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  • Anybody use DC heater?

    I though about getting a 24v DC Heater.
    I am just heating a single room.
    Does anybody use a DC electric heater on here?
    Would it be a tax credit to buy DC heater?

  • #2
    If you do a Google search for 24V DC room heateryou do not find much. Once you filter out all of the water heaters, what you are left with are primarily heaters for aircraft, boats, and electronics enclosures. They would work on 24V but would be a lot more expensive than a common 120V AC heater would be.

    Before we go any further down that road, I need to ask why you think that a 24V DC heater would save you money or be more convenient? If you have AC available, then at any price within the US you will be better off heating from 120V AC then from DC if you will be using batteries to power your heater. If you only want to use solar power and only heat during the day, then a 24V heater connected to one or more nominal 12V battery panels might do the job for you.

    But in that case (heating only while the sun is shining) you will get more heat for the money using solar thermal panels than using electric resistance heat.

    Tell us more about your situation and we can offer more focused advice.
    SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

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    • #3
      Easy As Falling Off A Log

      This is very easy and dirt cheap to implement. All you need is 220 feet of solid # 12 AWG aluminum wire in free air rolled up in a loose coil. At 24 volts will deliver 1000 watts of resistance heat. EASY PEAZY. Should not cost you more than $15. Cost of power is another story which you will soon learn.
      MSEE, PE

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      • #4
        This was my thought on this.
        Probably run during sunlight hours mainly.

        24v power inverter will use this to run AC 800 watt heater
        DC Amperage 38 Amps DC

        I can get 24v heater that only pulls 400 watts
        thats only 16.6 amps
        Also could put dc pwm controller to control amps.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by ice2484 View Post
          This was my thought on this.
          Probably run during sunlight hours mainly.

          24v power inverter will use this to run AC 800 watt heater
          DC Amperage 38 Amps DC

          I can get 24v heater that only pulls 400 watts
          thats only 16.6 amps
          Also could put dc pwm controller to control amps.
          If you only want 400 watts and the smallest AC heater you can find is 800 watts, why not just get four 100 watt infrared heat lamps? That has a good chance to put the heat more where you want it for comfort anyway. Any energy "wasted" in the inverter will just go to heat the room or house anyway if the inverter is inside.
          SunnyBoy 3000 US, 18 BP Solar 175B panels.

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          • #6
            The infrared heat lamps not a bad idea. The DC heater will probably be a lot more trouble than its worth. I did find some AC heaters with lower than 800 watts. You can't find them in store though.

            http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Up-Quart...00+watt+heater

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