Solar Requirements for Fridges

Portable Camping Fridges

Portable camping fridges of the 40 litre variety from manufacturers such as Waeco, Evacool, etc. require a minimum 80 Watts of power to run effectively over a wide range of latitudes. The recommended purchase for any camping fridge is as follows:

Solar Panels:
2 x 56 Watt solar panels
1 x 81 Watt 3 way folding panel
1 x 112 Watt 2 way folding panel
1 x Plasmatronics 10 Amp Solar Regulator
1 x 100 Ah Deep Cycle Battery

Motor home fridges

When going bush, the fridge plays a central part in the duration and comfort of the adventure. A common mistake made by motor home builders is to purchase a standard fridge from an electrical store and expect it to be run off solar. Although these fridges are cheaper than a DC fridge their power consumption for the size can be up to 3 times greater than a DC fridge. The additional cost in solar panels therefore far outweighs the extra cost of the fridge. Max-E-Sun are agents for the Conergy range of DC fridges. These can be seen at www.conergy.com.au

Once you have decided what fridge to buy, the battery size and solar panel sizes can be calculated using our solar calculator.