Best truly efficient off grid fridge/freezer?

Our fridge is likely to be our largest consumer of power when off grid. So I searched for something "ground breaking" and found an "item of interest." The walls are 3"-5" thick. Runs on 12 or 24 volt DC. Chest configuration so the cold air doesn't fall out every time the door is opened. Only one review to date. States very low energy usage but gave it four stars. Perhaps they were a tad disappointed in the interior space? Insulation occupies a large percentage of the unit. Costs $1300. Weighs 154 pounds. Offers 8 1/2 cu. ft. of storage space.
I'd guess this a good value for a certain niche. Headquarted in Germany and claiming a year 2000 start up date. If I was our host, I'd take a closer look at offering this unit. Their American headquarters are in Tucson, AZ. https://www.phocos.com/na/blog/portfolio/fr240/
Comments
They currently sell a highly regarded(in solar circles) Sundanzer 8 cu Ft chest fridge/freezer(fridge or freezer dependent on the thermostat)If you look it up on Amazon, you will find 3 bad reviews I believe 2 out of the 3 are from people using them in a commercial environment. They have double seals and trying to open the doors rapidly stresses both the seals and the hinges, the things people complain about.
https://www.solar-electric.com/sundanzer-dcr225-battery-powered-refrigerator.html
Where are you located? I think Florida, I know where there is one of these in Missouri from someone who used it at their hunting cabin. Reasonably priced. I think I still have the Phone #.
Very similar unit and price. Oh well.
Build your own!
https://forum.solar-electric.com/discussion/comment/62546#Comment_62546
Or use a Stecca with German Engineering.
https://thesolarstore.com/steca-pf166-solar-refrigerator-or-freezer-12v-or-24v-dc-58cf-p-95.html
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
E-mail [email protected]
Seems you would get a lot of frost on your food fluctuating from -8F to 8F on a daily basis.
It wouldn't surprise me if more high end fridge/freezers had more active defrost cycles and consumed more energy as a result. People that buy high end fridges are likely not too worried about defrost cycle energy usage - they want pretty food.
-Bill
570W mono / 220AH GC
The best refrigerator for offgrid is a power system designed to run it.
This is pretty basic, I would think.....
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
E-mail [email protected]
Sorry - cant find a brand name on it.
2.1 Kw Suntech 175 mono, Classic 200, Trace SW 4024 ( 15 years old but brand new out of sealed factory box Jan. 2015), Bogart Tri-metric, 700 ah @24 volt AGM battery bank. Plenty of Baja Sea of Cortez sunshine.
Remember when fridges and freezers used to last for 30-40 years? Sigh.
I've got an upright commercial freezer that is likely fine. I wonder what would happen if I turned that into a fridge. Commercial units usually have strong compressors - bad for energy usage. But freezers seem to offer ~twice the insulation.
Wish I'd have bought that used lab fridge. Think the sides were 3" thick and rated to get super, super cold. Maybe -100F? The plug was "odd" so I thought it was 220 volt. Sigh.
Did install a bunch, 8, of ultrasonic pest repellers that consume about 6 watts/each. Rodents search for warmer areas as the weather gets colder. I'd rather not house them. Might disconnect most pest repellers for a couple months - starting in a month or so.
If you are going to take my opinion, I would say Efficient refrigerators for living off the grid using solar panels for your house should be the most efficient in almost every aspect, lowest energy consumption and delivering the best performance. Super-efficient electric fridge and refrigerators are generally designed with 3 to 5 inches of insulation use only one third the energy of most standard units.
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
E-mail [email protected]
I can't figure this one out.
Another reason here why it is so valuable to see a power system graphically and easily understand what it is doing.
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
E-mail [email protected]
|| Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
|| VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A
solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,
For others it is just a matter of knowing your battery capacity. A typical 400ah 48 system can support most all refrigerators that you can buy these days. Best to keep them below 25 cu ft. for offgrid but I have folks that do more. The key is being able to recharge reasonably quickly and early in the day.
http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/
E-mail [email protected]