Solar powered refridgerator

[PMBernet]

I am brand new to the solar thing. We are building an addition to our camp in the Everglades. I want to add a standard 120v refrigerator to the place. We are completely off grid. When we are there we do run a generator and would be able to provide a constant power source.
Question is what do we need for a solar setup and battery banks for when we are not there to keep it running? It would not be open at all and we are in south Florida so we receive a pretty good shot of sun light.
I have not bought the fridge yet but I have one similar to what I am talking about and it says it needs 3 amps.
Does anyone have an idea of what we need for panels? I plan on using a couple of 8D batteries as storage banks unless someone has a better suggestion.

Thanks in advance!

[SunEagle]

A solar powered battery system for your refrigerator will cost you much more than trucking in ice every time you go to your cabin. There is some basic math that can be used to size your system.

Your load can be calculated by multiplying the amperage of the equipment times the voltage. So 3 amps x 120 volt = 360 watts.

Run that 24 hours per day will equal 8640 watt hours. Due to losses and efficiencies of the system multiply that by 1.5 which gives you about 12960 watts hours per day.

In Florida you will get about 5 hours of usable sunlight so divide your daily watt hours by that. 12960 watt hours / 5 hours ~ 2600 watts. That is your panel size.

A 48 volt battery system with 4 days of capacity (5 would be better) will be around 725 Ah.

Add to that a 60 amp MPPT charger and a 1000 watt pure sine wave inverter and you got most of the system less the cost for racks for the panels, wiring and fusing.

The total system will come to probably a total of $10,000 but you may find the equipment for less if you shop around.

[PositiveDude2000]

http://sundanzer.com/

[PMBernet]

Now that is figuring the system would run 24 hours a day, correct? Is that 3 amps on the data plate figured as a round the clock number? How much would that refrigerator run when it is not opened at all during the 24 hour period?

[Mike90250]

efficiency

Look at power consumption for an Energy Star fridge. A 22cf starts about $900 and works the
way you expect a fridge to work, and consumes about 1KWh of power daily.

But, you will want lights, a radio, run the laptop. All that extra stuff adds up too.


You can configure a smallish system, with about 200w of panels, and then rely on a small generator
to keep the batteries up while you are there using it, and the panels will keep the fridge going while you are gone. A fridge will need about a 1,000w pure sine wave inverter to start and run properly.

Just an idea

[SunEagle]

Now that is figuring the system would run 24 hours a day, correct? Is that 3 amps on the data plate figured as a round the clock number? How much would that refrigerator run when it is not opened at all during the 24 hour period?

It will depend on the efficiency of the refrigerator and how much food is in it. A full refrigerator will not need to run as much as one with very little food in it. I figured you wouldn't keep the frig full so it will be cycling on and off all day long. It may draw more amps when the compressor first starts and less later but for round numbers I just used the 3 amp all day.

What I was trying to get you to understand is that using solar to keep a standard frig running is not very economical. There are smaller refrigerators or coolers that will provide what you want but draw less power.

In most cases using a solar pv system to heat or cool is not cheap.

[PMBernet]

I am not worried about the extras such as lights, tv etc. Hell I probably spend close to a grand a year on ice. We are there most weekends and the Honda does run when we are there so if it is getting hard use it would run off 120 or there would be a battery charger keeping the batteries topped up.
I was figuring somewhere in the 10 cuft range give or take a bit. I know I would want an energy star compliant fridge to minimize power use.

[russ]

Empty cardboard boxes work great for fridge filler.

[Mike90250]

If you are only going to be there on weekends, skip the electric fridge, and use an ice box. A fridge takes at least 24 hours to cool itself off, or if you leave it on while gone, that's an expensive PV system for being idle 70% of the time.

[SunEagle]

Empty cardboard boxes work great for fridge filler.

I would at least fill it with my favorite beverage. At least that would retain some of the cold and reduce the need to keep the compressor running.

I still think for his application maybe a small 12 volt cooler would be enough to keep something cold and not cost an arm and a leg to run it off of solar. A full size frig would be an energy hog.

[thastinger]

if you search for it, there is a multi page post on the same topic. I used a Johnson's Controls external temp regulator to convert a standard 8.8CuFt chest freezer into an off-grid fridge, it uses just over .5kWh per day in heavy use.

[patrickp708616]

Engle 12 vdc fridge.

Google Engle refrigerator freezer. There about $900 but well worth it. Ambulance drivers use them all the time to transport medicines blood etc.. Its a minie fridge but available in many sizes plus it only runs on 12 vdc which means you can plug it into your cigarette lighter. It draws between .7 to 2.8 amps. Mine runs fine off 2- 250 watt panels that lay flat on my rv. I have 3- 114 ah Walmart EverStart Deep cycle batteries at 12 vdc. My Coleman Cooler drew 5 amp at 12 vdc. It draws less when the fridge is only open once in a while and NO it doesnt run or cycle 24 hrs a day.

[wagoneer]

SunDanzer

I overbought a dcr-225 and looking to either trade or sell outright