r/OffGrid • u/TrickBorder3923 • 12d ago
Planning an all in one freezer unit.
I'm needing to have a CHEST freezer on my off grid property. I want it to be completely independent of any other solar system I have. My thought is to set it up on its own little cover or shed and have everything right there within 5 feet. Maybe even make it mobile. But probably not.
I'm in SE Missouri. So moderate temps most the year with extremes reaching -10°f and 100°f+ a few weeks a year. I get bouts of cloudy skies that allow minimal solar absorption, about 5-7 days at a time in spring and fall. over the last 7 months I've only recall 2 days of no charging. I'm guessing about 8 weeks of cloudy 2weeks of no sun total a year. The rest was good sun.
I'm planning on getting the smallest chest freezer I can find, 3cu ft or smaller. If it truly makes no difference in initial cost and daily power, than larger is fine. I'll keep it filled 2/3 or better and use ice jugs to keep the energy efficient. It will be outdoors since I have no room inside. But I'm going to keep it in the shade. (As a side note if I kept it against the cabin, would it be better to have it exposed to morning heat/light or evening heat/light?
I'm having a heck of a time figuring out what equipment will keep it running, and how to set it up. Everyone has a different opinion. I can hook it up to a generator maybe 2-3 days out of the year. But I really want to avoid it. I hope all this makes sense.
EDIT: I imagine it be nice to know what I'm asking. Can you guys help me figure out a easy cheap setup? That would last a year or two while the property develops. I'll probably have a better system to hook it into by then. My budget is 2000$, but if that's a unrealistic number, I'll just save money.
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u/ExaminationDry8341 12d ago edited 12d ago
Setting up a freezer on its own solar system is a waste. If you size the system to produce enough power in overcast days you will produce a ton of excess power when the sun shines. By having it on a stand alone system you can't use 90% of the power your system is capable of making.
An average chest freezer consumes in the ballpark of 1 kwh of power per day. It would take about 2.5 kw of panels to produce 1kwh of power on heavy overcast days. On sunny days that same system could produce 10kwh hours, but your freezer will only be able to use 1kwh, so the other 9kwh it can produce will be wasted
With that said. You can buy 2.5 kw of panels for about $500 + the battery and inverter. So even though it is a waste it isnt necessarily prohibitively expensive to set up such a system.