PV Gap

Myrtle Said:

where can i find info for a DIY home solar energy without having to buy some fancy kit?

We Answered:

The Permaculture Magazine often has articles and adverts for products and courses that may help, also the CAT centre in Machynlleth, Wales have much information, run courses etc.

Arthur Said:

how can I convert my home air condition system into solar energy?

We Answered:

Depending on your location, the size of your home and cooling capacity of your central A/C unit it might be hard to covert 100% of the power use of your central A/C to solar. Not to mention very expensive.

Now if you have a 2,500 sq-ft house and use a 3 ton standard A/C unit at 16 EER it could draw as much as 25amps at 220v you would need about 5.5KW of PV plus a large battery bank to handle surges at (start up, blower, ect.) 250w PV panels are about $1000 each and figure about 2x the PV costs for batteries, inverter, installation, wiring, ect. You can see how this gets expensive quickly.

Living in different part of the US may require even more PV panels. Plus, you will need to put the PV panels on a tracking system (a mount that tilts the panels to be perfect aligned with the sun's path) There are always cloudy days, so if the humidity is not too bad you can hopefully shut the A/C off and credit your electric bill by turning your electric meter backwards.

A better option might be to sell your central A/C and replace it with a heat pump system. A heat pump uses the ground temperature to cool and heat. It may seem more complex but is rather simple can be far less expensive than a full blown PV system. The heat pump can run 24/7 cooling or heating as needed and can provide 4 times the amount of energy they consumes.

Dept of Energy Heat Pump information
http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your…

Hope that answers some of your questions!