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Comment on Solar should be packaged with consumer appliances

Death_Equity@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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CookieOfFortune@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
A 3kWh battery is like >$1000? Wouldn’t this double the price of a fridge?

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- Death_Equity@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I think the idea is to have the battery as an accessory that you can add-on.
  
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- jrs100000@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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?
  
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  - Death_Equity@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.
    
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    jrs100000@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
    That works for a phone or a laptop when the manufacturer expects you to upgrade every few years. An average house might have dozens of different items, each with its own battery with different size, capacity and discharge needs. Its already hard to track down replacement batteries for older model phones and laptops, and its going to be ten times worse trying to find just the right battery for your specific model of printer or coffee machine years after its left production. Are appliances just supposed to be disposable now, or is it just a gimmick for the first couple of years you own something? In either case, it doesnt seem like the savings to the power grid could possibly justify the expense or the waste.
    
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potate@lemmy.ca ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ 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.

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- Death_Equity@lemmy.world ⁨5⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago
  I think the fridge power consumption I found is based on an empty fridge, so having one filled with food is more efficient.
  
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