The Arrival of the SunFrost RF-16


SunFrost Animated GIFWhy did we buy a SunFrost? It costs up to three times more than a conventional refrigerator and you have to wait many weeks for it to be manufactured and shipped.

The answer is in the amount of energy required to run a refrigerator. The Whirlpool unit we had was advertised to consume 800 kw/hrs per year. This translated to 16% of my annual array output. Identical SunFrosts in our area were using no more than 240 kw/hrs per year. This would mean that my electrical consumption for refrigeration would be reduced to 5% of the array's annual output, returning 560 kw/hrs for us to use in other ways.

It was a snowy day when Peter Talmage, of Talmage Engineering, backed his pickup toward our garage with our SunFrost RF-16. It was in two pieces, the refrigerator-freezer and the base drawer unit. The refrig-freezer weighed in at around 300 pounds.

Once it was in the kitchen, a platform of various sized planks was constructed to raise it slightly above the base unit's height (Peter tilted it back and forth as I place the wood underneath). It then easily slid onto the base unit.

Top viewThe secret to the efficiency of the unit is its extra heavy insulation and the placement of the compressors on the top of the unit. In the case of the SunFrost, any rising heat escapes into the air, not in and around the cooling compartments. It also has two compressors, one for the refrigerator and the other for the freezer.

I'll keep you advised about food quality issues...SunFrost recommends that items be stored only in paper bags so that the air and humidity can keep them fresher, longer.