Truely amazing devices. They convert AC to DC so that all motors can run at variable speed. Then they use an integrated circuit connected to temperature probes to determine speeds of both fans and compressor. Most times that means you are not running at full tilt boogie speed, like the old split systems of the past. Most of the time you actually don't need that much heating or cooling to satisfy the user. Plus too these are very inexpensive and the cost to own is nominal. And if something goes wrong you merely replace the component (indoor or outdoor unit) as the cost to have a repairman is more than the cost of replacement. These units are changing the entire hvac industry.
I just had a 2 zone (18 & 12) 30k btu (condenser) mini-split heat pump installed and I'm seeing similar power usage values. The most I've ever seen it draw was 10a for a short period of time, 8a typical when it's really hot out and both heads are blasting, but even with that current moduates up and down constantly. Mostly between 2 and 4 when everything is cooled down. It's amazing how little power it can draw keeping 2 floors cool. I'm using the same power meter as you and I also see what I would consider very low power factors. I'm typically seeing 0.25 when idle, 0.6 when running slowly to maintain temp, and about 0.85 when running full current. I was concerned about these values but your unit confirms this is apparently how these systems consume power.
Is your power consumption the total consumption or just grid power only (net of what the solar panels/battery provided)? I'm working on an off grid cabin and really never thought of air conditioning until I started researching these bad boys. Ha another added luxury on the cheap - really, once you throw in a few second hand solar panels.
Awesome video! I just purchased exact same unit for my shop. Gonna wire it up within next few days. What size wire and breaker do you suggest using?? Would 12-2 be ok with double pole 20amp breakers?
Does the constant power cut / power on cycling damage the mini split over time? I would think that they're not designed for constant power loss like that, especially since you don't appear to be performing a graceful shutdown. I think I'd use a Zendure or Ecoflow or something in UPS mode - Have solar DC input and house AC input both going to the Zendure, and Zendure out to the AC unit. The Zendure is smart enough to charge enough to balance the input, or you could put your cutover switch between the house and the zendure, ensuring that it charges with only solar when you choose. That way the AC unit never sees a power loss at all. Hope that makes sense, it was kind of stream of consciousness.
I bought that (or similar model) meter but the instructions are quite vague. Do you have a video of the connections? Am unsure of the power runs. Thanks
I did the same thing.. I can plug my bedroom mini split into any small generator and cool down the room during the day.. and use a battery to keep it cool at night.
Yeah not really a good idea. Since the mini split has an outside condenser, it is meant to be installed outdoors. Which means, based on the manufacturer recommendations and the electrical code that mini split is to be hardwired into a disconnect. You wiring a plug and then plugging it into an outlet that might be wired to the disconnect is a clear violation of the code. There are those who want to do things the right way and then there are those people who just want to do.
Volts X Amps X PF (power factor= Watts , so as an example, at the 34 second mark, 244 Volts X .271 Amps x .05 PF= 3.3 watts, a better examplie is the 1:31 mark on the video, where the power factor is .98 , 243 volts X 3.916 Amps X .98 PF =932 watts., hope this helps.
A better answer would be that the average window air conditioner of 5000 btu , basically a bedroom size air conditioner will use around 1400 watts per hour! Your getting 7000 more btu with 1/2 the watts used. Efficient yes. But, be realistic and factor in that the unit, needs a disconnect, a surge protector is recommended. A 20 amp breaker for a 230 unit with 20 gauge wire or even a 14 gauge on 15 amp circuit, and. Having those "dedicated circuits" 2020 electrical code are essential to consider.
I have a Senville Leto 18000 BTU SEER 2 19.5 240v when it is working on a hot day it consumes 7.5 amps per hour, on a normal day 6 amps but when it is working at minimum power it only consumes 2 amps with the outside compressor on, when it reaches a temperature of 3 degrees below the outside compressor turns off and goes into fan mode and only consumes 0.1 amps, I had no idea that they are actually very efficient.
That’s exactly correct!. I would plug generator into the transformer. If you search my old videos you will see where I did exactly this with two eu2000s to run my central air.
I do have it setup so that it uses the remote location for temperature just because I feel the temp at the ceiling where the indoor unit it is higher and lower than room temp depending on whether it’s cooling or not
I have a senville unit as well, ours is 24,000 BTU, only problem with it, is it seems to have a very agressive Defrost cycle if the temp is below say 38 or so... as it defrosts 3 times per hour, every 20 minutes on the dot. maybe this is normal, but I have a MRCOOL, on the same building, opposite side and it only defrosts every hour or more one time. if anyone knows the answer I'm curious.
Defrost should be controlled by time and temperature. Generally, 27 deg F to initiate a defrost and timed intervals. So if the time is up, the temp is low enough the unit goes into a defrost and comes out either on time (usually about 10 minutes) or temperature (generally 37 degrees or so). You may have a bad pc board or low refrigerant charge. Unfortunately its often less cost to replace the entire inside or outside unit than to pay to have it serviced. So that is what I would recommend if there is no warranty left.
I just bought Senville mini split cassette… Sir can you please tell me if it’s OK to turn off the three cassettes if I’m not home for 3,4hours.? Thank you
Call their support line, they are quick to answer. I can’t speak to your model, but for mine, I can turn it on and off when ever I want. I know the preferred method is to leave it on though.
It’s CRAZY to have solar panel power SPLIT between a house and the grid. ALL that power SHOULD be fed to the grid. And the house run SEPARATELY, FROM the grid. There is NO practical reason to split. Splitting WASTES a LOT of equipment, and labor!!!
Solar power is only good for 120watt, house fan, for 9 hours. 2 car batteries. Anything be on 140w needs a preaditor 5000. 5 gallon Propane, that can run for a few days.
I’m not sure. But I will tell you the hard start is really only good for ac units that are about to die. They will help on the initial startup, but serve a very different purpose than a soft start.
I would say shaded, for a few reasons , one would be less sun rays causing less uv damage, and two would keep the unit cooler to a certain degree. I have seen some videos with normal outdoor units where they spray water on the coils to make them slightly more efficient, this does appear to help, so I have to imagine shade would be better than full sunlight or a small degree.
@@SuperRobkar I was thinking the same. My wife and I are in Northern Nevada (Reno-Sparks) preparing to move offgrid in a modest and 867sq.ft. modified Earthship Style Home (a mouthful - I know)! LOL! We will probably be looking into two of the units because there is ZERO power on the mountain and we will be limited to sun, wind and backup.
My 18k Carrier minisplit used 32,000 in 14 hours (2,300 watts constantly). I can only assume it's because it leaked out all refrigerant and the Mexican HVAC guy didn't look for leaks or evacuate the system when adding. He also didn't weigh the refrigerant. Welcome to Mexico I guess. Coming back to the US to get a manifold and evac pump. I'm off grid solar and this is way too much power for my solar setup.
No I have not. Temps dropped from high 90's 60-80% humidity (feels like 105-110 everyday) to mid 80's. Single pane 12mm safety glass not efficient and radiates heat but we just had a class 3 hurricane in Cabo. Lower temps and humidity made a huge difference but MX techs don't weigh refrigerant or evacuate systems. Will but own tools when I hit US and do it myself. Carrier Infinite 19 SEER.
For over 5 years I have been diving into Solar and all the "details" then came along this new MINI SPLIT and I was like no way! Well I am almost done hooking up my DELLA 9000 at 120AC the whole idea for me was can I capture some protons and with some investing can I run AC or even HEAT from a small solar system with proper safety inline with it and then get some a solar INPUT to run a MINI SPLIT at least partial time in the daytime? Well now I am seeing how it all works and I need more LIPO4 batteries (only have 200 Watt Hour right now). However the goal was "can this be done" and the fact is YES it can. I know many will balk at it because they love coal and oil but for me I like the idea we can capture energy and use it to heat & cool. If nothing else if I lose power I will have lights and fans at night. But with a 9000 BTU on 120AC and heating a 500 square foot home my thinking is WHEN I lose power and it's 95F outside I will want something to help me keep cool. What about small frig like the ones used in "dorms" yea the options are out there we just need to keep trying and keep the faith in SOLAR and other alternatives. This is just IMHO. PEACE!
Agree with you. They have new mini-spits out now that can plug right into solar panels, without batteries, and they will load share with the grid. Amazing how far along this has come.
I'm running my 120v Senville Leto 12,000btu on my 24v Solar System right now at 690 watts on my 5760wh Lithium batteries its only been on for about 30 mins
@SuperRobkar it's 81 outside I have it set to 75 for now I have the remote on follow me so I can tell the temperature in my living room it's reading 76 down from 81 it was in here actually
@@diysolaradventures7894 I have mine set on follow me, it keep remote aimed at indoor unit. Mine also seems to vary with room temp, I think it’s because the units temperature is up higher on the ceiling compRed to the temperate from the remote. I went with the aura because of the supposed higher seer rating. If you get the chance try a 24 hr test and see how much yours uses
@SuperRobkar My Senville Leto is 21 seer I believe I'm completely off grid tho so running 24hrs straight would be a challenge because I'm running everything in here off solar & batteries but I am building up my battery bank to 12kwh from 5760wh
I have the smaller 9000 btu version of that exact same AC and it is no where near as low power as yours... I wonder why... The lowest current draw I have seen so far is 340 watts. I guess a lot of things go into the amount of current, and it has been over 100 degrees here every day since I installed it last weekend.. I hope that is the reason mine uses so much more current than yours.
Yea that is a bit odd, you would,think a 9000 btu would draw less amps when demand is at it lowest. It could be that your temps are 100 mine were high 80 low 90. If you can do a 24hr test and let us know how much it consumed in a day
@@SuperRobkar IT has been running for just over a week so far.. Most it used in a day was 12kw some days as low as 7kw. I have never seen it using less than around 390watts at any given time. That is why I was surprised that yours was 195watts on a bigger unit. Mine is their "Letto" series.. maybe that line is less efficient than the one you have. Still, I am not complaining, just the blower in my old whole house AC used over 500 watts, and in the summer we tended to leave the blower running all the time just to have some air circulating.
@@louispoche4312 that probably explain it, I don’t think the aura series is available in 9k, but I def know it’s more efficient that the letto because when I bought it I wanted the highest efficiency that I could afford. I got mine on a Black Friday sale for like 999 or something similar.
@@SuperRobkar Maybe I should have paid more attention. I got two of the 9k ones for 699 each in an Amazon sale. My main AC died and it has been over 100 degrees every day for weeks here. I am happy with the ones I have. I have a 18k in the livingroom / kitchen and the two 9k ones in the two bedrooms. My house has never been this cool and I am sure that all three are using less than my old 2 1/2 ton ac used. And at the price of these mini splits, if they last a few years I can then replace them with even more efficient ones since the holes in the walls and electrical connections are already set up.
@@louispoche4312 you are correct, you can’t beat the price. If mine fails ina year or two, I will get a multi head unit, the cassette types also seem like a viable option
So, you can run on sun power when there is sun. So, half the day 50/50 your on solar and saving 2.5 KW or .50 a day. So thats 15.00 a month and 180.00 a year saved. Which is about 1800.00 in ten years. But in 10 years you will need new batteries and panels will decay and the electrical code violations say that you have really saved nothing. Mr. Wonka says Good Day to you Sir.
@@SuperRobkar It may be that code requires a transfer switch designed to mechanically make it physically impossible for you to send power back to the grid when the power is out. By your description, you can potentially transfer power to the grid: you said you could turn on the battery feed and immediately afterword turn off the grid feed. That would imply both are live at the same time momentarily. Therefore, if the power were to go out, for that moment you would be powering the grid. Actually, it wouldn't even have to go out. Sort of like when people make a double-ended male plug and plug on end into their generator and the other male end into a household plug to power the house receptacles. It sends generator power through the house, which the Power Company doesn't like. The Wichita Lineman won't ever stand the strain on that stretch down south, regardless of your fine feelings for Glen Campbell. Also, there may be another good reason not to turn on your battery before first turning off your grid- as there will be a sine wave mismatch, which will make magic smoke. Unless your equipment is explicitly frequency harmonized with the grid, say for net metering, and you have an agreement with the power company, then do not turn both on at once.
@@SuperRobkar They are talking about a mechanical transfer switch that marries the breaker you flipped from the house to the breaker to your panels in the same box. It makes it so you can't physically turn on your generator power without first disconnecting your power to the grid. The mechanical ones, you shift/slide a piece at the meter box that disconnects you from the grid first and makes it physically impossible to turn your grid connection back on... and then after you have shifted this piece it uncovers/allows you to physically turn the switch to turn on your local power/generator. Essentially it makes it physically impossible & dummy proof for you to accidentally have both on at once, and send power back out on the main lines, potentially killing a lineman that might be fixing something after a storm when power goes out.... Cool vid man hope that explains what they were on about. It's all about safety.
It’s CRAZY to have solar panel power SPLIT between a house and the grid. ALL that power SHOULD be fed to the grid. And the house run SEPARATELY, FROM the grid. There is NO practical reason to split. Splitting WASTES a LOT of equipment, and labor!!!