India is a hot country and we need solar air-conditioners very badly. Unfortunately, no one seems to be thinking creatively to bring this much wanted solution in the Indian market. The problem with powering air-conditioning systems using solar power is: High capacity solar modules (that are very expensive) are required, as air-conditioners generally come with high input wattage requirements.
Of late, new type of air-conditioners called inverter air-conditioners have been becoming popular in India. Despite their higher cost, these ACs appeal to people (especially for residences & commercial establishments that run air-conditioners for more than 8 hours, every day) due to their lower running cost/lower electricity consumption. Companies claim that consumers can save 30 - 50% of electricity charges by using the inverter AC and owners can get back their (initial) higher investments, due to lower running costs.
What is the difference between normal AC and inverter AC?
Basically, normal air-conditioners work with fixed compressor motor speeds (which is either the maximum speed or zero) while inverter ACs can vary the speed of the compressor motor based on temperature and humidity. The primary advantage is: Low power consumption, especially in case of prolonged usage. Also, the temperature variation is very minimum - hence people find it more comfortable.
Another advantage of inverter ACs is: A 1.5 Tonne rated AC can work in the range of 1.2 T to 1.75 T, as required. They are quieter than normal ACs and they can blow both hot and cold air (some models).
Can we use inverter AC with solar panels?
Inverter air-conditioners have marginally lower power requirements, when compared to normal air-conditioners. While normal 1.5T ACs are rated at 1800W (approx), inverter ACs for similar capacity are rated at 1400W - 1500W (approx). Some models are rated even lower.
If you are planning to power your AC with solar panels sometime in the future, it is definitely better to go with Inverter air-conditioner. But, the capacity/cost of solar panels required to power such a system may still be out of reach/uneconomical. Besides, huge batteries maybe required to store so much power, which makes solar powered ACs even more unfeasible.
Have a look at this article to understand what kind of solar system costs (for air-conditioners) we are talking about. It's definitely not enticing. Solar Thermal (heat) based hybrid air-conditioners maybe better and can reduce electricity costs further, but not much experimentation/implementation on that front seems to be going on in India. Or at least, I am not aware of any company selling solar-thermal hybrid AC.
What are our engineering students and 'research' scholars doing? There is such a huge need to adapt solar technologies to run air-conditioners in our country and these people are sleeping? Or maybe they are memorizing and rote-learning from xeroxed textbooks? All our major problems are because of these so called 'engineering' UG/PG students & professors not applying their theoretical knowledge to develop any practical devices. Forget innovation, can't you people at least reconfigure existing technologies to suit our requirements/needs? When will you people wake up from your slumber? Come on, take up the challenge of designing a decent/efficient Solar AC NOW.
