Electric hot water heater and electric induction cooktop

[Scott7022]

I just want to say thanks to JiminDenver for being so positive and solution orientated. Like my old race car engineer used to say; "I can make you go as fast as you can afford." His Salt Flats bike race suit, burned through on the left side, mounted on the wall would always draw his eye and then he'd return to your gaze and finish. "And built a little better, than you are stupid." Always forced you to think about it, for a second more. LOL!

Not suggesting this was a stupid question or desire! It isn't! It will be expensive but sometimes it is the little things in life.

Great can do attitude Sir. Thanks!!!

 

[John61CT]

The rock is too-high consumption.

The hard place is wanting solar-only but even a bus roof is not enough square footage. An "unfolding" mounting system could triple that roof area, but cost more than the rest of the setup.

Scaling down usage is one approach.

Willingness to add a genny big enough to concurrently carry loads and bulk charge the bank, is coming at it from the other side.

The longer the aircon runtime and cloudier the weather, the longer and more often the genny runtime.

The only other escape from the above factors is very regular access to overnight shore power fo charging, say at campgrounds, instead of a genny, or at least greatly reducing how much it is used.

 

[jimindenver]

A bus with a fold out system? They are trying to run a RV not a small city. Give me a bus and I'll bet ya I can run almost all of what they are asking. The instant hot water heater is impractical because they take a high flow rate even if you could provide the juice. Then again I do the types of things they are asking and like they, I had plenty of people telling me I could not when I started too. Yes you have to pick the loads to work with the system but that is a hurdle not a YOU CAN'T DO THAT!

You have to have the ability to get past what was written about solar 10 years ago or is being regurgitated by those that have never tried simply because someone said they can't. A person that throws up a few hundred watts and calls it good is not the person to be expected to understand a one or two kilowatt system. Been there and done that has its value over theory written by someone that didn't get it or feels that x amount of watts is all anyone really ever needs. It is like a whole new chapter of solar is being written by those of us that either didn't get the message that we could not do it or did not listen. The thing is we are doing it, it is possible and if you need proof, stop on by. My two systems have produced a bit over 47000 Ah's since February and I can tell you that it's nice having free hot water, free A/C, free cooking and refrigeration. It took 5 years of testing and design because no one else had done it but it was worth it.

The biggest changes have been in the panels themselves. A 230w panel was big when I started, now output reaches 400 watts with not much increase in footprint. You may not be able to get my 435 watt panel but you can get this Helos 400 watt.

https://www.solarpanelsonline.org/Solar-Panel-400-Watt-Helios-9T6-400-p/9t6-400.htm

There is also a Hyundai 355 for $319.

Get four of those mounted and you have 1400-1600 watts to play with. 1600w can run my 900 watt microwave pulling 1375 watts and still toss the batteries a bone.

So you have to see it as a problem to be solved, not a OMG you can't do that. Each panel is its own true solar generator that when added to others can do a lot for the user. Mine does a lot more than just charge the batteries.

 

[user 423]

I guess some of us didn't take seriously the "cost is no object" part of the initial post.

 

[jimindenver]

Given time the cost can be reduced by finding panels and even batteries on craigslist, on sale, whatever. Even then a big system isn't going to be free and neither is a big generator and the gas to run it. Since a generator is part of the equation a smaller system could handle the smaller loads like the A/C while the generator handles the large, short term loads like the microwave. The secret is to find the right balance for this user which may be completely different than my own approach.

 

[John61CT]

And running loads directly off the solar is great when the banks are getting full, especially for those you can choose the timing, like a tank of hot water, and refrigeration based on holding plates.

But e.g. running aircon all night, I bet pushes even a big system's limits, especially if more than the super-efficient 5k BTU is needed.

 

[jimindenver]

My bank offers 335 Ah of usable power and my A/C pulls 33 A when the compressor is on which of course it isn't always on, it cycles even during the day time. That's at least 10 hours but I would need evn more solar than I have to replace that power removed from the bank AND be able to run the A/C the next day. A efficient 6000 BTU pulls just 50 watts more than my 5000 BTU and for 150 watts more you can have a 9000 BTU roof A/C that pulls 600w. Will they take more bank and solar? Yes, that's why you sit down and honestly account for the worse case scenario. I have always said you can do a lot with solar as long as you have a lot of solar to do it with. The same is true with battery banks. You want more then you have to build bigger.