_edited.jpg)
Affordable Solar Air Conditioning: DIY Guide for Budget Builders
Every year in Southeast Texas, the summer heat and humidity are brutal. Instead of just complaining about it this year, I decided to make the sun work for me. I'm excited to share my journey of building a solar air conditioner system on a budget. Join me as I walk you through each step and show you how to create a cost-effective cooling solution that makes summer something to look forward too.
My first step was to determine if I had enough sunlight in my yard to get the best results from solar energy; otherwise, this project would be a big waste of time and money. So, each day, I recorded the areas in my yard that received the most sunlight, starting from sunrise to sunset. I soon realized that my initial thought of building the system in the backyard wasn't ideal. The house blocked the early morning sun, causing a few hours of lost energy production until the sun was high enough to clear the house. Additionally, the woods behind my house blocked the setting sun, leading to more lost energy production.
Realizing the backyard wouldn't work, I moved to the front yard, which offered a clear view of the wide-open sky to the east for early morning sun and was mostly clear to the west until about 4 p.m., when a few trees caused some obstructions. With my location picked out, my next step was to start testing the spot. I set up my 200W panel and hooked it up to a small power station, just running a fan in the house for now. After placing the panel facing the southern sky at about a 35-degree angle, I was up and running, using the sun to charge my power station to run the fan.
It didn't take long to realize I wasn't producing energy in the most efficient way possible. In the morning, the sun was to the east, and my solar panel, facing south, was catching just a fraction of the solar energy. To get the most out of my panel, it needed to face the sun at the right angle throughout the day. This meant I had to physically move the panel periodically, making the system too labor-intensive.
After a lot of research, I found a sun tracker by Eco-Worthy that promised to increase power production by 40% by following the sun automatically.
Phase 1 Completed Next Build Phase Will Be Released May 24 So Like & Subscribe To Keep Up With The Build.
Phase 2 : Harnessing and storing the solar energy
.
Affiliate Links To Products Used
Eco-Worthy Solar Tracker: https://amzn.to/4bnsFaC
BougeRV 200W Solar Panel: https://amzn.to/3K3Pa8C
Comments