No, a mini-split air conditioner can’t use a SoftStart device because it doesn’t have any inrush current. But this sounds like a great topic for determining generator size for a typical mini-split. I assume yours is 240 volts…
In theory the original SoftStartRV controller should work on any 120-volt window air conditioner up to 15kBTU. But I’ve not actually tried this in the lab to be 100% sure. I’ll ask engineering for their feedback.
Mine does... that's actually how I developed it. Tested with an old window unit I was more willing to blow up than the $1000 RV unit...lol. I'd imagine SSRV should function the same as mine.
I would like to see more in the video of before and after. Power draw on start up isn't shown before the unit is installed. There are no dbs shown even though they say it runs quieter now. More data of this type is needed.
More details coming next week. This first introduction video was just a proof of concept to see that everything worked properly on a 15 year old air conditioner.
And remember that the lower dB level is only for the first 250ms of inrush current during the start cycle, not while the compressor is running.
I’ll also be capturing and showing HRDL data plots of the compressor inrush current before and after SSHome installation.
All of this is several days worth of work to do correctly.
Hi Mike----can Soft Start be used to start up a minisplit during a power failure? And how do I determine what generator size I would need? My minisplit is 12000 BTU.
NO. Don't put SS on a minisplit - it doesn't need it anyway. For power, if the minisplit is alone, just look at your wattage plate on the AC… my 18K BTU (8Ax240V) is perfectly happy on a 2 KW generator - BUT be careful to have a 240V genny (rarely this tiny) if that's what your unit needs. At 12KBTU many units are still 120V, but CHECK before wiring it up.
We recently purchased a mini split with inverter technology. It seems to perform a similar function. Is it the same? If not, would it be beneficial to use the new soft start in combination?
No, the inverter minisplit is considerably better technology and could be harmed by SS. It is also far more efficient than a standard compressor air conditioner because running at variable speed is considerably more efficient than partial duty cycle. Random aside, similar inverter tech is also being applied to microwaves now to avoid scorch / nothing cycling.
The inverter does pretty much what the SoftStart technology does, so no SS is required.
No, a mini-split air conditioner can’t use a SoftStart device because it doesn’t have any inrush current. But this sounds like a great topic for determining generator size for a typical mini-split. I assume yours is 240 volts…
In theory the original SoftStartRV controller should work on any 120-volt window air conditioner up to 15kBTU. But I’ve not actually tried this in the lab to be 100% sure. I’ll ask engineering for their feedback.
Mine does... that's actually how I developed it. Tested with an old window unit I was more willing to blow up than the $1000 RV unit...lol. I'd imagine SSRV should function the same as mine.
I would like to see more in the video of before and after. Power draw on start up isn't shown before the unit is installed. There are no dbs shown even though they say it runs quieter now. More data of this type is needed.
More details coming next week. This first introduction video was just a proof of concept to see that everything worked properly on a 15 year old air conditioner.
And remember that the lower dB level is only for the first 250ms of inrush current during the start cycle, not while the compressor is running.
I’ll also be capturing and showing HRDL data plots of the compressor inrush current before and after SSHome installation.
All of this is several days worth of work to do correctly.
Hi Mike----can Soft Start be used to start up a minisplit during a power failure? And how do I determine what generator size I would need? My minisplit is 12000 BTU.
NO. Don't put SS on a minisplit - it doesn't need it anyway. For power, if the minisplit is alone, just look at your wattage plate on the AC… my 18K BTU (8Ax240V) is perfectly happy on a 2 KW generator - BUT be careful to have a 240V genny (rarely this tiny) if that's what your unit needs. At 12KBTU many units are still 120V, but CHECK before wiring it up.
We recently purchased a mini split with inverter technology. It seems to perform a similar function. Is it the same? If not, would it be beneficial to use the new soft start in combination?
No, the inverter minisplit is considerably better technology and could be harmed by SS. It is also far more efficient than a standard compressor air conditioner because running at variable speed is considerably more efficient than partial duty cycle. Random aside, similar inverter tech is also being applied to microwaves now to avoid scorch / nothing cycling.