Newbie looking for info in Hawaii

[sichan86]

Hello there, my wife and I are moving off grid in hawaii. I know literally nothing about how a off grid solar system works. Our plan is to have two 5 cu ft chest freezers, one for freezing, and one to convert to a fridge. We also want to be able to charge devices, run a imac computer occasionally, and have a few led lights. What kind of array would we need? Is there anywhere I can look to start learning about how all of this stuff works?

[Mike90250]

Welcome, and thanks for asking BEFORE you spent a lot of $ and found it didn't work like the sales droid said !!

Refrigerators are tough, The compressor motor has a large starting surge, so the inverter has to be large enough to handle it, Inverters have stand-by power loss, even if they are not doing anything, they burn power just waiting. larger inverters have larger losses.
For a fridge, I recommend the energy star fridges, they are efficient and well insulated. They run on 120VAC, and all the competent repairmen can get parts and fix them,
There are also "Solar" DC fridges, which work too, but they are small, and very expensive. And efficient.
And finally, in the last year or so, there are INVERTER Fridges that have a variable speed linear motor, that are efficient and do not have the starting surge,

I personally don't like the freezer-fridge conversion, because of the condensation buildup and the lack of drains for it, In a humid climate, it will be very bad and you have a swamp in the bottom of the unit that you have to sponge out frequently, I'd spend more $ for the convenience to not have to do that,

The other thing is the inverter, Some inverters have an energy saving stand-by mode, but the power glitch from that confuses the brain in a modern fridge and makes it consume even more power, so the inverter has to be left on all the time.

First step is to define the loads. I'd guess at 3KWh for what you mentioned

The first part of planning the system is to have a GOOD estimate as to your loads. Too low, and your batteries run out and die. Too high, and you overbought gear that is not needed.
2 fridges, laptop, lights, fan...... I'd guess at least 3 KW hours minimum daily usage, so your system should be able to harvest 6KWh per day
Maybe you get 3 GOOD solar hours (clouds, fog, whatever) in your worst month, and so a 2KW PV array should be OK. Too small and your batteries die and your beer is warm.

You need to get a meter to read what your lifestyle actually consumes and then you can fine tune it. from there. A handy meter is a Kill-A-Watt, about $30 on amazon

[J.P.M.]

Hello there, my wife and I are moving off grid in hawaii. I know literally nothing about how a off grid solar system works. Our plan is to have two 5 cu ft chest freezers, one for freezing, and one to convert to a fridge. We also want to be able to charge devices, run a imac computer occasionally, and have a few led lights. What kind of array would we need? Is there anywhere I can look to start learning about how all of this stuff works?

OP: Listen to Mike. Things off grid are probably much different than you know or can imagine. Don't be afraid to make the move, but doing so without such unbiased information from folks with no skin in the game and/or an agenda is the errand of a fool.

Welcome to the neighborhood and the forum of few(er) illusions.

[John Galt 1]

With inverter refrigerator/freezers you can use a much smaller inverter because there is no start up surge.http://www.panasonic.com/ph/consumer.../inverter.html

[Mike90250]

This is the reason I have a conventional AC motor well pump. Everybody can fix or replace it. The $3000 DC pump, replacements are 7 days away. Super saver DC fridges and inverter fridges, are very expensive, and repairs, if you can find ANYBODY to repair it, will cost you more $$$