Solar air conditioners: How do they work and how much can I save? – finder.com.au

Regular air conditioners are known to be something of an energy hog, drinking power to cool down or heat up your house. So how could a solar air conditioner help?

A solar air conditioner is an air conditioner that runs off of its own dedicated solar panels, rather than one that's hooked up to a regular solar system or the main electricity grid. Effectively, it runs on its own self-contained circuit.

The solar air conditioner consists of three main components:

There are two points at which you may be able to save with a solar air conditioner:

Let's compare the costs of installing a 3.5kW solar air conditioner from Solar ACDC to installing a normal solar system and separate aircon unit.

Solar system + air con

Solar air conditioner

1. Estimates are from this calculator.2. Figure is from this site.

For this comparison, assume that you run your 3.5kW air conditioner for 4 hours every day during all 90 days of summer, keeping it set to 22 degrees Celsius3. Then, if energy from the grid costs 30c/kWh, running an air conditioner on mains power will cost you:

$0.25 (hourly cost of aircon) x 4 (hours per day) x 90 (days in summer) = $90

This means your solar aircon will save you about $90 in running costs annually, if you don't have to rely upon mains power. For larger air conditioners, this might stretch up to $200 annually.

With this in mind, the solar air conditioner will save you about $1,600 on install, and $100 - $200 yearly, for each year you run it. Heating has been excluded from this analysis, since it's most required in late afternoon or evening, after the sun has set and your solar air conditioner is inactive.

3. Calculations are based on this site.

While the solar air conditioner is great in concept, there are a few drawbacks to be aware of compared to just using an air conditioner with a normal solar system:

Solar ACDC claims that some elderly Australians may be able to cover the costs of solar air conditioner installation under the My Aged Care benefits scheme. This scheme is designed to give financial assistance to older Australians who need extra care or services to live safely and independently in their home.

However, Finder's analysis of the requirements for My Aged Care funding suggests that getting coverage for a solar air conditioner is unlikely at best, and you should check the scheme's requirements before making any financial decisions.

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Solar air conditioners: How do they work and how much can I save? - finder.com.au