WestyWanderer
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Registered: 10-24-2014
Location: San Clemente, CA
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110v Residential Fridge on Solar
Can someone out there that runs a 110v residential fridge on solar fill me in on what their system looks like? The in-laws are looking to get rid of
their propane fridges and move to a 110v residential style fridge. I’m pretty confident we can run it on their current system based on my math, but
wanted to talk with someone that does it. Thanks in advance
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BigWooo
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A really good energy star fridge will draw about 850 watts per day in the winter, and about 1100w on a hot summer day. A middle of the line fridge
will draw about 950-1000 watts on a winter day and about 12-1300 watts plus on hot summer days.
Beware of inverter fridges. Everyone thinks because it says inverter, it's low energy draw. That is not always the case. Many inverter fridges draw
more than good regular energy star fridges.
Beware that many small apartment fridges draw more power than full size fridges.
Knowing the watts there are a ton of online calculators you can use to determine the size solar you need. Also the guys at Arizona Wind Sun will be
happy to consult with you and help you get it right.
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bkbend
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Location: central OR or central baja
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I have in the past but don't remember the numbers enough to be of much help. However I can offer a couple of other items to consider beyond the
numbers.
There will be cloudy days, make sure you have enough reserve battery capacity to cover that.
Use a pure sine wave inverter. I lost a compressor motor after 24 months of use on modified sine wave.
My solar controller kept a log of amp hours it dumped into the batteries each day, check yours to see what % of battery is being used without a refer
and then factor in what you will use with one. It also kept track of the time it took to get the batteries up to full charge. Than can give you a
rough indication of your real world panel capacity.
Check the wire gauge in each leg between the panel and the house wiring, increasing the amperage used will increase resistance and cause loss of
available juice and/or create a fire hazard. I doubled the previous owners panel wattage and battery capacity and had to replace all the wiring.
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larryC
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Good info from both BK and Woo. I would add that the power usage of a refer will go up in really hot weather. My refer used about 850 to 1000 watts on
a winter day but in the summer time when the ambient temps in the house were 95 degrees it used upwards of 3000 watts a day. Mine has a built in ice
maker which adds watts also. I used a Kill-a-watt to determine usage, ymwv.
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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Bob and Susan
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fridg only uses electricty when the motor/compressor is running...
dont open the door and its really economical too...
small fridges use less electricty
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mtgoat666
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Susan,
It is even more economical if you unplug the refrigerator.
Since you are not opening it, you don’t need to plug it in 
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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John Harper
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Quote: Originally posted by lencho  | | Quote: Originally posted by larryC | | My refer used about 850 to 1000 watts on a winter day but in the summer time when the ambient temps in the house were 95 degrees it used upwards of
3000 watts a day. |
Hey, tocayo-- are you by chance talking about 3,000 Watt-hours in a day?
Otherwise this doesn't make sense.  |
That's what his Kill A Watt meter tells him, kilowatt-hours.
http://www.p3international.com/products/p4400.html
John
[Edited on 12-4-2020 by John Harper]
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tecatero
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LG or Samsung linear inverter motor refrigerators. Pulls minimal amps. I have 2 on solar. Never spike or pulse, like they were built for solar
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larryC
Super Nomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by lencho | | Quote: Originally posted by larryC | | My refer used about 850 to 1000 watts on a winter day but in the summer time when the ambient temps in the house were 95 degrees it used upwards of
3000 watts a day. |
Hey, tocayo-- are you by chance talking about 3,000 Watt-hours in a day?
Otherwise this doesn't make sense. |
Yes, those watt hour usages are all in a 24 hour day. Divide by the nominal voltage of your system (12, 24 or 48) and that will give you the amp hours
used.
The point was with a 30 degree increase in ambien temps in the house the power consumption tripled. So it makes a big difference where you are in
Baja. On the west coast where the temps are typically lower you will use less power than if you are in the central and east coasts of Baja during the
summer months.
[Edited on 12-4-2020 by larryC]
Off grid, 12-190 watt evergreen solar panels on solar trackers, 2-3648 stacked Outback inverters, 610ah LiFePo4 48v battery bank, FM 60 and MX60
Outback charge controllers, X-240 Outback transformer for 240v from inverters, 6500 watt Kubota diesel generator.
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greta-inbaja
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Registered: 7-19-2006
Location: Truckee, CA
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Hi, I used a kilowatt meter this summer to check our power consumption. We are on the sea of cortex side, south of Cabo Pulmo. I have a big fridge
only unit without a freezer,—- MId summer, midday.. very full fridge.. used 1.4 kWh in 24 hr period.. When the fridge first kicked on it used 183
watts and 1.82 A then decreased to 140 watts, 1.59 amps..
when not running it used only 1.8 watts and .05 amps.
We also have a chest freezer .. it used .8 kWh in a 24 hr period.. when running midday it used 87 watts... this was during a very hot day,, We use
the big fridge only unit and the chest freezer to give us more storage since we are an hr from town. .. we only have 400 amps of battery and we are
right on the line, maybe a little under these days if we have a bunch of fans running plus lights.. and water pump. We do have a lot of panel though..
3500 watts, we used to have 800 amps of battery and that was great.. had to whittle out some bad ones. Hope this helps
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WestyWanderer
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Location: San Clemente, CA
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Thank you Greta, that is exactly the info I was looking for. Much appreciated.
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