HELP; TO POWER DC AIRCONDITIONERS

[MR NEL]

Hi folks, I am new here and very much appreciate the kindred spirit in the house.

I have an ambitious project of powering a 4 bedroom apartment with alternative energy in Africa.

the plan is to use DC air conditioners (4) and fridges (2) and then have the lighting and other appliances on AC.

5KVA for the DC current and then 3kVA for AC (using an inverter)

the Air conditioners comes at approx 700W.

My challenge is which battery system is best for the project and how best do I charge it.

Let's leave out turbines for now because of the geography of the place, with AC power from the grid coming for say 5hours a day. what's my best bet? (budget and qty)

[dnix71]

A forklift battery would be the size to run a house when the grid is down. Go for the highest voltage and capacity you can get. 48v forklift batteries are common enough. The higher voltage means smaller wires and lower current. Charging from solar at 48v is no problem, and 3kv from a 48v dc inverter is much saner and safer than 12v or 24v.

http://www.snaptec.com.au/inverters/inverters.htm#PHOENIX  something like this one is pure sine and line interactive with a built-in battery charger. You could use the grid and/or solar to keep your batteries topped off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KMDVL9ZRMk a sales video.

Don't go Chinese cheap if you can afford to. The downtime and trouble isn't worth it.

http://www.buyabattery.com/deka48vforkliftbattery.html  Deka makes nice batteries if you can get them. 5 year warranty.

[joestue]

A very careful cost analysis is required, its not possible to give you any numbers without a lot more info.

cheapest route is more insulation.

[rossw]

Hi folks, I am new here and very much appreciate the kindred spirit in the house.

I gather you didn't like what we told you over here?http://www.thebackshed.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3439&PN=1