running my window air conditioner from solar

running my window air conditioner from a 24 volt solar setup with the opportunity load controller

[@johnfitbyfaithnet]

Nice setup

[@fladave99]

NICE-I have 2000 watts on my 35 foot rv that runs 1ac and everything else.

[@solardiyhobbyandrevies8118]

Very cool

[@lancealderman2755]

Cool! 🥁 😅 Ive never heard of an opportunity load controller. Just the voltage is nice with dials but also having a light sensor is a good extra feature. I run a 5v power relay off of the usb port which is controlled by cheap charge controller to switch load on and off at set voltages which turn one of my ac's on. The other one is on the battery load so it's a 48v relay which is just wired into my 2nd inverter switch and the only thing plugged into it is an ac unit. (Fyi for anyone trying to figure out different ways to switch one on and off automatically)

[@jackgetz6356]

Yeah me also, suddenly I have so many idea's for my solar !!

[@rccosplay3249]

Nice simple setup. Shading from tree should be addressed. Other than that should 2000w output be enough then good to go.

[@lancealderman2755]

Yes, shading definitely cutting into a lot of power production

[@joeyjennings9548]

panels need relocation. missing out on sun. i had to move mine. also this year hail.. we NEVER had hail till this year 3 times. so i am looking into some protection from that. just a head up 🌨

[@jasonbroom7147]

That load controller is a very interesting bit of kit. You say you and your brother build them? I noticed you're using lead-acid batteries. It always surprises me when folks aren't using LFP for solar storage, these days. Looking at the ON/OFF voltage range options, it looks like the OLC you're building would work just as well with LFP batteries, although the flat discharge curve of LFP might create challenges, since it would keep powering a load to a much lower SOC than lead-acid. Are you able to be more finite in your voltage ON/OFF levels?

[@MakerBrothers]

@@jasonbroom7147 good observation. We did the testing with lead acid only. We plan on making more and better products in the future. We would like to build them for LFP and for all battery voltages as well

[@jasonbroom7147]

@@MakerBrothers - If you would like someone experienced at building and testing (from components) LFP batteries, of all types and sizes, I would be glad to provide meaningful feedback. I'm using cylindrical, pouch and prismatic cells, of various sizes, for a wide range of "alternative" power solutions. If your product could be refined to work at tenths of a volt, for 12.8, 25.6 and 51.2 volt batteries, respectively, effective marketing would be the only thing keeping you from selling as many as you can build. "Load shedding" or "dumping" is a huge ask in the off-grid solar community, as I'm sure you know.

[@MakerBrothers]

@@jasonbroom7147 I wasn't sure what you meant by "able to be more finite in voltage on off levels" yes the dials are continuous, you can select tenths of a volt. Also, I'm refining the circuit because the on off voltage can be off from what the dial reads by a couple tenths of a volt

[@MakerBrothers]

@@jasonbroom7147 I'll add an email address to the you tube channel sometime this week so we can get you one of these to test

[@extendedp1]

Thanks for the video. Is the “opportunity load controller” something you built, or bought? Thanks

[@MakerBrothers]

My brother and I build them and they are for sale on Amazon. www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBPW8P7B?ref=myi_title_dp

[@dasauto44]

So how much for the solar panels? And where can we purchase it?

[@MakerBrothers]

@@dasauto44 I bought them on Amazon back when the prices were over 50 cents per watt. Now they cost much less. I heard signature solar and santan solar have good deals