Well, I could use a bit more information, but I’m going to take my best shot at it anyway.

I assume the refrigerator draws 260 watts at 110–120V AC. This means that the refrigerator
is drawing approximately 2.3 amps at 110V AC. Most refrigerators will only draw that much
power when they are running, so let’s assume the compressor only runs 75% of the time. In
reality, it probably has more like a 50% duty cycle, based on load, exterior temperature, etc.
At 75%, this would mean that the refrigerator consumes about 200 watt/hours. Watts=Amps
x Volts. So, at 12 volts, 200 watt hours is 16 amp hours. So, to run the refrigerator for 5
hours, the minimum battery capacity needed is 16 x 5=80 Amp-Hours. However, you
probably need a little more than that to run the refrigerator. You will be running the
refrigerator with an inverter, which will not be 100% efficient. In fact, it may only be about
80% efficient. So you need an extra 20% battery capacity to account for losses in the energy
conversion from 12V DC to 110V AC. That means you actually need a 96 Amp-Hour
Battery. But wait! We’re not done yet. What type of batter you use will dictate how much
extra capacity you need. On a standard lead-acid battery, you should not discharge the battery
to more than 50% capacity, or you can damage it. So, now you need 192 Amp-Hours to
safely run the refrigerator for 5 hours. Using an AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) deep cycle
battery, you can safely discharge the battery down to 20%, so you would only need a 115
Amp-Hour AGM battery.

Now, on to the inverter requirement. You may think that simply getting a 260 watt inverter
would be sufficient to run the refrigerator, but again, it’s not quite that simple. a refrigerator
uses a compressor, which contains a motor and impeller. The motor will require far more
than 260 watts on startup. At a minimum, I would plan on a 750 watt continuous power rating
inverter. You will also want to find a power inverter that produces pure sine wave power.
This is a “cleaner” form of AC power than the cheaper modified sine wave inverters, which
can actually harm electronics such as motors and compressors. In short, look for a 750 watt
CONTINUOUS pure sine wave inverter. Be careful of very high power ratings, as they may
be indicating surge power, not continuous power.

Finally, on to the solar panel predicament. As we already learned, worst case, your
refrigerator probably draws about 200 watts of power per hour. So, if the refrigerator is being
used while the solar panel is producing power, then a 200 watt solar panel would allow for
minimal discharge on the battery. Remember, however, that a solar panel will not produce its
rated output most of the time, even in fairly direct sunlight. Therefore, another 20–50% safety
margin would likely be wise, meaning a 300 Watt Solar Panel would be necessary. If you’re
looking to run the refrigerator for five hours at night, with solar power recharging the battery
during the day, then you need to have a solar panel that can fully recharge your battery while
simultaneously powering the refrigerator, assuming the refrigerator will not only be running
at night. A general rule of thumb states that a solar panel will produce about four times its
rated output in one day. So, a 300 Watt Solar Panel will produce about 1200 watt hours (1.2
kilowatt-hours) of power in one day, assuming it’s not terribly cloudy that day. The
refrigerator will consume, at a 75% duty cycle, approximately 4800 watt-hours, or 4.8
kilowatt-hours, in one 24-hour day. Therefore, we either need some very large solar panels,
or a larger battery bank, or possibly even both. Ideally, we would want at least 1200 watts of
solar panels so that we could fully compensate for the drain on the battery. 1200 watts of
solar will require a very large surface area, however, and could get cost prohibitive.
I wish there was an easier or shorter answer to your question, but without a little more
information this was the best I could do. Sorry if I’ve confused you! If you let me know more
specifics, I can certainly give you a better answer!
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Sava Teodor

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IT Manager (2009–present)4y