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You should give some thought to offering an AC-DC power supply. Being able to dedicate several solar panels directly to heating or cooling might get people out

You should give some thought to offering an AC-DC power supply. Being able to dedicate several solar panels directly to heating or cooling might get people out of a regulatory bind with crazy interconnect fees and local regulations. The trick would be to supply supplemental DC solar power in a manner that would not be considered grid-tied. That would eliminate a whole level of installation costs, permitting fees and time consuming approvals. Plus you could run the system at some capacity during a grid outage which could be a lifesaver.

tgtweak 4y ago
Most ultra high efficiency heat pumps are already using DC inverter technology which allows the compressor, fans and pumps to run on fully variable speed. If Electric Air is planning on using DC components for their heat pumps, they could make it DC powered as well. The issue is that it would increase cost substantially for people who don't necessarily need it since a 5KW class DC controller (to run the aforementioned off of solar) would add a good chunk to the bill of materials. It would also add a lot of complexity to the system. Lastly, it is only really practical in hotter summer climates for cooling where your cooling demand and sunshine line up nicely. In heating applications, you need the most power when it is cold out (in the middle of the night) and so the demand and generation is almost fully inverted. One feature that would be great (and universally practical) is using the heat pump to heat water with the waste heat from air conditioning in the summer (or when any time the house doesn't need the air heated). Add to this the fact that heat-pump water heaters are in the $2000 range, and eligible for many credits - it could be a great add-on.
- jakedata 4y ago
  I wouldn't try to over complicate things. A 5KW DC solar controller does not need to be included in every product. The system could allow for DC power input in a manner controlled by software that could offset power delivery from the AC stage. Individual panel optimizers can already tune output voltage and current, it is just a matter of telling them what you want. If you are really clever you can set operational parameters to cap power consumption based on available solar power, but that's all for later.

tgtweak 4y ago

Most ultra high efficiency heat pumps are already using DC inverter technology which allows the compressor, fans and pumps to run on fully variable speed. If Electric Air is planning on using DC components for their heat pumps, they could make it DC powered as well. The issue is that it would increase cost substantially for people who don't necessarily need it since a 5KW class DC controller (to run the aforementioned off of solar) would add a good chunk to the bill of materials. It would also add a lot of complexity to the system. Lastly, it is only really practical in hotter summer climates for cooling where your cooling demand and sunshine line up nicely. In heating applications, you need the most power when it is cold out (in the middle of the night) and so the demand and generation is almost fully inverted. One feature that would be great (and universally practical) is using the heat pump to heat water with the waste heat from air conditioning in the summer (or when any time the house doesn't need the air heated). Add to this the fact that heat-pump water heaters are in the $2000 range, and eligible for many credits - it could be a great add-on.

jakedata 4y ago
I wouldn't try to over complicate things. A 5KW DC solar controller does not need to be included in every product. The system could allow for DC power input in a manner controlled by software that could offset power delivery from the AC stage. Individual panel optimizers can already tune output voltage and current, it is just a matter of telling them what you want. If you are really clever you can set operational parameters to cap power consumption based on available solar power, but that's all for later.