Like all buildings should have some kind of standard for solar panel placement added or retrofitted with a very low cost modular mounted frame. Then, when you get an appliance it has a built in battery and comes paired with the right size panels that are sized for each region in the local store/wholesale distribution layer.
The whole scheme is hybrid in the first phase of a decade or so while edge cases and issues come up, like how to handle high rise buildings. Then the burden of grid infrastructure is less of a burden on the poor in total because few people are going to replace all appliances in this instance unlike those that can install a whole house solar system. The entire thing would be more incremental and serviceable over time with modularity. It is less efficient overall compared to a single controller and battery but doesn’t require large upfront cost or repurchase later down the line.
Except batteries are heavy and expensive? Which appliances can feasibly be battery powered for a practical amount of time?
Refrigerators, microwaves, and LCD TVs come to mind.
A refrigerator uses 300 to 800 watts. That is 2-4kWh a day
Microwaves use 600-1000 watts. 6.1 kWh per month if used 15 minutes a day.
TVs use like 100 watts. 4.55kWh a month with 1.5 hrs of watch time a day.
All 3 are big enough to accommodate an appropriately sized battery to mitigate their draw. Having a decentralized battery mesh system coupled with solar main power does have some advantages, but I find it hard to say that it would be more advantageous than a centralized system due to cost and complexity.
A 3kWh battery is like >$1000? Wouldn’t this double the price of a fridge?
I think the idea is to have the battery as an accessory that you can add-on.
And the batteries wont last nearly as long as the fridge should. Do you just toss the whole thing when it starts defrosting every morning at 2am?
I think the idea is to have the battery with a passthrough, so the fridge draws from the battery and the battery charges from the solar/grid.
With modern battery monitoring the health of the battery could be monitored and warn the owner should there be an issue.
That works for a phone or a laptop when the manufacturer expects you to upgrade every few years. An average house might have dozens of different items, each with its own battery with different size, capacity and discharge needs. Its already hard to track down replacement batteries for older model phones and laptops, and its going to be ten times worse trying to find just the right battery for your specific model of printer or coffee machine years after its left production. Are appliances just supposed to be disposable now, or is it just a gimmick for the first couple of years you own something? In either case, it doesnt seem like the savings to the power grid could possibly justify the expense or the waste.
My (large) fridge hasn’t even pulled 1kWh today. Modern fridges are impressively efficient.
I’m steadily electrifying my life - and adding solar panels as I go.
Solar is already super modular and if you package the panels, then you rob the consumer of the ability to pick a panel that works for them (physical size for example, but where you live will also have a big impact on capacity requirements). Also, solar panels have a lifespan that exceeds most consumer appliances. I just replaced a ten year old stove but my solar panels have a 25 year warranty. The replacement cadence is very different.
I think the fridge power consumption I found is based on an empty fridge, so having one filled with food is more efficient.