Newbie at solar power - need refrigeration

 Hi folks,

I'm living alone in Florida and I see very few people using photovoltaics -
which really disappoints me because there is so much freaking sunshine down
here.  Is it the heat/humidity that destroys the panels and batteries
causing people to shy away from this source of energy?

Anyway, I have been doing business with Solatron for a couple of months and
I am quite pleased with their prices and technical support.  Well, to be
honest, I'm really not pleased with any company that charges an arm and a
leg for a single solar panel, but this company seems to take the least
amount of flesh.

I now have two 130 watt Kyocera panels charging two E-3600 six volt
batteries in series with a BZ MPPT 250 controller.  The panels are on my
roof and get no shade except for clouds.  I'm very conservative and
basically only run my laptop, electric razor, cell phone, and vehicle
starter (I need that because I hardly ever use my car as almost everything
is within bike distance).  I'm presently using my smallest inverter - 200
watts.  Even on overcast days, the batteries seem to float by 10am.  To me,
this means I'm losing quite a bit of energy throughout the day.

I'm thinking I should get another set of E-3600's.  I have no
refrigeration - so my beer gets warm and I cannot buy bulk perishables
(cooking and hot water is done with propane - most food is dry or canned or
sometimes a single frozen dinner).

I thought, if I get another set of E-3600 batteries, I might be able to run
a refrigerator/freezer.  It is my final thought that I should invest in a
small top loading freezer from Avanti.  I could keep things frozen, make ice
for my cooler, etc.  The question is, do you think I can run such a freezer
with this setup?  I don't feel like paying a $1,000 or more for a high
efficiency marine device.  If I have to do something like that, I'd rather
buy two more panels and more batteries - but I don't want to do that either.
I don't have to have frozen stuff, but it would be nice to keep things at
least in the 30-40F degree range so I don't get food poisoning from
leftovers and such.

I have two small refrigerators that I haven't tried out yet.  Oddly, they
both seem to be listed to draw the same amount of current and power even
though one has a separate freezer and is more than twice the size of the
other.  Funny thing is, I can't figure out the power.  They are both rated
at something like 1.2 amps at 115/125 volts.  But on the same rating label,
the small one is listed at 68 watts, the larger is listed at 100 watts.
This makes no sense to me.  I'm very confused about these ratings.

I'm really looking forward to your comments and suggestions - hoping you
will steer me in the right direction.

Bart

 

Compressor-based refrigerators cycle on and off, so time must be taken
into account. The resulting number will be in Watt-hours (voltage X
current X time). You might find these articles useful
http://homepower.com/files/loadcalc.pdf .

Wayne

 
usefulhttp://homepower.com/files/loadcalc.pdf .

Also take into consideration that, for example, if the running current
is say 2 amps then the starting current may be as much as five times
the running current or 10 amps. Be sure your inverter has the capacity
to take care of this inductive surge when the compressor starts. I
also suggest using pure sine wave instead of modified sine wave.

Bob

 
I live here in Thailand and haven't seen anyone using solar power
except me. Although the city has been installing solar panel caution
lights around town. For your refrigeration needs I would suggest the
super efficient Sun Frost.

Bob

 

Yes, I was looking at Sun Frost.  Quite pricey...

Also noted your comment on inverters - I have took that into account and
intend to use my larger inverter if I decide to get refrigeration.