Listed below are the various types of solar air conditioners currently in the market (Updated 10/2012). Solar Powered Chillers (Commercial These chiller systems can be powered by evacuated tube solar thermal collectors or solar concentrators. They can also be powered by recovering waste heat energy from various industrial or commercial process. Basically these systems run on hot water or steam that can be produced in a number of ways including using solar energy. 1. Absorption Chiller Air Conditioners - Lithium Bromide Example: Yazaki Can run on hot water 170-200F range, within range of evacuated tube solar. 2. Adsorption Chiller Air Conditioners - Silica - Example: Eco-Max 3. Absorption Chiller Air Conditioners - Ammonia - Example: Robur (Serval) Can run on hot water >240F range, works with a parabolic solar concentrating collector. Our team has installed and configured several evacuated tube solar-powered Yazaki systems, we have a Yazaki certified

All of the above systems are min. 10 tons, commercial use only. Solar PV Powered Solar Air Conditioners (Residential These air conditioners use BLDC (Brushless DC) compressors, or standard type compressors, they get some or all of their powerSolar photovoltaic panels produce DC power, which in some units is used natively and in others must be inverted to AC. 1. 100% DC Solar Air Conditioners - All DC compressor, fans, and controls- Example: DC48 Telco/Solar All DC powered system built around a pure-DC VRF compressor used in off-grid solar, mobile command posts, telecom cooling. 48VDC, no inverter used, very high efficiency. 2. Hybrid AC-DC Solar Air Conditioners - Mixed Solar AC/DC - Example: ACDC12 The only UL/ETL, EnergyStar, and CEC certified solar mini-split in the market, SEER 35 with 2 solar panels, SEER 19 on normal power, accepts DC power directly, no inverter or batteries needed, uses >80% solar. 3. "Solar Ready" AC units - AC Power - Example: Lennox

Central AC system connects to AC power inverted from solar panels and connected to AC line current (grid). Clever marketing approach, uses inverted solar power but this is an AC powered unit. Hybrid Thermal Solar Air Conditioners (Sedna Aire and various Chinese copycats) The manufacturer claims to have patented technology that uses solar heat added into the normal vapor compression refrigeration cycle, with the claim of saving energy as a result. These hybrid thermal solar "absorption" air conditioners are connected to a solar thermal collector, compressor discharge gas is pumped through the solar collector to pick up additional superheat prior to condensing. 1. Solar Hybrid Thermal Absorption Air Conditioner - AC w/ Solar Thermal - Example: Ecoline(Sedna Aire)This so-called solar air conditioner is included here based only upon claims made by the manufacturer. cannot find any data to verify the manufacturers claims

and our engineers do not recognize the Sedna Aire or similar "hybrid thermal absorption systems" as a solar air conditioner because they do not believe that solar contributesac unit safety switch to any net energy savings in the system. window unit with heat and ac tested any of these units.best ac units for texas One thing we find particularly curious about these claims is the Sedna water heating option. If (and we don't agree) adding extra superheat to the system somehow makes it more efficient, then immediately taking the added superheat back out to make free hot water doesn't seem to fit the storyline. Even if the basic claims are somehow correct, we don't see how you can have it both ways. See what the professional HVAC online

community says about the Sedna Aire systems: See Sedna Aire PDF that & UL (Note* None of the three claimed certifications appear to be verifiable). More professional HVAC feedback on the Sedna Aire solar thermal hybrid air conditioner.CleanTechnica is the  in the world. Published on September 17th, 2012 | Affordable Solar-Powered Air Conditioner in a Neat Little Package is Finally Here September 17th, 2012 by Nicholas Brown Kingtec Solar* has developed affordable solar-powered air conditioning in a relatively neat package. Here are some of the key details: Cooling capacity: 16,000 BTU (4.7 kW of cooling capacity). Power consumption: 850 watts. SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio): 22.5. EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio, which is a measure of the BTUs of cooling capacity per watt of power consumed): 18.8. Weight: 200 pounds (This is tremendous for a window air conditioner of this size! But it does contain extra parts for the solar setup).

Why Solar Panels Are Not Integrated Directly into A/C Units A/C units tend to be shaded by the roofs of houses, as well as awnings, so they are usually not exposed to direct sunlight, and they shouldn’t be. It is best that they are kept as cool as possible. This single issue is a big one, but as long as the solar panels can be a decent distance away, this isn’t a problem. Main Benefits of Solar Air Conditioning Normally, to solar power an air conditioner, you would have to buy an air conditioner, then a separate inverter, separate batteries, solar panels, and hire both an electrician and a building contractor to set up the system for you, and that costs a fair bit of money. Home solar power systems tend to cost $7 per watt in the United States (without tax credits), and around half of that cost is installation alone — this is because you have to hire contractors to set up the electronics such as the batteries, panels, etc. by hand. However, for situations where it works, there are some big advantages.

The second benefit: Solar panels tend to generate more electricity at the same time that air conditioner power consumption increases. The fluctuating power consumption of air conditioners (caused by weather variation) is a problem for the electricity grid because power plants are not able to adjust their power production quickly enough to meet power demand spikes. Cutting Your A/C Use Finally, while this is a clever invention which can take advantage of economies of scale (due to factory production), unlike traditional hand-built solar setups, you can substantially reduce your air conditioner usage using simple measures such as closing window blinds on some windows, opening other windows to facilitate ventilation, and much more. One of the greatest conservation tips of all is to use less energy (not reduce your standard of living, just turn things off when you aren’t using them — you don’t have to use them less to conserve energy), then go about obtaining energy from more sustainable sources, in general.