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No Solar For You
#21
quote:
Originally posted by Cagary

My wife and I are off grid so we got the most efficient one we could find.


I am curious ... What fridge did you end up with brand? How many cubic feet? Is it the standard freezer on top? Any options like auto ice maker or water through the door?

Also, on the yellow tag, what is the yearly KW usage?

I dunno, I tried going on the web to figure out what fridge would be best, but, I just went to sears and HD and looked at all the standard freezer on top, 18 cu ft fridges. The one I found to be the best was a GE, the yellow tag consumption was around 356 kwh a year. So, we bought it....... and it's pretty much right on the money according to the kill-a-watt meter. Even tho, I upgraded the lighting and filled the empty spaces with beer and jugs of water. It runs just under 1Kwh a day. I am happy with that. It's not the side by side, but last I looked those were pulling around triple to what my fridge uses. Next fridge we get we are thinking of buying local, and going with cold stone. He says his will cut the power consumption in half about 500 watts daily.
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#22
quote:
Originally posted by ericlp

quote:
Originally posted by Cagary

My wife and I are off grid so we got the most efficient one we could find.


I am curious ... What fridge did you end up with brand? How many cubic feet? Is it the standard freezer on top? Any options like auto ice maker or water through the door?

Also, on the yellow tag, what is the yearly KW usage?



Its a stainless steel Samsung, freezer on the bottom, 4 door French Door, auto ice and water through the door. Don't remember the yearly KW usage, but the yellow tag said $87 a year. Its big, 26' or so inside, but very well insulated, hence the 3 tier CEE rating. It wasn't cheap, but if it is designed to cost about $7 a month to operate it, it was worth it. (Also the "happy wife thing" played a role in the choice.)

-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".
-Veritas odium parit”(Terence 195–159 BC))-"Truth begets hatred".
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#23
If power consumption is your biggest concern it's most efficient to use a freezer as a refrigerator by using a product like this: https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Temperatu...015E2UFGM/

http://mtbest.net/chest_fridge.html
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#24
Don't remember the yearly KW usage, but the yellow tag said $87 a year. Its big, 26' or so inside, but very well insulated, hence the 3 tier CEE rating.
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Take that amount, times FOUR and you will be about at the cost to operate here.
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#25
quote:
Originally posted by Kapoho Joe
Isn't it time to start seriously talking about large scale storage solutions for utilities? Or is the tech not there yet?

Hawaiian Electric is not going to build any more power plants. They are tending to do long term contracts with IPP (Independent Power Producers). However, they are looking at buying their own solar farms, utility solar power. They own a couple big solar farms. The whole solar panel power industry is in turmoil, massive bankruptcies going on with the loss of net-feed power subsidies. Hawaiian Electric tried to get 3 huge solar farms from Sun Edison, and they are on the verge of collapse. They were unable to deliver on the contract, so they have been canceled. Sun Edison value is down 90%.

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/arti...jects.html

*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*
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#26
"However, they are looking at buying their own solar farms, utility solar power. They own a couple big solar farms."

I don't understand. Why would a company buy solar farms they already own?
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#27
Seems like HELCO would be better served to invest in battery farms rather than solar farms. We the public can act as their solar farm, taking all the risks of things breaking, newer technology making older technology obsolete, etc. All HELCO would have to do is store all the power we generate during the day, and maintain the grid.
Leilani Estates, 2011 to Present
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#28
battery farms... like what happened to this one on Kauai?

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/19173...farm-blaze

Talk about a toxic mess...
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#29
Not exactly HELCO, but oh so ironic:

http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/news...on-closure

have helco be your generator ... They would just top off the batteries

I've been saying something like this for years. One of the engineering problems with power distribution/consumption is that the entire system must react instantly to demand. If that instantaneous demand were "buffered" with a small on-site battery bank, grid utilization becomes far easier to plan and manage.

string of the next size up, L16 batteries, is about $2500

Spend a little bit more and get Rolls "Surette" L16s, there's a dealer in Kona.
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#30
I've been through one "learner" set of golf cart batteries so far and am on my second apparently. I let this set go down until the inverter shut off while I have fiddled all weekend long installing my new charge controller and higher capacity inverter. No solar charging for 3 days, running off the generator. Boy that sun really contributes a lot without attracting attention to itself. Naybe after I kill this set I'll be ready to move up.
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