Using Alternate Energy Generation; Product Facts; Using A Battery Driven Inverter Supply - Fisher & Paykel RB90S64MKIW Service Manual

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4

USING ALTERNATE ENERGY GENERATION

One of the big benefits of the Inverter drive motor technology found in CoolDrawer is that the motor is very
efficient in its energy usage. If running a CoolDrawer from alternate energy sources is being considered, the
following is a brief collection of facts and field observations to assist in making any decisions.
4.1

Product Facts

Average Power Usage.
When used in freezer mode 330kwh/year.
Peak Power Usage.
Peak power is controlled to less than 200W.
Motor Starting Surge.
The CoolDrawer brushless DC motor is electronically controlled. One of the big benefits of this type of
technology is that there is no power or current surge when the motor starts.
progressively via the electronics.
Operating Voltage.
The CoolDrawer is guaranteed to operate on an AC sinusoidal voltage source of 230V rms +/- 15% at 50Hz
+/- 5%.
4.2

Using A Battery Driven Inverter Supply

There are many different brands and models of inverters available in the market today and often their output
voltage waveform is modified or non-sinusoidal. We sent an enquiry to an inverter manufacturer about
whether an inverter output had to comply with any regulatory standards or guidelines. The reply read:
"There are no guidelines that modified sine wave inverters are required to follow as pertains to the
amplitude, quality or shape of the output waveform. The only regulatory guidelines we choose to follow are
safety guidelines."
As such we cannot guarantee the operation of a CoolDrawer running from an inverter supply if it does not
comply with our Operating Voltage requirements listed above.
Are there existing customers who are successfully running a CoolDrawer from an inverter supply? - Yes!
There are many installations where these types of refrigerators are successfully operating on an inverter
supply. In our experience, if an inverter meets the following technical criteria, then operation and reliability
should not be an issue:
• RMS Voltage:
• Frequency:
• Peak Voltage:
Some inverters have an rms voltage inside specification, but do so by having short duration high voltage
pulses. Some of these voltage pulses can be above 400V, which is higher than the rating of the controls. If
the controls are continuously exposed to these high voltages, it may lead to premature failure of the
electronics and/or the Inverter electronics.
Power Rating.
• 1kVA (1,000VA) minimum.
While the CoolDrawer only requires 200W peak power, the VA requirement is higher.
installations have a rating of 1kVA min.
Some brands of inverters have an "Idle/Sleep" mode. (This puts the inverter in to idle/sleep mode when no
load is being applied). As the CoolDrawer uses less than 2 watts in the off cycle, these type of inverters
need to have the inverter "idle mode" turned off or disabled, as the electronics in the CoolDrawer will be
powered off in the off cycle.
230V +/- 15%
50 Hz +/- 5%
400V peak
20
Power is ramped up
Successful