Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Acid Test

Tuesday was the first trial of the solar power systems capacity - could it run the air conditioner. Well the answer was yes. Was a stinking 38 degrees and it was able to keep the indoor temperature bearable. It used 9% of the battery capacity.
Yesterday I turned on the air con at about 9am. Expected top temperature was 35 degrees. The unit is really too small for the area, plus there is minimal roof insulation and although the glass is shielded from the direct sun, the air temperature is so high that the heat just comes through the glass. Kept the internal temp at a respectable 29 degrees. By the time the system went into resting last night the batteries were back up to 99% charge. You little ripper! System ran the air con and was able to charge the batteries at the same time. It has a 'learning mode' and is able to compensate for changes in power requirements and charging.
So the system should run the air con in the house no worries!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Another Civilisation Advance

This time last year rain was bucketing down. This year it has been HOT HOT HOT. Today it was 35 degrees in OurGunya.
So time for another civilisation advance.

So, how many humpies in the bush do you know of that are air conditioned?

Now we will see what our solar power system is capable of.