That would be great on mid-sized boats too.

"One of the good design decisions was to make it run on DC current, so no AC inverter is needed and conversion losses are avoided."

This is yet another big "duh". :)

DC motors are a piece of cake, and have been around forever. For those that don't know, all an air conditioner is, is an electric motor running a compressor with radiators at either end.

Perhaps the only limiting factor in building these was solar panels cheap enough to make a cost difference to the owners. Even if they weren't before, I can't see any reason that the utility companies haven't been installing them themselves for the past 10+ years, just to keep the AC load off the grid.

This is somethng I would buy in a heart beat. My parents live in Brownsville, TX(HOT HOT HOT). I would buy them 2 or 3 units. So I have a couple of Questions...

How much for a fixed unit? Question two is, can you put this unit in a living space? Or is it just for business/office use.

Also, if I bolt one onto my car would it save gas??(Just Kidding.....Maybe)

I must be missing something. The specs for the 10,000btu fixed model (http://www.greencoreair.com/specs.pdf) say it draws 980 watts at full output. It comes with two 450 amp/hour batteries.

How does this thing run on a single 170 watt solar panel?

I also found it interesting that it weighs over 500 pounds. A 10,000 btu window unit weighs 30-40 pounds.

Specs also say it only works down to 45 degrees F. I was hoping it would be the perfect solution for a cabin in the woods since it also provides heat. Unfortunately, we spend a significant period in the winter below freezing.

I don't see the term used in the specs, but it must be a heat pump?

I'm very intressed to know what they will cost. On the island were I live, we are not allowed to place solar panels that feed to the grid. And with an average temprature of 29C more or less year round, everybody has aircos.
Therefore it would be very nice if we could use such systems with a little bit of backup power to get you trough the night. I would just add enough extra panels to keep it full powered during the day and all extra can go into the bateries for the night.

An excellent piece of design.

The portable unit looks perfect to bring to a dock and keep boats from getting mold and mildew. I think that's what it's doing to the airplane in the second pic.

"Using a single 170-watt solar panel, it can keep a 600 square-foot room cool." While technically not false because it does use a solar panel and the unit can keep a room that size cool this statement is extremely misleading. At best this is a load-shift device. With the considerable inefficiencies involved with batteries, even with the solar panel this probably requires more grid input than a regular AC. I don't think adding several hundred pounds of batteries and an inadequate solar panel to an existing product is quite the breakthrough you've been looking for.

Rick - It will draw 980W when "pumping" If you hook a watt meter up to a window AC unit, you'll notice it will jump between 80W when it's just the fan blowing, to ~1KW (for mine) when the compressor is running (about 1/2 of the time). The thermostat decides how much the compressor runs.

I'd love to see this sort of thing for RV and tour bus installations. I have an RV we use for work and the Texas heat turns that thing into a solar oven. I'd love to be able to keep the thing moderately cool without having to be plugged in when the sun is beating down at over 100F.

I had some LED fake candles in the RV for ambiance when we first got it. After the first heat wave hit, the candles morphed in the heat into something out of a Salvador Dali painting. Also, there's some peel and stick velcro we put up in various places, but the glue melts in the heat.

I'm sold. I'll be finding a way to work it into the next truck I build.

Do i live on the same island as curalex? He/she took the words right out of my mouth. Though, i'm wondering if this would be more efficient than just taking the whole AC system off-grid and buying some solar panels and batteries to run them.

Looks like a scam to me. A solar panel too small to actually run the unit tacked on as window dressing.

Great idea, but cost is too high. This size conventional AC would cost about $88 at Walmart.

This solar powered AC would run well over $2000.

I like the concept though.

The key to our energy crisis is conservation at the present moment.

It seems like the solar panel charges up the batteries rather than supplying the needed power completely. So, when the batteries run dry, the unit shuts off and charges or draws from the grid? It would seem that this is only really useful in the portable model. You could just install a kilowatt of solar panels on the roof of your house and power/suppliment your own central AC unit.

Still, definitely nice too see.

I have a solar powered air conditioner - its called the breeze.

Don't believe the hype folks. This is a battery powered air-source heat pump that allowed for the easy retro-fit of solar panels. The spec is lacking the information that is important, specifically the SEER and HSPF ratings for the unit. Based on its design it appears to have limited air exchange opportunity which would inhibit its ability to dump heat efficiently. Is it a Puron unit? Is it a water chiller? What is the expected life of the unit?

I would rather see an 23 SEER unit come with a battery pack and a Mitsubishi solar panel on top.

VERY COOL IDEA,

Let's say your a hermit doing research in the high deserts in a make-shift/ yurt-tent?
Or..., like me- playing guitar/ SingerSongwriter stuff in my bus on a hot day..., or you like the suntan but not the intense heat? Well- I'll have to work on a (sunbunny- tent) my made up (word) for freedom- every sunny- day; would be an organic birthday in my sunbunny-tent complete with their new air-conditioner/ (solair unit) another made up word. Boy I'm just full of good ideas today! Huh...,
I'm Natalie Merchant's BluesGuitarist/ Montreville Blakely-- in collaboration with www.giveuspoor.org last Nov. 16th 2007 STRAND THEATER Dorchester, Ma.

What they're doing with the airplane is air conditioning it to keep it from being unbearably hot until it gets to altitude.

Small planes don't usually have any kind of air conditioning units. Instead, they have vents, and at altitude the air is cold enough to satisfy any need for A/C. But if the plane is parked in the sun there's no way to cool it down and it will be pretty stuffy in there for the first ten or twenty minutes of the flight. Pumping in cooled air on the ground makes it more comfortable until you get high enough the vents do you some good.

i want to know the technologies of a solar power air conditioner.i am eager to know the expenses to construct it

I can imagine there being some niche application for this, but in general, why would you want to couple energy collection with the machine being powered?

it have a rechargable battery for night using?.... or it doesn't have?

This seems like a great product and conceivably, this could power a much larger home or structure if you put one in every room with the solar panels to support the additional units.