Air Conditioners (ACs) consume a significant amount of electricity, so it's natural to want to power them with solar panels.
There are a few approaches to reducing your electricity bill due to ACs:
- Energy-efficiency
- Solar with net-metering
- Solar with batteries
Energy-Efficiency
Purchasing a more energy-efficient air conditioner will reduce energy consumption and in turn, your electricity bill.
"Inverter" air conditioners, which have been readily available on the market for 5-10 years, consume much less power than older "non-inverter" air conditioners, so it is often worth upgrading them.
Solar with Net-Metering
A solar net-metering system is often the cheapest method of partially or fully reducing your electricity bill.
Solar with Batteries
When air conditioners are running during the day, they can be easily powered by solar panels, an inverter and batteries, without the need for a net-metering system.
However, if the air conditioners will be run beyond 3pm or at night, more solar panels and batteries will be required to store energy to power the air conditioners as the intensity of the sunlight decreases. As a result, it is often not financially advantageous, and solar net-metering will be cheaper.
To find out what kind of solution would work best for you, click on the button below and get an instant quote!