diy solar

diy solar

EG4 Heat Pumps?

Rocksnsalt said:
⬆️ Seems like ?Crickets? ? ? on this product, really?
Seems like a game changer to me…
Am I missing something?
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I've purchased 4 for my new off-grid home along with 4 360W panels for each.
They should be installed by February, then I'll report back.
I live in NE TX so the idea of running my AC all day without touching my main array (12.8KW+35KWh battery+2xLV6548) is very appealing.
In my case it may be overkill, and I may be shaving power by noon anyway...but it seemed nifty so I bought them.
 
mentalarson said:
I've purchased 4 for my new off-grid home along with 4 360W panels for each.
They should be installed by February, then I'll report back.
I live in NE TX so the idea of running my AC all day without touching my main array (12.8KW+35KWh battery+2xLV6548) is very appealing.
In my case it may be overkill, and I may be shaving power by noon anyway...but it seemed nifty so I bought them.
Click to expand...
Awesome!
 
Seems to me that these kinds of units are a great way to dip your toes into Solar power world if you don't already have Solar.
If you have Solar then 1-2KW of extra panels on your existing Inverter system coupled to a regular heat pump is cheaper.
With a Hybrid Inverter it's a no brainer to use a regular heat pump and store any excess PV into the batteries.
 
Rocksnsalt said:
Is adding complexity the issue?
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you trying are switching your panels from one MPPT to another one. That can be some serious complication. DC switching needs logic and thought. You can break both your systems if you are not careful.

The EG4 A/C Heatpump has one specific use-case:
robby said:
Seems to me that these kinds of units are a great way to dip your toes into Solar power world if you don't already have Solar.
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You have grid power and want some super simple solar to offset your heating and cooling cost. No permits, no grid tie.
That's it. Nothing more and nothing less. It is great for many to get started.

As soon you already got a Solar System with Inverter or planning to go Hybrid / Off grid- the only advantage is a slight efficiency gain. And maybe some redundancy.

Further like you are asking - you can't use the panels connected to the Heatpump unit for anything else. They can't heat your water, run tools or power your lights. So when you are design your main system - you just make it larger and account for the heatpump usage.
robby said:
If you have Solar then 1-2KW of extra panels on your existing Inverter system coupled to a regular heat pump is cheaper.
With a Hybrid Inverter it's a no brainer to use a regular heat pump and store any excess PV into the batteries.
Click to expand...
 
As stated by others. This is beneficial to someone who wants to try solar. Not for anyone who already has a solar system.
I wouldn't even recommend it for someone who is planning to install a real solar system.
 
timselectric said:
As stated by others. This is beneficial to someone who wants to try solar. Not for anyone who already has a solar system.
I wouldn't even recommend it for someone who is planning to install a real solar system.
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I do plan on installing a “real” solar system, but I sure like the idea of no inverter loss to run this type system on sunny days.
But I completely get what you’re saying, it complicates things.
For now, (actually this spring/summer) I sure like the idea of regulating daytime temps about 80% of days out of the year in my use case with FREE energy. ?

I actually wish I could find a 36k + btu unit that I can just duct right into the existing propane forced air heater duct work and I’d remove that old thing and be near done.
 
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I’ve been looking for a way to keep a shipping container under 90degree during the day in the summer. This AC unit is perfect for my needs even though I already have a solar set up with inverter and batteries inside the container. The problem I was facing was battery size to be able to run the AC unit during the night. The only real component in the container that I didn’t want sitting in 90-100degree temps was the battery. So I was faced with either purchasing enough batteries to be able to run an AC unit 24/7 or remove the small single battery and use this AC with the existing 4 320 watt panels that are already on the roof to keep day time temps under 90* instead of 130*.

I would need about $5-6000 in batteries as a bare minimum plus additional panels $1-1500
Plus a standard Mini split $800. So about $8-9k

Or I remove the one battery, connect the existing 4 panels to this solar mini split for $1200-1500 and I’m done. Seems like a no brainer. I guess this could have limited uses but it sure filled the need for what I was looking for.
 
SoakedUp said:
I’ve been looking for a way to keep a shipping container under 90degree during the day in the summer. This AC unit is perfect for my needs even though I already have a solar set up with inverter and batteries inside the container. The problem I was facing was battery size to be able to run the AC unit during the night. The only real component in the container that I didn’t want sitting in 90-100degree temps was the battery. So I was faced with either purchasing enough batteries to be able to run an AC unit 24/7 or remove the small single battery and use this AC with the existing 4 320 watt panels that are already on the roof to keep day time temps under 90* instead of 130*.

I would need about $5-6000 in batteries as a bare minimum plus additional panels $1-1500
Plus a standard Mini split $800. So about $8-9k

Or I remove the one battery, connect the existing 4 panels to this solar mini split for $1200-1500 and I’m done. Seems like a no brainer. I guess this could have limited uses but it sure filled the need for what I was looking for.
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Perfect scenario. I’m thinking this type of setup is perfect for someone that is just trying to get an off grid structure setup. That individual may have bigger plans for the future but this system can satisfy some important needs NOW and the AC and solar panels can be used when expansion to more permanent systems are underway/completed.
 
Once the sun goes down you lose a lot of your heat gain so you might not need the AC to run then. I would give it a try without batteries and see how it does for a while.
 
Dipping toes in Solar....got mine installed (DIY if not obvious..)

In my case, had to bring 220V from power pole due to no free space in house sub panel (future upgrade project)

Panels are Canadian 385W, note only 7 hooked up at the moment due to Voc concerns. DC breaker at panels, I have since corrected the backwards wiring on it. Chinese IMO DC disconnect on house. I'm so committed racks are on 5 gallon buckets of concrete buried (sarcasm).

It does what it was said to do. Heating 1000sq ft no problemo! Very happy so far!!! Had first partly cloudy day yesterday, AC fills the DC valleys to keep wild power swings at bay as some were wondering. Wichita KS current Solar hours 10AM - 4:30PM.

This is all Sig Solar too, very happy with them as well. Made an order change, they called me right back no prob.

More thoughts later.
20230109_131125.jpg20230109_133350.jpg20230109_131155.jpgScreenshot_20230112_115131_Solar Aircon.jpg
 
Plum Crazy Rob said:
I'm so committed racks are on 5 gallon buckets of concrete buried (sarcasm).
Click to expand...

I resemble that remark, though my buckets are bottomless over a bit of rebar set as an inverted shroom cap.
Now when I skip town to escape the crazy heat of SW AZ I won’t return to wax puddles where candles once lived. I ordered this 24k unit from AU last spring, I’m about to order 4 more.

Whomever was asking about 48v units, they have been around for years.

And to think I relocated here from ICT in 2020. Rob I’d say that’s opportunity missed, but i’m sure glad I wasn’t there the last couple of months! I definitely prefer endless blue sky’s!
Actually we should have a chat sometime.
~AJ from AZ
672E216B-4BEF-4D4A-A61E-5BC2DBBB2E4D.jpeg20CC40A9-C973-456B-AA01-3ABE44F3390D.jpeg3B33BBA4-A704-41A8-AD9B-D89D84D5B60F.jpeg2FAA1F98-A44E-4840-A9EF-989D1F9DCF7A.jpeg8BA28F0B-09B4-4C34-B5AA-24D0BD07337A.jpegFC8305EC-E3CC-48B7-80DC-529916ACC5FA.jpeg
 
Hello AJ. You come from the Aircraft biz by chance? (ex Structures Design Engineer here). THAT is an amusing coincidence on the buckets, great minds. I have trees on 4 sides so probably knock 50mph off any high winds.

You or anyone speak Chinglish for these Deye units?? From the Deye app...Light=Display on-off, got that. What does ECO mode do..seems air conditioning related as it switches unit to cooling mode. ANION. What the he11 is that. Interestingly, the manual that arrived with my unit seems to be written by an Australian feller as it makes numerous references to AU-NZ code, as well as the lilt and spelling differences. Cloud Schedule - I would schedule no clouds but obv refers to schedule of operation got that set up.

Screenshot_20230112_102431_Solar Aircon.jpg
 
What am I missing here, this unit seems like a bad choice if a person is looking for optimal electrical efficiency?

I'm looking at building an off-grid cabin and will be using solar for power and a split unit for heating/cooling. I'm approaching this as: should I take some panels off the main system and connect them to this split unit. I think the answer is no.

The minimum DC voltage is 90, so it must be direct connected to solar panels. Any time I'm not needing heating/cooling, those panels would be unused. So when I need heating/cooling, it would be more efficient. But when its not running, I have a 100% loss on the panels connected to the split unit, right? I suspect I'm better off to connect all the solar panels to the charge controller and batteries so I can use all their power the entire time sunlight is available (just losing some conversion when the split unit needs to run).

If this unit would run on 48vdc, so I could connect it direct to the batteries, this would be an extremely appealing choice. In that case all my solar panels can be devoted to a single solar system and the split unt would draw DC from the batteries for efficiency.

This unit seems great for scenarios like:
- you have no solar and would like a split unit to be solar powered without the cost batteries, charge controller, etc.
- your solar system is underpowered and you can't cost effectively add panels without upgrading a lot of infrastructure.

It just doesn't seem worthwhile for other scenarios.
 
ksJoe said:
What am I missing here, this unit seems like a bad choice if a person is looking for optimal electrical efficiency?

I'm looking at building an off-grid cabin and will be using solar for power and a split unit for heating/cooling. I'm approaching this as: should I take some panels off the main system and connect them to this split unit. I think the answer is no.

The minimum DC voltage is 90, so it must be direct connected to solar panels. Any time I'm not needing heating/cooling, those panels would be unused. So when I need heating/cooling, it would be more efficient. But when its not running, I have a 100% loss on the panels connected to the split unit, right? I suspect I'm better off to connect all the solar panels to the charge controller and batteries so I can use all their power the entire time sunlight is available (just losing some conversion when the split unit needs to run).

If this unit would run on 48vdc, so I could connect it direct to the batteries, this would be an extremely appealing choice. In that case all my solar panels can be devoted to a single solar system and the split unt would draw DC from the batteries for efficiency.

This unit seems great for scenarios like:
- you have no solar and would like a split unit to be solar powered without the cost batteries, charge controller, etc.
- your solar system is underpowered and you can't cost effectively add panels without upgrading a lot of infrastructure.

It just doesn't seem worthwhile for other scenarios.
Click to expand...
That's why I have chosen a 48v mini split.
 
ksJoe said:
What am I missing here, this unit seems like a bad choice if a person is looking for optimal electrical efficiency?

I'm looking at building an off-grid cabin and will be using solar for power and a split unit for heating/cooling. I'm approaching this as: should I take some panels off the main system and connect them to this split unit. I think the answer is no.

The minimum DC voltage is 90, so it must be direct connected to solar panels. Any time I'm not needing heating/cooling, those panels would be unused. So when I need heating/cooling, it would be more efficient. But when its not running, I have a 100% loss on the panels connected to the split unit, right? I suspect I'm better off to connect all the solar panels to the charge controller and batteries so I can use all their power the entire time sunlight is available (just losing some conversion when the split unit needs to run).

If this unit would run on 48vdc, so I could connect it direct to the batteries, this would be an extremely appealing choice. In that case all my solar panels can be devoted to a single solar system and the split unt would draw DC from the batteries for efficiency.

This unit seems great for scenarios like:
- you have no solar and would like a split unit to be solar powered without the cost batteries, charge controller, etc.
- your solar system is underpowered and you can't cost effectively add panels without upgrading a lot of infrastructure.

It just doesn't seem worthwhile for other scenarios.
Click to expand...
Well, that all makes sense for your use case, it’s certainly one of a few ways to go.
For some that may be connected to the grid, it seems appealing to cool or heat directly from solar panels for a significant number of days, keeping the building at or near desired temperature and have the system be able to run from grid power if needed after solar hrs, nights, and/ or cloudy days. In my case I’m thinking this may work well as summers get quite warm at times, and it gets a bit cold in winter, but often sunny.
At some point I plan to have batteries and inverter at this place but likely nothing substantial for a couple years.

Re loss of energy from the panels not feeding the rest of a system when not needed for ac or heat, couldn’t that be switched and wired to tie in with the rest of a system?
 
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