Refrigerator and Inverter

Newbie's Corner
1

Hi Everybody,
I’m Becky. I just bought a built out camper van! So excited to start adventuring! I am struggling with what I think are probably pretty basic questions but Google hasn’t been much help.

I have a dorm sized residential fridge, 1000w inverter and 4 100 solar watt panels. For now, I am only going to be a weekend camper, maybe twice a month if that. 1) Do I leave fridge and inverter on all the time? Or turn off in between trips? 2) Should the “load” option on the solar controller be on or off (or automatic)? 3) It was like 98 degrees in Georgia today and my fridge felt pretty hot to the touch. Also seemed to be draining battery more than usual. I got scared and turned everything off. Tips for hot Georgia summers?

Thanks so much and I look forward to learning more about Van life!
Becky

2

Greetings & Welcome!

Did it come with the fridge, inverter, & solar panels, or are you adding them?

Inverters use power, whether they’re actually in use or not. For a dorm fridge to be energy efficient, you should use a separate inverter just large enough to support the fridge alone, and hook it up using a realy connected to a temperature probe, to turn on the inverter only when needed.

Your larger inverter should be turned off when not in use.

Cheers!

"If you fail to plan, you better plan to fail." ~ Marine Sergeant


1 Like