Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc_NL
Quote:
Originally Posted by AC_Hacker:
If you are an engineer with the proper equipment and experience to analyze the logic of the signals that issue from an inverter heat pump, you stand a chance of success.
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I'm not too sure what has been done in this field already so I might just be overly optimistic about this. My idea for the moment is that these units must come with temperature and pressure sensors for the controls to work well. Therefore they should already be able to give the right information to any other control signal which would need to be build (I can't imagine the original controls would work well if half the parts are cut off etc). I'm an electronics engineer and feel comfortable enough to make the hardware and write a little program to run it. However I would surely need support on coming up with a good control strategy / algorithm.
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Marc_NL,
I certainly don't want to discourage you from hacking an inverter mini-split, it would be a great thing for all of us if someone has success.
However, you do have a very large project ahead of you, and in my opinion, you will want to choose your battles wisely.
An older tech single speed unit has respectable efficiency, and is fairly easy to hack. The remaining structures that connect it to your house can be re-used, should you "crack the code" on an inverter tech unit later.
But I just did a search over EcoRenovator, and I came up with two links that apply to hacking an inverter technology (variable frequency) compressor.
The first link is to a thread started by Acuario, who apparently is an electronics applications designer. Acuario's thread is very informative and it has a fairly good in-depth info on how the two parts of the mini-split communicate.
To my knowledge, Acuario was not completely successful with the inverter tech approach, although he has enjoyed multiple successes with single speed units.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...r-machine.html
The second link was started by randen, not a circuit designer, but definitely a very capable DIY guy. He is a tool designer and tool maker, with extensive machine experience. His approach was to bypass the 'black box' inverter tech thing. Instead, he used available "off the shelf" variable speed components:
- Three Phase Compressor
- Variable Frequency Drive
Randen's unit is working, and it is working very well.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/geothe...shp-build.html
If you don't find what you're looking for in their threads, you can contact them through EcoRenovator Private Message. They are both very good people to know.
Best,
-AC