How Many Solar Panels are Needed for TV and Refrigerator?

There's nothing better than watching TV with a cold drink from the fridge in hand, and with solar energy, you can do just that. But how many solar panels do you need to run a TV and a refrigerator at the same time? No doubt it's possible, but how many panels do you need? Do you need batteries?

A 110V fridge and TV requires at least 500 watt solar panels and 200ah batteries. But a 120 watt solar panel can run a 12V refrigerator and a 50 inch LED TV for 2 to 3 hours.

How To Calculate Solar Panel Needs:

TVs have no problem with solar panels. Even a 50 inch TV is only 100 watts, and most RV TVs are smaller than that. The refrigerators here are more powerful, but you have other options as well. The one that uses a lot of solar energy is the refrigerator.

A standard 17 cubic centimeters. ft refrigerator needs 150 to 200 watts, but it needs 1000 to 1500 watts to start. An energy efficient model may require 1200 watts or less at its peak surge.

Running a 110V refrigerator on solar panels alone is unrealistic and consumes too much energy. 12V refrigerators are more ideal. To know how many solar panels you need, add up the total wattage of your TV and refrigerator. If your TV is 80 watts and your 12V refrigerator is 20 watts.

You'll need a 120 watt solar panel to run both appliances. You can use the refrigerator and TV for about 5 hours, depending on the sun exposure in your area. You could theoretically use a 100W PV module, but solar panels are rated based on peak output and the system doesn't produce 100W all the time. A 100 watt solar panel can only produce 80-90 watts per hour, which is far from enough. A 120 watt module will give you 100 watts, which is exactly what you need. The larger the solar panel, the longer the appliance will last.

Without a doubt, there is no single answer to the question of how many solar panels you need. TVs and refrigerators come in different sizes, so naturally their demands on electricity also vary. Pairing a small TV with a refrigerator will consume less solar power, but even a large TV and kitchen refrigerator can run at the same time if set up properly.