Hello With the hot weather fast approaching, I am looking for a very efficient thru the wall workshop air conditioner and 230 vac seems to be the way to go! LG makes a couple humming along at 230vac, so the current draw is half the 110vac units. However, here is the trick, will it work with the Lowe's Iris system so I can switch it on with my iPhone on the way back from a job? Since The only AC controls for Iris are 110vac and probably low current then a nice heavy duty relay with a 110vac coil is in order here? How about this Siemens big bruiser? https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GRKQ7PY?pc_redir=T1 Here are the Home Depot LG Air Conditioners of interest? 11,800 BTUs 230VAC LG Electronics 11,800 BTU 230-Volt Through-the-Wall Air Conditioner with ENERGY STAR and Remote LT1236CER at The Home Depot - Mobile 13,000 BTUs 230vac LG Electronics 13,000 BTU 230-Volt Through-the-Wall Air Conditioner with Remote LT1433CNR at The Home Depot - Mobile So wil this baby do the trick?? In other words, hook up the Lowe's 110 module to the cool and switch one hot leg of the 230VAC see? Click pic to enlarge
I wonder if you could find something from a European company in 230V as that's the standard over there.
Ah, wait a second, I see what you're trying to do. Yeah, your contactor would do the trick but that's waaaay more contactor than you need. How big is the shop? Is this your shed/workshop? I think the ACs you are looking at are going to be too large as well. A smaller, well insulated shop would probably do just fine (if not better) with a 5-6k BTU unit.
Hello Thanks for helping me take a step back and really think about this first before plunging right in. It is not the shed, it is a new workshop I just built last summer. This new workshop is 22 x 12 = 264 sq ft under an open deck on the warmest south facing side of the house. It is 2x6 construction with a concrete floor and will be well insulated when the wiring is all done. The chart below seems to indicate a 5k or 6k air conditioner might be a tad small. Also there may be 2 peoples and it is sunny. Consumer Energy Center - Window Air Conditioners
An 8k would be more than enough and they are fairly easy to run on 120v if you needed. But you are just barely bigger than the spec for 6K and you didn't mention any French doors or picture windows so I'm guessing the space will be very energy efficient. Too much AC will not make the space all that comfortable. It will cool down too fast to de-humidify and that's where the comfort comes from. 5-6k could be tough to find in a through-wall model however. I've really only seen them as a window unit.
Are you sure about the amp draw difference between 230 and 120. It's my understanding that if a 120 unit draws 8 Amps a 230 will draw 4 amps, but on both lines so it ends up using the same as the 120. Compare 120Volts to 240Volts - Is one More Energy Efficient?
Yes, the amp draw is half (states that in your article) but the power consumption is the same. P = EI However the motor starts easier at the higher voltage so the 240 volt unit may last longer.
The air conditioner Model I have has GFI in the plug so not a good idea to cut power with a relay! :-( However there is a much better way using WiFi iPhone app called Tado!!! See Using a remote control air conditioner on wifi from far away with tado? | Firewood Hoarders Club
