Low energy fridges

Submitted by evets on 22 November, 2006 - 03:42.

0.1 KwH/Day !!

Buy a chest freezer and use a fridge or other thermostat to set the inside temp to 4° rather than -20.

The efficient insulation, high quality compressor and the fact the cold air doesn't fall out when you open the door means it only runs a few minutes a day.

Think how many Tona's you can get in one !!

One of those stupidly obvious ideas we need more of.

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Ideas, new and old for energy savings.

Submitted by toms on 22 November, 2006 - 08:54.

Mr. evetskoolman

Started this, what should be IMHO a topic for all of us inhabitants of the planet earth (This includes Nicaragua)

Not just to discuss and sit back and do nothing, but ideas and solutions within reach of most all of us.

Some take a little more effort than others, and it depends on ones motivation whether or not these ideas shared are actually put to good use.

I really trust that some will, and inevitably some people will benefit from our effort.

I have personally took a step back in time and returned to the use of a one cylinder motorcycle for most of my getting about, which is fine when the weather permits. (I just have to keep it in my mind, all the other vehicles on the road want to kill me) DEFENSIVE DRIVING?

HHBob and others, struck up this topic a while back on NicaLiving, and from there I made my decision.

I travel an average of 380 kilometers for 125 cordobas in a week where before, just me and my brain (what little is left of it) in a midsized pickup truck burned about 1500 cordobas for the week.

I don’t keep up with the gallons or letros of fuel but I keep up with the money….

Here is the information I promised on the new chest type refrigerator to freezer that Miskito Alan and Mari bought.

The unit was purchased at Gallo mas Gallo here in Puerto Cabezas .

It is manufactured by Whirlpool in Brazil using the latest Western ingenuity

A brief description would be….

Model S-03-XEH15COXGW

This unit has approx 50mm of closed cell polyurathane insulation with a thermostat control from about 10+ to –20 degrees C.

Making and educated guess this unit has to consume less energy, than that of an upright Fridaire.

If nothing else but for the lids being on the top. BTW it has two top doors on it reducing the unwanted heat load even further.

Lyin' Farmer John Wayne

I like my new name

Submitted by evets on 22 November, 2006 - 09:39.

Thanks for the fridge info.

Lets see if Phil wants knock us up an 'Alternative Energy' sub topic. If you're listening Phil I'd be happy to sort through old posts and try to categorise those that fitted this topic.

There are all sorts of things we can do as a team - from bulk buying magnets and blades for wind turbines, LED lamps etc to finding Nicas capable of winding coils, machining bearings etc. I can get parts machined and or laser/water jet cut but the cost of getting them over plus possible customs hassle means sourcing in Nica might be best.

If we stick to a rigid structure of postings (like electricity generation/storage/usage; air con; water storage/pumping etc) then all folk will need to do is pick the relevant sub topic and read it if they can't get an answer from the search engine.

BTW, re your motor bike - why do none of you guys use a horse ? Good 4WD performance, very low petrol consumption and takes you home when totally p*ss*d (you, not the horse, but that's another story)

Book Page

Submitted by fyl on 22 November, 2006 - 15:56.

There is an Alternative Energy set of book pages at http://www.nicaliving.com/node/940. It is either in the HowTo or FAQ hierarchy. If you/someone wants to manage any or all of these pages let me know and I will turn you into the owner.

The reason it was done as book pages rather than a forum was to attempt to produce high signal to noise ratio posts. They still have open comments but the idea is that the main page is managed by someone.

Better yet

Submitted by Huehuete Bob on 22 November, 2006 - 15:06.

When one of us is going to be in the U.S. he or she can order for the rest of us, maybe buy on ebay to pay no sales tax and either ship or bring the parts here. Any one know if there is an import duty exemption for alternative energy equipment here?

Canta no LLores

Yes

Submitted by no longer registered on 22 November, 2006 - 15:50.

If done under the tourism law (common name: Law 306):

  • Qualified tourism projects can receive the following tax benefits under Law #306, the Tourism Investment Incentive Law:
  • 80% to 90% income tax (IR) exemption
  • Property tax exemption for 10 years (IBI)
  • Import tax and value-added tax exemption on the purchase of accessories, furniture, or equipment.
  • Tax exemptions related to project implementation:
  • Value-added tax on design/engineering and construction services
  • Exoneration of import duties and taxes and of the General Value Tax (I.G.V.) for the local purchase of construction materials and fixed building accessories.
  • Tax incentives can be extended if project undergoes extensive expansions
  • Over 300 projects have been approved to benefit from this law since 1999.

That's the executive summary. There are some base investment amounts that come into play among many other details. But it can definitely be done...

edit: add link to Law 306 (in English BTW). This is not the current document as I recall but can't find the link to same!

Padre

Submitted by Giacomo Fiorino on 22 November, 2006 - 16:17.

I had a read trough the link and noticed that business of the service of the hotel industry, food, drinks amongs other services can qualify for this benefits. So if I open a small caffetteria, can I qualify for law 306 in your opinioon?

And if so, the first step will it be opening the business or make an application before anything else.

NICALIBRE Jacko

What I kinda know...

Submitted by no longer registered on 22 November, 2006 - 16:36.

While I might know a bit about the subject, and will gladly share with you what I know, you should also know that INTUR has specialists who deal with this very subject each and every day. From them you can get up-to-the-minute info right from the folks who know. Just expect 3 different answers ;~)

Food and beverage establishments are definitely targets of the incentive package. There are some base limits (number of seats, total overall investment, jobs created, Nica cuisine, what city/department, etc.) that I do not remember and simply cannot find. IIRC there were some changes to the good meaning the overall $$$ investments had gone down somewhat. Those gains seemed to be offset by a tightening which goods could be imported duty-free. F & B ain't my thang as we say in slang -- so I just scanned the info.

So, first stop INTUR -- none of the incentives are retroactive but for the "smaller projects", the good news is that the approval process is in some few weeks and is relatively painless rather than other projects say, oh, a certain project on a certain river where there are cultural and environmental issues.

And lastly, there are experts here to walk you through the process -- good people who know their way through some of the "no you needed to bring x # of copies of that so now I cannot accept it!" ;~) They do charge a fee for correctly counting copies.

That's very good info

Submitted by Giacomo Fiorino on 22 November, 2006 - 17:12.

Thank you for sharing that with me, you are a very helpful guy (Many NL members are). I hope on day I will be able to repay you for the great help.

grazie e ciao

NICALIBRE Jacko

Next thing I know

Submitted by Former NL Member on 22 November, 2006 - 07:01.

You'll be building my idea for a reverse microwave oven. Pour water in an ice cube tray, pop it in the "oven" for 30 seconds, and voila - ice.

For that to work

Submitted by evets on 22 November, 2006 - 07:29.

the microwave would have to generate electricity while making the ice - nice idea but www.homepower.com/files/solarice.pdf

actually does work.

Now you are flirting with my frugal Scottish nature

Submitted by RichMcClure on 22 November, 2006 - 05:33.

Sensible thinking.

My bride will never buy into it here in Florida but in our home were planning in Remanso this idea will blend. I looked at my chest freezer, no visible thermostat, there might be one within the panel, if not certainly wouldn't be hard to adapt a fridge thermostat. When I buy my appliances in Managua I will look for a chest freezer with a thermostat if none I will install one. Thanks

Traditional fridges (refrigerators) are opened and closed constantly, the cold dense air that falls out does not compensate for the enormous amount of heat generated by the compressor, which requires the air-conditioning system compressor to compensate to maintain the balance, which is more electrical consumption not to mention the wear, tear, and repair of the compressors.

Keep thinking were listening!

RichMcClure

Thermostats

Submitted by evets on 22 November, 2006 - 05:45.

are available on EBay or

http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_104576/article.html

If you're using solar power then the easiest is the old fashioned mechanical thermostat which doesn't consume any power so doesn't keep the inverter going.

There is a thermostat in your deep freeze but they are almost impossible to adapt to running at 4° - I've tried !

For Christmas last year

Submitted by toms on 22 November, 2006 - 05:41.

Miskito Alan and Mari bought one that has that feature built into it from Gallo mas Gallo.

For the life of me I cannot remember the brand and model but if any one wants it I can easily get it..

Really it is the nicesest thing for her sandwich shop...

Always in and out and NO MORE sodas and beer bursting from freezing.

Lyin' Farmer John Wayne

That's interesting

Submitted by evets on 22 November, 2006 - 05:47.

I had no idea they were commercially available - please would you get the make next time you're able to ?

The other point I didn't mention is immunity from power cuts because of the heap strong insulation.