The best of times, the worst of times. That's the kind of day it was. Thanks to finally getting around to doing something I should have done before I started with this solar power project, I checked into what the a/c window unit is likely to be pulling in terms of a power draw. Getting an answer to this is the "best of times".
The problem was that an earlier project has made getting the watt meter on it a lot bigger job. But there was another way, and that was by looking it up on the internet. So I did. The model I have is still being sold, so assuming the performance is the same, the thing has an EER of a little over 11. That's pretty good, but not Energy Star rated.
If I had that info from the beginning, I might have saved myself a lot of trouble. This a/c project has a lot to do with climate controlling this place with solar power. But it really isn't worth the money spent. With an efficient a/c like the one I've already got, the cost savings isn't really much. Probably not worth it at all.
So all of this was an expensive lesson that taught me what I should have already known. Solar power does too little, and it costs way the hell too much.
I got to get smarter than this. The realization of this is the worst of times.
Incidentally, the best rated a/c window unit has an EER of 15.5. It is an 8000 BTU unit, and it would only pull maybe 50 to 100 watts more than the one I got. An 8000 BTU unit would keep the entire trailer cool. But it costs twice as much as a 5000 BTU unit. You could buy and install two of these, and just cool the room you are in. There's always a weenie, isn't there? If you get the most efficient one, you think you're smart. But it is too expensive. If you get two of them, you have to work harder, and you can only use one at a time. Which is the worst deal? Take your pick.
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