I’ve been plugging in more and more items into the AC500 simulating a long term disaster blackout, to where the sun comes up just in time to recharge the batteries before they would get too low. So far, just about everything I normally use/need is powered just from the AC500 (which is not plugged into an outlet.) I do have to wait until it’s sunny to fire up the power hungry devices like a griddle or microwave, but otherwise most of the house is operating as off grid, except for central air and heat. I pulled an old 8000 btu window A/C out of storage and ran it nonstop all day long when it got in the mid 90s the other day. I’ll keep it handy for the upcoming 115 degree Vegas summers; that should put a dent in my summer Electric bill.
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This is starting to shape up into a poor man’s version of a grid-tie system, at half the cost.
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I tried using my late model front loading washing machine and surprisingly it drew way less power than my home theater/TV. Then I tried the dryer (which is gas and not all electric.) The power draw was hitting the kilowatt range after hovering around 700 watts! I thought gas appliances were supposed to help you save money on electricity. What they don’t tell you is that, like a gas oven, they use a power hungry glow emitter to ignite the gas, and it stays on while it’s running.