diy solar

diy solar

Solar And Mini Splits

If the DC one is from a reputable brand that is backed by HVAC techs I would go for it, but if it's some Wun Hung Lo brand off Ebay or Amazon I would avoid it, as there will be zero support. Drawback is that they are probably less common so may be hard to even find one but if you can find a good one then it might be the way to go as you don't need to worry about trying to find an inverter that can handle the startup load.

I have a big portable A/C unit that is 12k BTU and it works on a 120v 15 amp circuit, draws close to the full capacity, I forget exact numbers but it would be under 1.8kw which is the max capacity of a 15 amp circuit.
 
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Delmar said:
Heat and dehumidify are two unrelated functions:
- In heating mode the mini-split will not remove humidity, only warm the room above dew point. Typically a wood stove can be added.
- Do you have an electric water heater? For cooling you can convert to a heat pump tank that will also dehumidify. Will be much less expensive to operate than electric resistance.
Click to expand...


My water heater is gas and I was reading
Delmar said:
Heat and dehumidify are two unrelated functions:
- In heating mode the mini-split will not remove humidity, only warm the room above dew point. Typically a wood stove can be added.
- Do you have an electric water heater? For cooling you can convert to a heat pump tank that will also dehumidify. Will be much less expensive to operate than electric resistance.
Click to expand...

Delmar I could have sworn I read some models have a dry heat feature that warms and removes humidity at the same time but I am unable to locate with a quick google search now.

My water heater is gas but thanks for another interesting idea to think about
 
I can post some tear down of ECM blower motors if y’all like... they should be designed the same as compressor motors... I pull a lot of them that have failed.
what fails on them in dirty open air, poorly ducted systems is the electronics creating the pulses to drive the specific rpm, fail... we used to carry repair parts to fix the burned mossfets and such, but the manufacturers weren’t making money on that, so they started potting the boards in silicone or something... “to increase the longevity” now they get tossed and a universal goes in... ive never seen a motor with bad bearings or windings...
 
plr said:
My water heater is gas and I was reading


Delmar I could have sworn I read some models have a dry heat feature that warms and removes humidity at the same time but I am unable to locate with a quick google search now.

My water heater is gas but thanks for another interesting idea to think about
Click to expand...
Minis have a dehumidify function... basically, they cool, then heat on programmed intervals... cooling dehumidifies as part of the process, but also lowers the air temp... in a room already at a comfortable temp, cooling is counterproductive, and raises the RELATIVE humidity level... so they switch back and forth cool, heat,cool,heat... until the desired humidity is reached at the desired temp.
 
MisterSandals said:
I don't want to push the OP to a product that I have no experience with but i will pass this along as something that caught my eye for a future project.
A bit spendy at $1699...

sharkaire.com

24 V DC Ductless Mini Split Air Conditioners

High Efficiency Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioning System delivers superior cooling and heating.
sharkaire.com sharkaire.com
Click to expand...

Thanks so much MisterSandals another interesting option to consider!
 
Just to get my feet wet with solar and with future hopes of expansion I plan to get a 48v system and primarily run a dehumidifier in my basement.

My dehumidifier runs usually about 40 watts but when the compressor or whatever spins up it uses just under 500 watts and I'll find some other things to run off the system.

If I get the 48V 3KW Growatt can I save a couple hundred on batteries by using two BYD LiFePO4 Battery
packs?
 
Sounds like a perfect learning system. The dehumidifier is a non-critical function, instead of a fridge where food will spoil or heater where your water pipes will break.

The BYD batteries are questionable, reference other posts here. Again system is non-critical so is perfect to learn.

I glanced at the Growatt specs and did not see confirmation of a pure sine wave output. I would not buy until I receive confirmation is not modified sine wave.
 
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Also a dehumidifier is really just a window air conditioner unit with an integral water tank. May be easier to find a DC unit and slightly modify the fan ducting.

Amazon.com: Micro DC Air Conditioner Kit, DC 12V 450W R134A Refrigerant，Powerful Air Conditioner for Car, Air Conditioner Cooling System: Home & Kitchen

Buy Micro DC Air Conditioner Kit, DC 12V 450W R134A Refrigerant，Powerful Air Conditioner for Car, Air Conditioner Cooling System: Accessories - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
www.amazon.com
 
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Delmar said:
Sounds really inefficient. A conventional/standalone dehumidifier will dump the heat back into the room in one step.
Click to expand...
Well, it is an inefficient process, but power consumption vs a standalone dehumidifier is far less.
Especially the store bought ones... they are horrid energy wasters.
The dedicated whole house models are more efficient, and functional at dehumidifying, but still cost more electricity than the minis in dehu mode.
 
Supervstech said:
Well, it is an inefficient process, but power consumption vs a standalone dehumidifier is far less.
Especially the store bought ones... they are horrid energy wasters.
Click to expand...
The OP also wanted the capability to heat the basement. Technically the dehumidifier will not "waste" energy because inefficiency will be converted into usable BTU's. The batteries and inverter will also dump usable BTU's into the basement.
 
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Delmar said:
The OP also wanted the capability to heat the basement. Technically the dehumidifier will not "waste" energy because inefficiency will be converted into usable BTU's. The batteries and inverter will also dump usable BTU's into the basement.
Click to expand...
Oh, absolutely the energy will heat the room, but my point is, a mini split can heat, and dehumidify extremely power efficiently.
The portable dehumidifiers will not dehumidify well, they are inefficient at removing humidity, and can only lower the gross humidity... where a purpose built whole house ducted dehumidifier will efficiently remove humidity while heating the space as well... the mini splits can dehumidify electrically efficiently, but not very mechanically efficiently. They kinda blow a portion of the removed humidity back into the space when they switch to heating...
 
I guess the question is? Do you want to dehumidify while heating? Or dehumidify only while cooling?

A regular dehumidifier will dehumidify while heating up the room. A AC coil will dehumidify and cool the room.

Most times you want to dehumidify when it is hot out so go with a regular mini split.
 
newbostonconst said:
I guess the question is? Do you want to dehumidify while heating? Or dehumidify only while cooling?

A regular dehumidifier will dehumidify while heating up the room. A AC coil will dehumidify and cool the room.

Most times you want to dehumidify when it is hot out so go with a regular mini split.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it’s a mixed bag of desires...
Basements below grade frequently do require heating, or neutral dehumidification, and minis cannot do this. Dedicated dehus will... but will heat the room doing so. So some cooling may be needed.

lemme know if ya need a load calculation performed or a enthalpic chart worked up showing the average grains of moisture removal needed.
 
KG6S said:
Thought you might find this video useful. Aside from having a pretty nice rig he has thought through his mini-split install that is powered by his panels and batteries.
Click to expand...


Thanks for sharing this interesting video. I’ll definitely have to check out his website for more stats.
 
I think Delmar is saying he would prefer to see more of confirmation. Even so how would I test this? Maybe I should do some googling but would Will really post or recommend a product that isn't legitimate?
 
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