How to use this list
Every off-grid design starts from one number: watt-hours per day. Tick the appliances you actually plan to run, set realistic hours, and carry the total into the battery and solar calculators. Guessing at this step propagates through every downstream decision, which is why load lists are worth building carefully.
The wattages here are typical figures for efficient modern appliances. Where you can, check the label on your own equipment: an old chest freezer and a new one can differ by a factor of three.
Duty cycle matters more than nameplate
Refrigerators and freezers do not run continuously. A fridge rated 100 W typically operates around a third of the time, so its real consumption is closer to 800 Wh per day than 2,400. The hours field in this list is where you express that: enter effective run hours, not hours the appliance is plugged in. Water pumps behave the same way, running in short bursts on demand.
Conversely, anything with a standby light or a transformer draws power around the clock. A handful of phantom loads at 5 W each add up to a meaningful slice of a small system, which is why off-grid installs favor switched outlets on entertainment and network gear.
The heat rule
Making heat with electricity is the most expensive thing you can do off-grid. A kettle, toaster, hair dryer, electric heater or induction hob draws 1,000 to 2,000 W, and even brief use dwarfs everything else in the budget. Off-grid homes handle heat with propane, wood, or solar thermal, and reserve electricity for the jobs only electricity can do. If your load list is dominated by heating appliances, the cheapest fix is not more panels; it is moving those loads to another fuel.
Common mistakes
- Listing nameplate watts as continuous draw. Compressors and pumps cycle. Use effective run hours.
- Forgetting phantom loads. Routers, modems, inverter idle draw and standby lights run 24 hours and often total 200 to 500 Wh per day on their own.
- Sizing to a perfect day. Add 10 to 20% margin for the loads you forgot and the ones you will add later. Every system grows.
- Ignoring inverter losses. AC loads pay a conversion tax of roughly 10%. Where a DC version exists (lighting, fans, some fridges), running it directly from the battery avoids that loss entirely.
Frequently asked questions
How many watt-hours does a typical cabin use?
A minimal weekend cabin with lights, phone charging and a small fridge often lands between 500 and 1,500 Wh per day. A full-time off-grid home with a proper fridge, water pump, laptops and entertainment usually falls between 2,000 and 6,000 Wh. Homes running electric heat or air conditioning are in an entirely different bracket, often above 15,000 Wh.
Should I measure instead of estimating?
If you have grid power now, yes. A plug-in energy meter left on each appliance for a few days gives real watt-hours including duty cycle, and it routinely surprises people. Estimating is fine for planning; measuring is better before spending money on panels and batteries.
Does a bigger battery let me ignore the load list?
No. Storage only shifts energy in time; it does not create it. If daily consumption exceeds daily solar harvest, no bank size prevents the system from slowly emptying. Loads and generation have to balance first, then storage covers the gaps between them.