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Looking at Bluetti AC200 for backup house use

moonweez

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Oct 13, 2020
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Hello,

I am looking at the AC200 for backup in my house. Hoping to run a fridge and freezer, charge phone/laptop, use microwave, run small window AC if needed. Probably too much to ask to run the central air. I'm watching Will's and Hobotech's videos to try to learn but suspect I'm not grasping some basic concepts so coming here to ask a couple of very newbie questions.

The yellow energy sticker that came with my fridge has 403kWh as a yearly estimate (sticker inside fridge says 7.10 amps but I see no wattage numbers) and the freezer is 115kWh yearly.

I don't find many references in the Will and Hobo videos to using the Bluettis or the Titan (trying to avoid this cost) for home use. I hear references to RV, cabin, tiny home mostly. And a lot of 12V stuff which I don't think pertains to me.

I forget which video (AC200 or AC240?) where Hobo does a test on his small AC unit or microwave and gets 3 minutes. And here is my very stupid question: If I can only get 3 minutes of charge, is the battery then depleted and I have to charge it again? Which then leads to wondering, what if the sun is not out? What if I can't have a huge solar panel array and it takes a day to charge and I'm without being able to power the fridge?

Are there any videos/sites that address the needs of a homeowner who may not have the time to learn about watts and volts before these units start to go up in price or become backordered? Would like something before winter. I'm beginning to get overwhelmed with the options (DIY, take out a loan for a whole house system, go gas or propane generated). I'm not afraid of projects but I'd like to keep it simple in this case. Thanks.
 
The EB240 test you saw was its undersized 1000 watt inverter kicking off after 3 minutes because it could not handle the microwaves power of over 1000 watts.
The EB240 2400 watt hour battery was not depleted after 3 minutes.
AC200 has a 2000 watt inverter which will run any microwave and a 1700 watt hour battery.
But you cant even buy an AC200 until 2021 when it will be $1900 on Amazon.
 
518kWh/year = 1.4kWh/day

AC200 has 1.7kWh of capacity

You're pretty much at the limit.

Once charged, with a lot of extra solar, running an extremely small A/C unit like in Will's shed is an option, but only during times where you're powering it exclusively with panels. It will only run it for 3-4 hours off battery with no other loads.

I suspect the 3 minutes on the microwave was before the inverter tripped off due to overload. A 1000W microwave CONSUMES 1600W of power.

For your scenario, you'd likely want to max out the solar array at 700W.
 
The EB240 test you saw was its undersized 1000 watt inverter kicking off after 3 minutes because it could not handle the microwaves power of over 1000 watts.
The EB240 2400 watt hour battery was not depleted after 3 minutes.
AC200 has a 2000 watt inverter which will run any microwave and a 1700 watt hour battery.
But you cant even buy an AC200 until 2021 when it will be $1900 on Amazon.
Your question about the 1000 watt inverter kicking off sounds right.
 
518kWh/year = 1.4kWh/day

AC200 has 1.7kWh of capacity

You're pretty much at the limit.

Once charged, with a lot of extra solar, running an extremely small A/C unit like in Will's shed is an option, but only during times where you're powering it exclusively with panels. It will only run it for 3-4 hours off battery with no other loads.

I suspect the 3 minutes on the microwave was before the inverter tripped off due to overload. A 1000W microwave CONSUMES 1600W of power.

For your scenario, you'd likely want to max out the solar array at 700W.
Thank you. Does that mean the fridge would run for about a day before the unit needs a recharge?
 
Thank you. Does that mean the fridge would run for about a day before the unit needs a recharge?
I ran my fridge/freezer during the Cali blackouts (5 days no power) using an EGO Nexus Powerstation...loaded with 4 7.5AH batteries (420whx4=1680wh) and got around a day, maybe slightly less if I also charge a laptop and phones along the way. Was able to recharge individual cells at work, or at the park running Honda generator (quiet valley in exclusive community) in about an hour. Nexus Powerstations are being clearanced from Home Depot (lost distribution to Lowes) for $800 including 2 7.5AH cells, so already at 840wh. Add a clearanced self-propelled mower for $300, get a fast charger, another 7.5AH cell and you're up to 1260wh. Rinse and repeat with usable EGO cells for most of your yard care needs, at clearance prices, and leverage those cells in non-emergency use cases.
 
Thank you. Does that mean the fridge would run for about a day before the unit needs a recharge?

Fridge and freezer. You'll need enough solar to produce the 1.4kWh per day to keep it going indefinitely. You could get by with less, but I'd shoot for the 700W max on the AC200 to try and maximize use. You can actually over-panel the unit as well, which is a good idea as you'll be able to pull the 700W max for much longer than the peak solar moment and give you the option of running a very small window unit A/C for some hours. As long as you don't exceed the 150V limit on the solar input, it will only take as much as it can up to 700W.

The AC200 has a 12A PV input limit, so you need to make sure your Imp is higher than 12A, and the Vmp of your series panels is above 58V to ensure you can get the full 700W.
 
Just to add to the discussion, I bought my AC200P primarily for residential power backup. I have a gas generator but would prefer a quiet alternative for night time use in the event of utility power loss. My main application is to power a fridge and upright freezer. The AC200P arrived last Monday and I ran a test with it running the fridge in my kitchen. Over six hours the charge dropped from 86% to 55% (so roughly 1/3 of a full charge). This test was during the day, so the fridge was opened and closed a number of times during those six hours; overnight with the door closed should be lower consumption. The freezer consumes more power than the fridge so I figure I might just get one night of run time for both with a charged up AC200P. I need to locate my Kill-a-Watt appliance measurements and do the math to be sure.
 
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