Solar Efficient Appliances
One of the obvious conclusions when using renewable energy such as solar or wind power is the less wattage you need to produce the better. Technology in energy efficient appliances has greatly improved for some things such as lighting, but has also not improved much in others such as air conditioning.
Although you may not run into appliances like refrigerators made for solar panels readily, they do exist. You will find below some examples of what type of solar appliances exist and what it would take to power such an energy efficient appliance.
To see a chart of power consumption for the most common appliances visit the power consumption page located in the menu to the left.
Battery-powered solar refrigerators and freezers. These highly efficient units with exceptionally low energy consumption require a smaller photovoltaic (PV) system for your refrigeration needs. The photo to your left is a brand known as the SunDanzer. These units feature 4.33" (110 mm) of polyurethane insulation and coated steel cabinets. The brushless DC motor compressor operates on 12 or 24 VDC.
For example the 5.6 cubic foot solar freezer or refrigerator they make can be powered from a 75 watt solar panel. While and 8.1 cubic foot solar freezer or refrigerator only needs a 100 watt solar panel.
Another high efficiency appliance are the products made by Danby. The refrigerator to the left is 11 cubic feet and consumes only 388 kWh of annual energy. Most household refrigerators consume about 1400 kWh of annual energy. They also make refirgerators that use propane gas with only 1600 BTU/hour consumption on the high setting.
Danby also makes dishwashers which have a power consumption of just 200 kWh of annual energy. Even the bigger size ones meant to go into the wall consume just less than 400 kWh of annual energy.
Danby makes other appliances that are friendly to solar panels. Although they mostly promote their products to gear towards the apartment or condo appliance, it is also a fantastic solar energy appliance.
