Defy has launched a new solar off-grid fridge and freezer developed for the local market to address challenges related to load shedding.

Built at its Ladysmith factory in KwaZulu-Natal, these first-to-market appliances come with a smart control box, but customers need to purchase solar panels and a battery separately or connect it to their existing home solar system.

Defy

Defy says the solar off-grid range should run for up to three days through its smart control box and built-in power management system.

The fridge is not an internet of things device though, and cannot be paired with a smartphone app.

The company recommends a 550W panel for inland areas and a 700W panel for coastal regions, paired with a 200Ah battery.

The off-grid fridge will retail for R9 999 and the freezer for R8 999, according to Defy SA. It has partnered with Nedbank to offer a deal with solar panels and a battery paid for per month, valued at roughly R27 000.

Speaking at the Johannesburg launch, Defy CEO Mustafa Soylu said its products would prevent unnecessary food spoilage caused during blackouts.

Finding an alternative or a supplement to the national power grid is not only essential to working towards a solution to South Africa’s energy crisis but also a vital part of contributing to more sustainable living and a better future. For the immediate future at least, solar power remains the most viable option. ~ Defy CEO Mustafa Soylu

Defy says 93% of South Africans have been forced to dispose of spoilt food as a result of load shedding, citing a recent study, Loadshedding Impact on Food Spoilage by Fanelesibonge Masinga and Thanyani Madzivhandila, published in December last year.

Also in attendance, Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel said Defy’s [R1.5-billion] investment, innovation and enhanced production capabilities were welcome, but there were other benefits.

Patel said: For consumers, it means food safety; the ability, even at times when there is inadequate power supply in smaller parts of the country, or even in the main cities during load shedding, to have reliable protection of the cold chain of your food from purchase to consumption.

Defy research and development manager for cooling construction Sameer Ramnarain tells City Press that it took two years from development to final product.

“The complex part of this product is the control card, which was something that had to be developed from scratch, specifically for our [South African] needs,” says Ramnarain. He says:

There are off-grid products out there, but ours is first to encompass the hybrid function along with the off-grid function.

The fridge has its own sensors and electronics within it, while the control box is paired directly to the fridge to make it highly energy efficient when compared with connecting to a generic invertor, explains Ramnarain.

The wattage fluctuates between 70W and 80W once cooled down to the desired temperature, and up to 120W at its peak, he adds.

With its R9 999 price point, Defy says the fridge was developed “with the intention to make it accessible to the masses who are suffering from power disruptions, as well as to people who want to save energy because of the ever-increasing price of electricity”.

“A fridge is the only appliance that is always on, highlighting the need for this technology, compared with all other appliances in the house.”

Defy’s off-grid solar products will be available within a week at retail stores such as Makro and Hirsch’s.

Originally published here.