3 ms·

I suspect the wall is more about the amount of power an AC needs vs a cellphone/battery powered lights etc. A ~200$ UPS may only have minutes of batteries, but

by Retric 2y ago

I suspect the wall is more about the amount of power an AC needs vs a cellphone/battery powered lights etc. A ~200$ UPS may only have minutes of batteries, but it got all the electronics for inverting 1.5KW and safely connecting to the grid which would let you run an AC. I’d expect there to be a market for a cheap box where you can just plug into a wall outlet run in some DC lines from a PV, and then keep an AC running when either the grid or solar panels are supplying power no need for batteries or a knowledgeable electrician. Even just leaning solar panels on the side of your house and running a cord in through the window would work.

cyberax 2y ago
There are plenty of such devices (they're really popular in Ukraine right now). Ecoflow, Deye, etc. The problem is that there aren't that many loads for them (well, maybe a fridge). Even a small AC needs at least 1.5kW of power, so for 16 with little-to-no sunlight you'll end up needing a 24kWh battery. This is a pretty huge battery.
- Retric 2y ago
  > aren’t many loads for them Saving money on the electricity bill and having improved resilience in a power outage occurs even without batteries. Panels are like 1/3 the cost of a normal home solar system. With this plug in your AC in the summer and Resistance heater in the winter and even though you’re losing money when nothing is using that 1.5KW the dramatically lower install costs probably make up for it. Batteries are obviously better for outages, but you could also plug this into a generator and save on gasoline when the sun is shining.