Living Off The Grid Tips & Tricks #1: Solar Powered Fridges are now a no brainer!!
As many of you know I live totally off-grid with solar power in a location that is not always the sunniest spot! Solar power works incredibly well for me, and that is mainly due to the choice of appliances I have made. Most conventional homes suck up ludicrous amounts of power, and I manage to live with exactly the same comfort (if not more!) with about 100x - 1000x less power use. Certain appliances suck up way more power than others, and the very heaviest power users are Irons, electric / induction cookers, electric water heaters, desktop computers vs laptops.
The list goes on but a great example of saving power is comparing the power usage of a pretty powerful mac book pro to a desktop computer. My macbook pro uses only 50 Watts compared to 500-100 Watts for a good desktop computer. What’s more my laptop uses NO power whilst its running on battery! We we are looking at a saving of 1000%+ . Now fridges are really a luxury when you are on solar, and it used to be the case that you needed to use special bulky high thermal mass DC fridges to get the job done without sucking the batteries dry.. but times have changed and I would like to share with you my new fridge that has such low power consumption that anyone can use it even on the smallest systems!
What has changed is of course the technology, and specifically the pumps that drive the refrigerant around. These pumps used to consume a LOT of power, and they also made a lot of noise! They also had a very short but high power spike when the pump kicked in ,which can easily upset a solar power system and put a lot of stress on an inverter.
It is not obvious at ALL what the power use is with commercial devices, they hide it behind numbers and efficiency ratings and so the only way to really know in raw watts is to examine the back of the device, where Somewhere you will discover the power consumption.
That is what I did two weeks ago when I was in an appliance store in India.. They had a nice looking Samsung fridge, with 5***** energy efficiency label on it. I wasn’t really sure what that meant so i got the guys to turn it around and found the marking... I couldn’t believe my eyes! 50 watts!!!! That is incredible because this is not a tiny fridge and also has a small freezer compartment which is VERY useful for making vegan ice cream!
I couldn’t help myself and bought it.. somehow managed to get it down the hill to my house (Nepali Power).. and waited until the next day to plug it in.. Its important to make sure the pump oil has settled down so the fridge will work well. The next morning, i plugged it in. The light came on, but i heard Nothing. Oh shit, i thought.. just my damn luck.. got this huge thing carried down the edge of a mountain and now i have to take it back! I left it plugged in, and about half an hour later I got very close to it and sure enough i could hear SOMETHING.. it wasn’t much, barely audible, so I opened the door and WOW,, it was getting cold in there! Amazing! My previous fridge used 150Watts and made SO MUCH noise, it always bugged me.. now i have a fridge that is 25% bigger, makes NO noise and uses 300% less power than the same tech just a few years ago.
Its important to note that even though the fridge uses 50 watts, that is ONLY when the pump is on.. which is approximately half the time. I also turn it off at night, and i keep a bowl of ice in the freezer which means that by morning it is all still nice and cold and hasn’t been on for at least 10 hours! This means that in effect the fridge is only actually using power for around 14 hours a day, which *50 watts = 700 watts. Nearly ALL of this is used whilst there is some sun in the day, so the batteries are usually full all day long. Since i switch it off at around 10pm it is only drawing from the batteries for about 5 hours after dark. That is really not bad at all, and if you need you can turn it off for a full 24 hours or more and still hold the temperature pretty well.
I HAD to actually test this, and so i grabbed my digital clamp meter and wrapped it around the +'ve AC line near the plug socket. It would be even better to turn everything off except the fridge and check this at the batteries to get the actual total power consumption.. but this was good enough for me. The clamp meter read 0.2Amp, which at 240 Volts means that it was using 0.2Amp x 240V = 48 watts! Amazing, its real ;-)
SO if you are considering getting one of these alternative fridges that cost a lot, are not nearly as well made as the new commercial products are then you might think again! If you are not sure im happy to help advise in the comments.. Else.. time to ditch that clunky DC beast!
Do you find it interesting to see what's in my fridge?! I would be fascinated to see what is in yours! Please do share a photo in the comments.
This is the first part in a new series of tips and tricks for living off-grid!
If there is something you would like to know about relating to living off-grid please let me know in the comments and ill do a post on it! There is SO much information and so many great ideas out there, and some of them really can make a huge difference to our lives when we are self sufficient.
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Awesome Post! Being in my journey towards off grid life, we've been studying a lot about permaculture, ecology, sustainable power and resources. It is overwhelming trying to figure out the most effective resources for the overall ecosystem.
What I have noticed with most of the fridges is after some use the rubbers that keeps the fridge door sealed looses grip and power, so the fridge over works creating a lot of ice and water!
In a few months I would love to hear how your fridge is doing if still amazingly effective!
I cannot wait to hear all about your off grid tips! thank you @eco-alex for the great info.
Blessings
thank you! i know the problem you speak of! if you keep wiping it down with something like vinegar or lemon it will keep a nice grip on the inner fridge frame.. which should also be nice n clean.. my last one lasted years without breaking.. but yeah when it goes its DONE! ill update you if i can remeber! ;-)
Thank you @eco-alex, I will definitely, try out lemon/ vinegar
Blessings :)
I always appreciate the way you choose to live an eco-friendly and sustainable yet a comfortable life.
If icecreams weren't too important to you, I'd have suggested to buy a mitticool fridge instead. I think, it can't make any ice but it's great for preserving all fruits & vegetables without consuming any power.
Some year back it was damn cheap @ 4000 INR but now it's 8,000/- for 50 litre capacity. Still if you take into account the cost of power and carbon footprint + e-waste generation of electric fridges; it will pay for itself in the long run.
I know I'm too late to suggest this but came across your post today only and I know nobody like to dump their newly acquired gadgets but can't stop writing this comment here ...LOL!
hehe.. thank you! yes i know about the mitticool fridges.. they are a nice idea!
My issue is mainly that i only go to town once a week at most, and i used to have to throw away SO much food it make me crazy.. so i really need super cold so i can store my veges and leaves without problem...
thank you for the thought though!
xx
What a great idea for a series @eco-alex. We can all use more opportunities to consider our wasteful consumption and the solutions that will benefit all. I love that you're leaving it off so much and still able to maintain the integrity of the cold. Loved seeing what was in your fridge too--I could totally eat with you!
hey! nice to see you!! glad u had a good peek in my shiny new fridge.. full of goodies! and the right kind too! today making Idli! <3 xxx
An improvement to that design would be to make it so that it sits on what is now its back and the door opens up, like a chest freezer. That way when you open the door the cool air would stay in instead of falling out onto the floor. Since it is so small, its not too deep to lose the food in, unlike chest freezers where things get buried 2 feet down.
Proud member of #steemitbloggers @steemitbloggers
its true! but it is harder to store stuff that way.. in supermarkets that is in deed the case!
Hi Alex, that is impressive.
Our fridge is many years old and on its last legs. It would be great to replace it with something this efficient.
I've just been trying to find this in the UK but with no luck.
What is the exact model number? It would be a shame if Samsung only supply something this efficient to particular markets.
ive had a look for you.. and indeed they have VERY different models in the uK.. The market is something CRAZY in the uk. damn they have over 100 models! SO...
it seems that the KEYWORD you are looking for is 'Digital Inverter Compressor'.. as these really do run on low power. One that i can find , which is smaller, and one of the chepaer ones is this
https://www.samsung.com/uk/refrigerators/fridge-freezer-rb29fwrndbc/
They dont mention that exact wattage, but its about as good as you will get in the UK, and i think VERy comparable to 50W!
more options here... i think the first nine are Ok ish
https://www.samsung.com/uk/refrigerators/all-refrigerators/?less-than-300l
happy shopping! ;-)
TECH INFO
https://news.samsung.com/global/how-the-digital-inverter-compressor-has-transformed-the-modern-refrigerator
Thank you for this info Alex. Most useful. We will definitely head in this direction when we buy a new one.
And it's so pretty!! Technology can be such a gift. I had to sell my super efficient fridge in the divorce/move, and I'm dreading the electric bill. Can't wait to get land/earthbag house/solar going. Let's go, price of Steem!
awe.. it IS pretty! with a nice lotus flower on it.. it only costed about $140 new.. maybe its more in europe ! sorry u lost yours.. and yes lets go steem!!!
Dude! That's so, so cheap. Mine was a little bigger with freezer on the bottom, but it was something like $700!
We have exactly same fridge here :-)
And the first thing that popped up when i noticed 50W was: "I have to tell Alex" :-)
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ha ha ha!!!!! that is hillarious!
That's a good looking fridge!!!! A fridge is the one tricky
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That's a very good looking fridge!!!!
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I'm always excited to find new technologies that make it easier to conserve energy and resources. This one is amazing! I can't believe the energy difference between this and your old model. Glad to here its working well!