solarcalc_fyi
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# Posted: 4 Oct 2026 08:07am
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For cabins that keep a compressor fridge running between visits, have you measured the electricity used during an unoccupied day, separately from a normal occupied day? I am interested in the always-on loads that are easy to miss: inverter overhead, networking, controllers and the fridge itself.
One useful comparison would be a full 24-hour fridge reading at its AC plug versus the same period's total energy drawn from the battery. The difference is not automatically all inverter loss: other loads may be included, and a battery monitor that reports net charge/discharge can hide daytime consumption while solar is charging. The measurement boundary matters.
For a hypothetical example, an inverter drawing 20 W continuously with no load would use 0.48 kWh in 24 hours. That is only an illustration, not a specification for any product. It should not be added again if the battery-side measurement already includes it, nor assumed to remain an extra constant 20 W under every load. Search/standby modes may behave differently and may not work with every fridge.
If you have compared occupied and unoccupied days, what stayed powered, where was the energy measured, and what was the approximate cabin temperature? Did the difference change how you planned winter visits or cloudy-day reserves? No need to change wiring or switch off equipment that needs to stay on just to collect a reading.
Disclosure: I maintain a solar-planning website. I do not have my own cabin measurements to claim here; I am interested in understanding real operating conditions. This is not a product recommendation, and there are no sales links.
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