Comment by mcny
I love this idea but I don't know enough about the specifics. Isn't it really bad(TM) for the pump or compressor or something I don't know about for the input power to be variable like this? Like there might be an errant cloud somewhere.
The whole point of my thought exercise is to see if we can somehow make the cost go down. My understanding is that the panel can easily last twenty five years but the battery you'd be lucky to go beyond eight?
Edit: good news / bad news
Bad news: this is not an original thought
Good news: smarter people than me are already working on this. See solar Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). Basically, my thought is a pump is a pump. if you can build a pump to pump water to irrigate poppy fields, you can use the same pump to drive refrigerant in a refrigerator/ freezer / heat pump.
> I love this idea but I don't know enough about the specifics. Isn't it really bad(TM) for the pump or compressor or something I don't know about for the input power to be variable like this?
No, modern refrigerators and other white box appliances with variable speed motors use electrically commutated (aka EC or brushless) motors that allow for motor speed control. Larger three-phase induction motors can have their speed controlled by a variable frequency drive (VFD).
> Basically, my thought is a pump is a pump. if you can build a pump to pump water to irrigate poppy fields, you can use the same pump to drive refrigerant in a refrigerator/ freezer / heat pump.
You’re close, but it’s more ‘a motor with enough power can drive any pump (or fan)’ than ‘a pump is a pump is a pump’, as there are many different kinds of pumps for various working fluids (water, glycol, oil, refrigerant, etc)
Regarding the fully solar powered A/C, you can smooth out power generation and consumption using capacitors (aka batteries)