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A Know Absolutely Nothing NEWBIE in the Bahamas looking for suggestions.... Please

H

hatchetbayfarms20

New Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2020
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22
Hello All,

Just as the title says, I am new and know nothing other than watching Will's great youtube videos. I don't mind the DIY part of putting a system together, it's just figuring out the what part of what to put together :love:

We are going to be starting up a new farm business here in the Bahamas and will be going off-grid to do so because of where the farm will be located. We don't have a huge need because of how we are planning on operating the farm but do have some needs that we will need power for. Therefore, we seek guidance on what things we will need to operate.

Most of our power needs will be in the area we call the Warehouse. This area will house our Cold Storage room which we intend to run using a piece of technology called a CoolBot (https://storeitcold.com/product/coolbot-walk-in-cooler-controller/). This device allows you to take a window AC unit and convert it to lowing the temperatures to cold storage conditions. The unit we are considering is this one (AC Unit).

The other needs will be regular in-house lights in 2 small lavatories, 4x14 room and 6x14 cold room. Outlet to power a washing machine. Outlet to power 4 box fans. Outlet to power a jacuzzi motor. Maybe 2 outlets on the outside of the Warehouse.

Think that about covers it. So just need some suggestions on what you guys think it would take to power this warehouse and the equipment to get to do so please. Thanking you in advanced.

Regards,
MDean
 
Will the cool bot run 24/7 ?

The washing machine could draw heavily as well.

We need to know how much energy you will actually use in a day. Then pad it some to devise how much storage and many panels you need.
 
Hi Craig,

Thanks for the reply. During the time of harvesting we expect that there may be times when it will run 24 hrs, until we've cleared out the room of any produce deliveries. How many days that will be, can't say, but we do know our goal is to clear that room of all deliveries as quickly as we can. Also, it is hard to say for me right now just how much energy the warehouse will use in a day. One of the reasons why I detailed what it's use will be. I will give it my best shot at trying to figure that out, but as I said, I'm a total and complete newbie. I will dig through Will's videos to see if there is something there that can help me figure that out.

Regards
 
hatchetbayfarms20 said:
Hello All,

Just as the title says, I am new and know nothing other than watching Will's great youtube videos. I don't mind the DIY part of putting a system together, it's just figuring out the what part of what to put together :love:

We are going to be starting up a new farm business here in the Bahamas and will be going off-grid to do so because of where the farm will be located. We don't have a huge need because of how we are planning on operating the farm but do have some needs that we will need power for. Therefore, we seek guidance on what things we will need to operate.

Most of our power needs will be in the area we call the Warehouse. This area will house our Cold Storage room which we intend to run using a piece of technology called a CoolBot (https://storeitcold.com/product/coolbot-walk-in-cooler-controller/). This device allows you to take a window AC unit and convert it to lowing the temperatures to cold storage conditions. The unit we are considering is this one (AC Unit).

The other needs will be regular in-house lights in 2 small lavatories, 4x14 room and 6x14 cold room. Outlet to power a washing machine. Outlet to power 4 box fans. Outlet to power a jacuzzi motor. Maybe 2 outlets on the outside of the Warehouse.

Think that about covers it. So just need some suggestions on what you guys think it would take to power this warehouse and the equipment to get to do so please. Thanking you in advanced.

Regards,
MDean
Click to expand...
I am not familiar with the cool bot unit, but most of the ones I have seen run the system FAR lower temp than designed for.
If you run one of these, have an suction equalizer installed, or at least an accumulator.
Compressors are rated for specific heat loads, and altering the controls to get a unit not designed for low temps running that low shortens the life.
Look at gm auto ac, they use an accumulator on the suction line, and let the system run as cold as the driver wants...
Same idea.
 
I think we can start with a worst case scenario and that the AC needs to run constantly . Getting enough solar panels to power that is not all that difficult. Storing 18 hours or so worth of energy is though. Looks like the AC consumes 1500 watts per hour. Figure you will be running it off of battery for 18 hours a day. 1500*18 that is 27Kw you need to store plus the other stuff so I will round to 32Kw. That would require 32 280AH lifepo4 cells at about $150.00 each. or about $5000.00

I am going to make some guesses that you have 6 good sun hours a day. I think you would need about 48kw generated during that 6 hours. or 8000 watts per hour. this would require about 27 panels but lets round to 30 for worst case scenario or about another $3000.00

ou will also need an inverter and a solar charger Both can be had for about $3000.

throw in some extras and you have another $1000.00

So all in alll you are looking at around $12,000 US for a system to power that AC 24/7

This actually to me seems reasonable but I have no Idea where your budget is in your head. This is just a quick guestimate so you can see if its something you wish to do.

You can always build slowly and augment power with a generator as well.
 
Supervstech said:
How does the cool bot handle condensation?
Click to expand...

Hi Supervstech,

Hopefully I'm answering your question correctly. The coolbot is just a piece of tech that connects to a regular window ac unit and causes it to lower it's temperature beyond what it is normally capable of.
 
Craig said:
I think we can start with a worst case scenario and that the AC needs to run constantly . Getting enough solar panels to power that is not all that difficult. Storing 18 hours or so worth of energy is though. Looks like the AC consumes 1500 watts per hour. Figure you will be running it off of battery for 18 hours a day. 1500*18 that is 27Kw you need to store plus the other stuff so I will round to 32Kw. That would require 32 280AH lifepo4 cells at about $150.00 each. or about $5000.00

I am going to make some guesses that you have 6 good sun hours a day. I think you would need about 48kw generated during that 6 hours. or 8000 watts per hour. this would require about 27 panels but lets round to 30 for worst case scenario or about another $3000.00

ou will also need an inverter and a solar charger Both can be had for about $3000.

throw in some extras and you have another $1000.00

So all in alll you are looking at around $12,000 US for a system to power that AC 24/7

This actually to me seems reasonable but I have no Idea where your budget is in your head. This is just a quick guestimate so you can see if its something you wish to do.

You can always build slowly and augment power with a generator as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks much Craig it's a starting point and further along than I was getting on my own. That price is up there but knowing something to work with is what we need. If anything else can be suggested or thought of that will mostly certainly be appreciated. And yes, we are in the Bahamas, so you can expect that we will have that many sun hours.
 
hatchetbayfarms20 said:
Hi Supervstech,

Hopefully I'm answering your question correctly. The coolbot is just a piece of tech that connects to a regular window ac unit and causes it to lower it's temperature beyond what it is normally capable of.
Click to expand...
I figured.
At low temps, condensation freezes to the coil
A timer to shut the unit off periodically and let the fan melt the ice should be included.
 
hatchetbayfarms20 said:
Thanks much Craig it's a starting point and further along than I was getting on my own. That price is up there but knowing something to work with is what we need. If anything else can be suggested or thought of that will mostly certainly be appreciated. And yes, we are in the Bahamas, so you can expect that we will have that many sun hours.
Click to expand...
Cool I do not want to dusuade you but just trying to give a very rough. Idea where you stand.
 
Craig said:
Cool I do not want to dusuade you but just trying to give a very rough. Idea where you stand.
Click to expand...

All good. As I said in my post going off-grid is what we may have to do without much of a choice, so understanding all of this is what I needed. Thanks a lot. Now we can see if there is anything that can be done to trim the fat so to speak or maybe work our way up to it. Looks like the storage is where all of the money goes.
 
Storing electricity for nighttime use is expensive.
Storing cold is more economical.
Could you build ice during the day for chilling at night?
Fresh water of course freezes at 0 degrees C, while salt water ice freezes at lower temperatures depending on concentration.

You may be able to estimate the thermal energy required based on surface area of the storage room, effectiveness of the type and thickness of insulation, and difference in temperature between inside and outside. From that you could calculate how much ice to make it through a night and how much electricity given specs from refrigeration unit.

Because you're apparently operating the air conditioner colder than normal temperatures, its efficiency numbers may not be accurate. Operating two AC in parallel would of course double capacity. Running two in series (one refrigerates evaporator coils of the second) would change the delta temperature each operates at, and possibly their efficiency.
 
Definitely run the economics if batteries are the only way for you to go. But batteries aren't the only form of energy storage.

For example, could you make ice during the day and store it the cold room to melt away at night? (see discussion here).
Update: I see some people beat me to posting this one ;-) In addition to freezing water or salt water, there are phase change materials (PCM) that can freeze at lower temperatures.

Does your farm have an elevated water source (holding pond) that you can pump water into during the day and use it as hydro-storage?
 
Last edited:
Hedges said:
Storing electricity for nighttime use is expensive.
Storing cold is more economical.
Could you build ice during the day for chilling at night?
Fresh water of course freezes at 0 degrees C, while salt water ice freezes at lower temperatures depending on concentration.

You may be able to estimate the thermal energy required based on surface area of the storage room, effectiveness of the type and thickness of insulation, and difference in temperature between inside and outside. From that you could calculate how much ice to make it through a night and how much electricity given specs from refrigeration unit.

Because you're apparently operating the air conditioner colder than normal temperatures, its efficiency numbers may not be accurate. Operating two AC in parallel would of course double capacity. Running two in series (one refrigerates evaporator coils of the second) would change the delta temperature each operates at, and possibly their efficiency.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much Hedges. Never thought to do something like this but we are definitely open to exploring all possibilities.
 
svetz said:
Definitely run the economics if batteries are the only way for you to go. But batteries aren't the only form of energy storage.

For example, could you make ice during the day and store it the cold room to melt away at night? (see discussion here).
Update: I see some people beat me to posting this one ;-) In addition to freezing water or salt water, there are phase change materials (PCM) that can freeze at lower temperatures.

Does your farm have an elevated water source (holding pond) that you can pump water into during the day and use it as hydro-storage?
Click to expand...
Howdy Svetz and thank you. I will have a look at the links you've provided. No, the farm does not have an elevated water source but if it may be a viable option, we will look into that as well.
 
hatchetbayfarms20 said:
Howdy Svetz and thank you. I will have a look at the links you've provided. No, the farm does not have an elevated water source but if it may be a viable option, we will look into that as well.
Click to expand...
One expensive setup for a dream home running on solar for heat and cooling. It was featured on This old house on PBS or Youtube.

Here is the work done by engineer775

It has links to the PBS video of the home owner showing the final work.
 
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