 watt unit to power the HVAC and all other devices for 1-2 hours.

240 watt solar will not charge anywhere near the rate of use, I have 1600 watts solar charging mine and it can't keep up.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

that 1800 watt unit will not power the HVAC for more than about 15 minutes.

a 13.5K btu unit uses about 700-1000 watts, so you would need at minimum a 3000 watt unit to power the HVAC and all other devices for 1-2 hours.

240 watt solar will not charge anywhere near the rate of use, I have 1600 watts solar charging mine and it can't keep up.

That's where I was headed with things. Thanks for the numbers to work with. At least part of the information. Locked rotor current can be up to 10x units data tag. That is the number NEC states for sizing conductors.
Most of us have run our units on a much smaller generator than that number, but the NEC is about trouble free wiring. We just want to see the ac do it's job on a hot day!

While we are on the topic! On a hot day, what % of the time is your ac running per hour. 50 % is let's say 500whrs. Per hour.

Depending on your controller mileage will vary some,, but 70% is a good number to panel product at high noon. Actual production is on a sine curve throughout the day.

So let's do an exercise shall we???

2000w worth of solar.
1400w true output peak.
Average per day? 10 hrs day. Sine would be about 75% so.
10kwhrs that number divided by(500*hours run, let's say 10 hours).
So can we say 5kwhrs...
Running into the night 3 of those hours 1500whrs. These numbers are fictional and don't consider losses or cloudy skys

 

[Buc]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I’m thinking we’ll scale back the expectation to being able to power my wife’s remote work (laptop and small second monitor).