08-20-2020, 06:01 PM
"maybe I can get by with an ice chest for a few days?"
Another thing off gridders do is freeze a container of ice in their solar powered deep freeze during the day and put in in their freezer-converted-to-refrigerator at night. It takes extra effort having to move the ice bucket twice a day but it negates the need for extra batteries. You can store power chemically (in batteries) but you can also store it thermally. There are commercial buildings constructed with giant freezers in the basements that super-cool an anti freeze solution during the night when their electrical rates are lower and the office air conditioning is turned way down and use the antifreeze in their HVAC systems during the day when electricity rates peak.
Another thing off gridders do is freeze a container of ice in their solar powered deep freeze during the day and put in in their freezer-converted-to-refrigerator at night. It takes extra effort having to move the ice bucket twice a day but it negates the need for extra batteries. You can store power chemically (in batteries) but you can also store it thermally. There are commercial buildings constructed with giant freezers in the basements that super-cool an anti freeze solution during the night when their electrical rates are lower and the office air conditioning is turned way down and use the antifreeze in their HVAC systems during the day when electricity rates peak.