Big Solar Test - 24 Hours without power!

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[indigodarkwolf]

"But my wife refused ... because they are ugly." -- I think you just identified the real reason central A/C installation doesn't need to compete with window units. :P

[pstalcup]

I think higher quality insulation could make a big difference - it would make your temperature rise much more slowly, require less power to maintain a given temp

[coryhammer]

The doomsday music and temperature updates were hilarious. As a fellow Texas resident, I can relate completely! Unfortunately we experienced such an outage just a few months ago when a wind storm knocked out our power for more than 24 hours.

[eltonpereira]

Man, it's like a blessing to me that I found your channel. You have covered everything on your YouTube channel that I dreamed of.
Be it solar, electrical, networking, eta etc. Even evolution of media storage. Thanks for everything.

[lastspring]

Now we understand why our grandparents surrounded their houses with large oak trees for shade. Summer shade and in the winter without leaves the house would warm up.

[Zac_in_the_game]

He's really like a dad who's in touch with the current generation

[lanabyk]

Great channel. Every video is so down to earth, without funky music and without exaggerated emotions. great work.

[aquilux-vids]

Two big things that should be considered before you decide to up your power capabilities.

1: How good is your thermal envelope? you might get significantly more effect if you spend your money DIY or even professionally upgrading your insulation. Air leaks in windows and doors among other places are a huge contributor to heat ingress, the next biggest being heat moving through poorly insulated walls/ceilings/floors. This is probably one big reason you couldn't cool your bedroom to your liking, the window was not sealed and despite having a two hose system it's still likely heat was getting in.

2: Shade shade shade shade shade! That was the whole reason why people planted those trees that are blocking your solar power, but trees aren't the only solution. Hell, even your solar panels could be lowering the heat input through your roof if you give them a nice air gap between them and the roof. This also helps keep them cooler and more effective in power production. And then there's that wall on the side of the house that gets hot, aside from checking/upgrading it's insulation, find yourself some shade net and hang it from your eves or otherwise use it to intercept the sunlight and give your wall a good couple feet of breathing room from the brunt of the sunlight!

Bonus: If you can, and your insulation is good enough, get your ACs working overtime early in the morning. The cooler air outside makes them more effective at rejecting heat and more efficient, and you can store energy in the form of an air battery in the temperature difference between inside and outside. The lower the inside temps at the start of the day, the more of a head start your ACs have. This is also a great idea if you have peak and off peak consumption pricing for overall, if you have good enough insulation blasting your AC at night when the power is cheapest will reduce the cooling you need at peak or at least delay your draw.

[bnasty]

I'd highly encourage anyone reading this to spend the time to research installing mini-split systems DIY. With the rates HVAC companies are charging, you can literally save yourself thousands for a dozen or two hours of research. Like most watching these videos, I'm a software engineering nerd, and knew the biggest gatekeeping obstacle for DIY HVAC is the EPA 608 test. With a few hours of study, the test is easy, and then it's 100% legal for you to do your own HVAC work. I passed that and then did a fairly involved 18K BTU ducted mini install in my attic (3 rooms from a single unit). I was quoted $25K+ for the install, which I did for <$5K in materials and tools. Yes, it took a good amount of time, but I enjoyed researching the process. Not unlike how enthusiasts will spend dozens of hours researching the build of a new PC when they could've just paid Dell to do it for them.

[drCox]

Advice from Europe: In order to keep heat outside the house in summer and inside the house in winter, I recommend upgrading your windows with roller shutters.
A good window can insulate against air (temperature, humidity, noise) but it cannot insulate against the energy of light. Everybody knows how hot an inside floor or a window sill can become when the sun is shining on it through a window. Blocking (and reflecting) the sunlight will help to keep your house cooler and as a result you can reduce the amount of electrical energy needed for air conditioning.

[TechTimeTraveller]

I'm late to the party but this was a great, classic 8 Bit Guy video. It's too bad your mad scientist Youtuber idea never took off.. you really seem to have a natural scientists' mindset. This 'experiment' was so well thought out and executed. Well done!

[Lights.Liights]

I have similar thoughts; the factory engineer for the central HVAC systems told me that the actual factory cost is 1/20th the cost that is charged by the supply houses.

[brycecohoon]

I think we all despise single hose portable air conditioners because of Alec, I love your system, this feels like his vehicle to grid test and I love it!

[tterbo]

Thanks for the rant on AC, that's a good idea.

[kylexj]

Hvac guy here, you'd be amazed at what the materials alone are to install a central a/c system, labor varies greatly by the outfit. Condenser, evap cased coil, lineset, low voltage wire, bringing power to the unit or replacing existing wiring/whip, possible pad change or unit relocation/leveling of the unit due to settling, filter dryer.

[LatitudeSky]

Another youtuber in Florida did a whole series of videos on converting his workshop to solar, with quite a fancy setup. They took a direct hit from the hurricane and won't have power perhaps for weeks. Huge amount of damage to trees. Powerlines are basically gone. So the solar is being put to a real test under actual need circumstances. He's also using multiple Ecoflows to run the house along with a propane generator. The Kelley's County Life is the channel. Quite good stuff.

[Hempage]

I'd definitely say that a real power outage should be focused on keeping one room comfortable, and the rest just to essential power items, such as fridge and internet.

[TristanSamuel]

It's honestly cute how Pigbunny helps monitor some tasks you were doing! She's been on the channel for quite a while now. Wonder how old she is.

[GlennBerrySQL]

Very entertaining video. One thing you might do (and make a video about it) is to get a professional energy audit, where they use a blower door to do a leak test and use FLIR cameras to find voids in your wall and ceiling insulation. Adding more insulation is usually the best ROI to improve the comfort of the house and reduce your electrical usage. Most older tract houses have pretty poor insulation in the walls and ceilings.

[TinusPieters]

As a South African who get's 2 to 12 hours of power outages everyday. This was pretty entertaining, also extremely thankful that our weather is quite fair here.