Basically, my theory last spring about throwing more solar power at our new Trane central AC unit to power it on hot days in the summer, don't work. Well, it kind of does. But it only works when the sun shines. It can be dense overcast for days at a time, with thunderstorms, and so hot and muggy that you can cut the air with a knife. And a 2-ton central AC unit consumes an incredible amount of power - no way in hell can you run it off battery power. It can suck our bank totally dry in only 8 hours.
This is what they make diesel generators for.
So I built a brand new powerhouse and put the generators in it, and buried service and control wiring to the outfit:
That Robin diesel on the left is a little 3 kVA split-phase unit and it only burns .22 gallons per hour on prime power duty. As of this writing it has been running since this movie was made:
The fuel tank on it holds 3.5 gallons of fuel so I have to refuel it every 12 hours. But it sure is nice and cool and comfy, with low humidity, in the house. Diesel prime power works every time. Solar - not so much - kind of like hit and miss.
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Chris