Comment on Solar should be packaged with consumer appliances
CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Except batteries are heavy and expensive? Which appliances can feasibly be battery powered for a practical amount of time?
Comment on Solar should be packaged with consumer appliances
CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Except batteries are heavy and expensive? Which appliances can feasibly be battery powered for a practical amount of time?
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 3 months ago
Refrigerators, microwaves, and LCD TVs come to mind.
A refrigerator uses 300 to 800 watts. That is 2-4kWh a day
Microwaves use 600-1000 watts. 6.1 kWh per month if used 15 minutes a day.
TVs use like 100 watts. 4.55kWh a month with 1.5 hrs of watch time a day.
All 3 are big enough to accommodate an appropriately sized battery to mitigate their draw. Having a decentralized battery mesh system coupled with solar main power does have some advantages, but I find it hard to say that it would be more advantageous than a centralized system due to cost and complexity.
CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world 3 months ago
A 3kWh battery is like >$1000? Wouldn’t this double the price of a fridge?
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I think the idea is to have the battery as an accessory that you can add-on.
jrs100000@lemmy.world 3 months ago
And the batteries wont last nearly as long as the fridge should. Do you just toss the whole thing when it starts defrosting every morning at 2am?
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I think the idea is to have the battery with a passthrough, so the fridge draws from the battery and the battery charges from the solar/grid.
With modern battery monitoring the health of the battery could be monitored and warn the owner should there be an issue.
potate@lemmy.ca 3 months ago
My (large) fridge hasn’t even pulled 1kWh today. Modern fridges are impressively efficient.
I’m steadily electrifying my life - and adding solar panels as I go.
Solar is already super modular and if you package the panels, then you rob the consumer of the ability to pick a panel that works for them (physical size for example, but where you live will also have a big impact on capacity requirements). Also, solar panels have a lifespan that exceeds most consumer appliances. I just replaced a ten year old stove but my solar panels have a 25 year warranty. The replacement cadence is very different.
Death_Equity@lemmy.world 3 months ago
I think the fridge power consumption I found is based on an empty fridge, so having one filled with food is more efficient.