Hi all,

My wife and I bought ten acres of land in Bleecker and will begin building a small, energy efficient off grid home this spring.  Our source of electricity will be a PV solar array.  Going through the calculations, I need to find a way to reduce our Kwh usage from an estimated 48 Kwh a day (and 72 solar panels!) to something more reasonable.

One of the biggest culprits is the refrigerator at 300 watts.  My wife wants frost free, nothing smaller than 10 cubic feet.  I know.  Any suggestions, anyone?  We’ll also be looking for an energy efficient washing machine and other appliances.

Another energy hog is the furnace blower motor.  Although our primary heat source will be wood, we plan on propane as a backup.  Any ideas there?

Thanks, in advance, for any help.