Maximize Your Off Grid Energy Management - Dramatic Results!

[@Peacebewithyou222]

Excellent video, a real eye opener on energy consumption use and efficiency. Ty

[@Jon-ie8kk]

You make the BEST solar content. These experiments put your viewers in an elite class, for understanding off grid energy management.

[@sh839c]

Excellent presentation

[@jayh9504]

I love how you collected the data and compared the results! The constant load vs intermittent load makes battery storage sensible!

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks!

[@jasonbroom7147]

Very interesting and well-executed experiment. Heating and cooling of "things", including air, water and people, consumes a lot of energy. Most folks really have no concept of just how much energy is used to accomplish that heating and cooling, but it's a large percentage of overall household energy usage. Renewable sources help a lot, including biomass options like firewood. I would be very interested to see how well the propane worked to run a refrigerator designed to run from propane. It would also be interesting to see how efficient a DC-powered fridge runs compared to an AC fridge, since you could avoid multiple conversion losses.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

The problem is, I don't have a DC fridge, an AC fridge, and a propane fridge that are the same except for how they are powered. Otherwise, it's not a valid comparison.

[@jasonbroom7147]

@@ProjectsWithDave - Suffice to say that the propane fridge and DC fridge would be more energy efficient than using the propane to create DC through the inverter generator to power the AC fridge?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

The DC fridge should be more efficient than the AC solution. I couldn't say for the propane version. I don't know how efficient those are. There is a lot of waste heat, so probably not very efficient.

[@jasonbroom7147]

@@ProjectsWithDave - From limited research, the propane fridges cost more but are cheaper to operate and last a long time. They have limitations but work well in many common situations. It seems to me that having your own panels, making "too much" electricity, and running one or more DC fridges, is the way to go. Really like the content! :)

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Very interesting! Thank you

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Glad you valued it!

[@keithcress1335]

Since the scheme is to just run the refer it would be more likely the person trying to eek out the maximum would actually monitor their refer and shut the generator off when the refer is not running. Your plug in power monitor can show the on/off times. 30 minutes of generator time running the refer compared with the refer duty cycle should show the 'generator only' to be a big winner.

[@richardmarkham8369]

That electric start generator is cool! It needs a bank of super caps inside to deal with low current demand and then it can start itself up when it needs to !

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Hmmm... that's a great idea for a super efficient generator solution. It would be expensive though. It would need a stronger starter motor and high current batteries or supper capacitors.

[@NeverTakeNoCut-offs]

I like your videos. Great presentation style and pacing.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@JeremyHanks]

Love this analysis!

[@jimbob3030]

This is why I use a 12v diesel heater and propane stove in my solar off grid setup. One 20lb tank of propane last a surprisingly long time just cooking with flame directly.

[@randybobandy9828]

When charging a battery with a generator it's best to run the generator at 80%-100% of its max load. That means you would need a 3000w dc charger for that specific generator to get the best efficiency out of burning that propane. The difference between running it at 3200w vs 800w will be up to 40% more efficiency. Try this test again with a dc charger that matches your generators output next time. You will get a much higher efficiency than 9.3%

[@ProjectsWithDave]

At higher loads it was slightly more efficient, but only 1.5% better. I'll do some more runs to see how much I can improve it.

[@tunamaniak]

Exciting test. I am interested.

[@dankelley9361]

Love your experimentation on energy efficiencies! Eye opening & thought provoking.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RobertsMind]

This is an amazing video. I am working on engineering out off grid setup so this is definitly good to know for the design process. Keep up the great work.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Glad it was helpful!

[@zeteclover]

Incredible video and impeccable methodology. Thanks for the great content as always, Dave!

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Glad you liked it!

[@Zikdad]

Great job!

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks!

[@tweedeldee8122]

You make amazingly good content Dave! Thank you so much!

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks for the encouragement!

[@aappiah1]

Very helpful information. Thank you

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Glad it was helpful!

[@offgridwanabe]

Of course in every day life we got the battery charged for nothing and had to buy the propane, but this is the emergency mode so thanks for sharing.

[@tetelestai1919]

This was great information. I am just getting into solar and inverters. I have an on-demand propane hot water heater, propane fireplace, and propane stove. I also have a propane generator for emergency backup. Even when I have solar and batteries, I am going to continue to keep my propane heating appliances. I am looking forward to the batteries being used for the electrical appliances like well pump, refrigerator, freezers, and lights. I know that direct flame is the most efficient way to generate heat for those appliances. I am looking forward to adding the batteries and inverter to maximize generator efficiency. During a recent extended storm-caused power outage, I had neighbors with a Generac whole house propane backup generator and 300 lbs of propane. That generator burned through all that propane in just 5 days. The outage lasted 10 days. They were completely screwed because propane deliveries were not possible because of storm damage. Meanwhile, I was manually turning my little 8kw generator on and off to keep the appliances running as necessary. I went through less than 80 lbs in the whole storm because I was using propane heating appliances and manually cycling the generator for the electrical appliances. I know that if I have batteries and an inverter, I can probably double that. Thanks for this test to prove what my research said without actually doing the tests myself.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Your situation is exactly what I was trying to demonstrate with this analysis. Running generators constantly can be very inefficient, and having multiple sources for power greatly increases your options.

[@bluebear57]

that was interesting! I had thought all the conversion inefficiencies would lose, but the generator lost! I forgot it needs to run all the time.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks! That's why I like to run actual tests, sometimes I don't get what appears to be the obvious answer.

[@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303]

Good experiments! But we also need to know the losses from charging the battery and than getting the power out of the batteries. The battery will not give you back the same amount of power you put into it. I am guessing there is a 20% loss, depending on how fast or how slow you charge them.

[@richardmccombs617]

This was a great test Dave. It's something I didn't really think about. For best backup power system I should have a battery bank and charge that with a generator. Generator would not need to be as powerful as full house draw with everything on at once. It could be much smaller keeping the fuel storage much less. Yes I know that there would be a point that I would run out but that is the same as looking for a fuel station in a power outage, they can't pump the fuel. I need to run some numbers and see how long my 1500 watts from my Prime if used to charge batteries would last or keep up. Thanks

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Exactly! There is no need to buy a giant generator if you are using batteries to manage the larger intermittent loads.

[@joemontana4370]

@@ProjectsWithDave And it seems like it wouldn't need to be an inverter generator. Would you be able to test if a conventional generator can feed the Victron?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Sorry the answer took so long, I ran a test back-to-back for you. Yes, a conventional generator works fine. The inverter generator was able to provide about 10% more energy to the batteries with the same amount of fuel. However, I only ran the test once, so I don't know the margin of error.

[@joemontana4370]

@@ProjectsWithDave Hey Dave - no problem - you don't owe me an answer lol! Thanks so much for doing this! A followup question if I may - your power flow chart in the video shows the power going from the inverter generator ->victron charger->battery->victron inverter->fridge, but is that accurate? I wonder if the power flow when the fridge is drawing power is inverter generator-> victron bypass->fridge with the excess power the fridge isn't using is victron charger-> battery. If this were true then the fridge would be getting "dirty power" from the conventional generator rather than the pure sine wave power from the Victron. I'm just north of you in Ontario, and I'm thinking of doing something similar as you with a ground mount array and an inverter feeding a critical loads panel. I'm just concerned my current conventional generator would need to be replaced with an inverter generator as I don't "trust" the power quality coming out of it to feed my expensive loads like my furnace. I'm thinking I could get a separate battery charger fed by the generator to charge the batteries, and let the Victron feed the critical loads panel from the battery. Or it may be cheaper to get a quality inverter generator lol. Thoughts?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

In my test, I charged the batteries and then ran the fridge. There was no passthrough power. It's funny you should ask me about that, right after I finished the test for you, I thought to myself, "I should have checked the sine wave while it was running." A brief search says it passes through the power it receives as long as it meets certain parameters, so you may want a separate charge controller to eliminate that risk. However, I didn't check it myself.

[@waltb4415]

Terrific. Now to apply it to a home solar setup, is this true? * Use solar power to charge batteries for home electricity * Use solar to heat water directly, instead of an electric hot-water heater

[@kajavaid]

What a great video.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thank you!

[@curious-homebody]

thank you for this video. i am curious in using a tri-fuel generator to charge the battery banks using natural gas. i think this may come in handy on days solar doesn't cut it and grid power is down.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I don't have a try-fuel generator to run that test, however, natural gas in most cases is likely much cheaper than propane.

[@chuck5558]

I have a small 1600 watt gasoline powered generator that I plan to use for emergency backup for my furnace and refrigerator. I've measured my furnace electrical energy use at approx. 500 watts when running and the refrigerator at 350 watts when running. My plan is to run the generator intermittently and shut it off for periods of time and let the furnace and fridge "coast" for a while so I don't use so much fuel running a generator that is not actually generating power. In the future I may add battery backup storage and a battery charger to try this method used in your video.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

As you can see from the results in this video, your proposed method will save a considerable amount of fuel. A lot of effort and inconvenience, but cheaper than batteries and can get you by in an emergency.

[@BuzzKill67]

Love the math.... what if you ran the fridge direct off the generator and also charged the batteries to an extent that the generator would stay in eco mode?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

That would work. It would still be making full use of the available power.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Get $50 off the MaxPeedingRods MXR3500S Dual Fuel Inverter Generator used in this video with this link and the code "Everyday" : bit.ly/40eKkw2 Find More information for this project and others, visit my new website: projectswithdave.com

[@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303]

No, you have to stop the generator when the fridge is not running. You just take the signal from the fridge and use a simple relay logic to turn the generator on and off! Fully automatic system

[@TekedixXx]

5:50 That generator walking away is a little freaky. I know it's probably the torque from the starter or something but definitely would be a bit of a clinch moment, even if it stopped walking around in regular use.

[@zweriuskriegsman]

Since your generator has an electric starter, it should be easy using a few relays and a small battery to make the system such that the generator is starting when the thermostat of the freezer/fridge is demanding cooling and stop the generator when the thermostat tells it doesn't require cooling anymore. In that way you should be able to prevent the generator running idle. I'd be curious to see the result of that. Should be far more efficient.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Yes, that would be more efficient. However, it would add a lot of complexity, and only work if you had only one fridge connected and nothing else. But, It would be cheaper than adding batteries and and inverter.

[@KennyMacDermid]

It would have been interesting to also see a data point for fuel cell to the induction cooktop.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I didn't do that because I don't have confidence in the numbers... But.. just for fun... Here is a theoretical analysis with lots of assumptions: Assuming the fuel cell running on propane is 60% efficient and the power is used to charge a battery at 96% efficiency and the battery power is converted to AC at 96% efficiency, it would take 0.392kWh of energy to heat one pot of water with an overall efficiency of 40.1% Theoretical pots of water on one can = 40.1 --> 100% Efficient Direct flame pots of water on one can= 18.1 --> 45.2% Efficient Fuel Cell pots of water on one can= 16.1 --> 40.1% Efficient Generator pots of water on one can =1.2 --> 2.9% Efficient

[@jmacd8817]

Cool tests! One note: an IR thermometer is about the worst thing to use on a reflective stainless steel pot.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Yes, reflective surfaces don't work well with IR. That's why I used the in-water thermometer for the exact measurement.

[@AndrewP1024]

Great video! I'm curious as to how much of a difference using a DC generator could make? You could remove the losses from the generator's inverter and the Victron turning AC-to-DC to charge the SOKs.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Yes that would be an improvement. What DC generator do you have in mind?

[@AndrewP1024]

@@ProjectsWithDave YT is deleting my comments but Google WSE5000SH and you'll find the one I spotted. It accepts LPG and there's a 48V variant! I can't find the 6KW version anywhere.

[@offgridbydesign3826]

Great video. A lot of good information. If you had to use a generator and had use for a refrigerator, it might be better to cycle the generator off and on over a period of time.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Not convenient, but it would save energy.

[@baneverything5580]

A couple of dorm fridges with manual defrost and small chest freezer (same) can be ran with less watts. I can run a dorm fridge 24 hours with 500wh.

[@electriccuts]

What about running an RV refrigerator that runs on propane, 120v and 12v...

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Those units also produce a lot of waste heat, so I'm not sure how efficient they are. I don't have a good way to make a comparison for you at this time.

[@mraboyum]

Interesting video. What about electric kettle?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

That would have slightly better results, but the induction plate is pretty efficient. The conversion losses are just too much to overcome.

[@Neel71]

Thanks for doing this. Even though the conclusion is common sense but quantifying it is so eye opening🙂

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Nothing beats an actual experiment. 😀

[@mikecohen2400]

I came to the same conclusions years ago when hit with a seven day power outage, direct generator power to refrigerators, or freezers are just not that efficient, and they leave a noise signature that may itself cause security problems. Now that we have lithium battery packs in the 2000 to 3000 watt hour capacity, those and a duel fuel generator are the best bet for home backup power. Propane gives us a safe storage solution, and we can store a lot of it, pre crisis, while gasoline is more dangerous to store, and can go bad, and may be harder to find in a grid down situation, unless the gas stations have there own backup generators, and then they may be overwhelmed by people trying to get gas.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Well said!

[@whattheschmidt]

Agreed! I just setup my dual Ecoflow Delta Pros to backup my house. Now I just need to find the best way to charge both slowly with 1 generator (may just go with the Ecoflow one but have to manually swap between them). I should be able to get 1800watts out of my solar secure power supply outlet on my SMA inverter on one of my solar arrays but so far it just doesn't output the power for some reason.

[@bilo6832]

Really good experiment. I wonder how the refrigerator results would change if the generator only ran when needed? Like with a Delta Flow battery being charged as needed from a Delta Flow smart generator.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I think that would solve the efficiency problem. If I have time I may test that in the future.

[@CueBeanKa]

I would be curious about different flame levels on the burner boiling water. Would it use more or less propane overall to have the flame low?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

There would be a crossover point. Too low and the heat would dissipate from the pot as fast as you put it in, too high and more would be lost around the outside. It would take a lot of testing to find that point. I would just run it full blast, it was pretty efficient that way.

[@CharlesPierce-g1l]

How about wind turbines for home build?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I have had some offers to test wind turbines, but I haven't made it a priority for some of the reasons listed below: The payback time is much longer than solar. They seem to have more maintenance problems. They are challenging to install. They are more susceptible to bad weather. They don't look very good, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate it.

[@wompstopm123]

5:44 CAT

[@ProjectsWithDave]

She likes to watch too.

[@whattheschmidt]

For the MXR3500S Inverter Generator - is there a 'decent' way I could have it send DC power to my Ecoflow Delta Pros? (15amp/150V is the limit I believe, and this is once again DC power). I may just bite the bullet and get the Ecoflow dual fuel generator but it can only power one of the units at a time. It does do it automatically too though so that is somewhat neat.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

You can charge the Ecoflow using the AC outlet, but I don't think there is a good way to utilize any significant DC output from the generator. Are you just trying to avoid the AC conversion losses?

[@whattheschmidt]

@Projects With Everyday Dave No, cannot charge through the ac outlet while using them as backup. Has to be dc unfortunately.

[@EricPham-gr8pg]

Chose gas stove because water can be use to generate hydrogen to cook or dried leafs can be used as fuel too

[@Bonezmi16]

Personally I would make a note how often and how long the fridge turns on per hour then in the event of a power cut run the generator or turn on the inverter for that amount of time per hour. Be the best use of available energy.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I guess if you don't value sleeping at night that would be an option.

[@Bonezmi16]

@@ProjectsWithDave Haha true but obviously a fridge would stay relatively cold over that period and first thing in the morning would be to fire up the genie.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I'll at least give you the fact that your strategies would improve efficiency. 😀

[@trustbuster23]

Nicely done. So assuming I have a flat or nearly flat battery and need to recharge it using a generator, am I better off running the generator flat out and charging quickly, or is it more efficient to kick on the generator's energy saver mode, let the generator basically idle and slowly recharge my batteries over a longer period of time? Ignore the issue of topping off your battery above 80% where you probably can't use all the watts the generator makes. From 0-80% state of charge, what is going to use my generator fuel more efficiently? I really have no sense whether these little generators operate most efficiently in terms of watts per kilo of fuel consumed at idle vs. at/near their maximum rated output. I imagine that there also may be differences in inverter efficiency at various loads that would impact the answer.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Typically these generators are most efficient towards the top end of their output. However, I haven't run a test to empirically confirm that.

[@trustbuster23]

@@ProjectsWithDave Thanks for answering. Appreciate it!

[@bobjohnson4512]

Do you have the data if you ignore all the inefficiencies of getting electricity into the batteries and only look at the inefficiencies for getting the power out of the batteries through the inverter and onto the hot plate? I am curious how that compares to propane running the generator to power the hot plate.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Basically, you are asking for a comparison of an induction plate powered by solar-charged batteries vs an induction plate powered by a generator?

[@bobjohnson4512]

@@ProjectsWithDave I was trying to ignore the inefficiencies of charging batteries from solar or a generator. I thought you might already know how many watts left the battery and how many watts made it to the induction plate. What you showed was very interesting. I have solar panels and batteries that I currently run my refrigerator on but my plan was to heat food in my microwave. Your induction plate used one full battery in nine minutes (I thought about that and my statement is not true) and I don't think the microwave would do any better. I will do any cooking or water heating with the propane equipment I already have.

[@michaelberger8990]

dam good video kid

[@briankeithwood]

I am looking at this very setup. I need a battery to run my cpap at night if the power goes off. It needs to be pass through for power is on. During the day I might be to run a laptop and a couple of monitors if power goes out. What would you recommend for a battery system? I was also looking at the wen df475t generator... but do you have any better suggestions?

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Why would you want a generator to run your cpap for an overnight power outage? You would be better off using a UPS functioning portable power station like this one: us.ecoflow.com/products/delta-2-portable-power-station?aff=632

[@gordanzzzz]

Hi there I have a question. I have a friend who has an old solar sistem about 10 years. Is there any way to install something simple so he can monitor production on his phone. Right now the only way he can check the production is directly on the small screen on his inverter. Thanks

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Yes, you can use a system like this: amzn.to/3YCekAL It will allow you to monitor the solar input as well as the consumption of the whole house and individual appliances.

[@gordanzzzz]

@@ProjectsWithDave Thanks for the info but we aree noobs and this doesn't look simple to install. Do U have a video about this 4 noobs afcorse :)

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I may create one, but it would be several months out. Someone has probably already published something if you search for it on KZbin.

[@gordanzzzz]

@@ProjectsWithDave Thanks again we managed to find something much more simple but it will surve te purpose. However I do have a good idea 4 a video U could make its about the SonoMotors Sion solar electric car just jour a pinions and what do U think about it. The thing is a car,powerwall and solar all in one

[@clarencewiles963]

Thumbs up 👍

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Thanks 👍

[@t.d.harris1311]

Wow, great experiment, something that I can even understand and very practical. How would gasoline compare with the propane as far as running appliance and charging batteries. 1lb of gas to oz. Don't know how you could make the conversion 1lb of propane to gasoline. Would gas provide more usable energy. '

[@winstonsmiths2449]

I know that generators produce more energy when using gasoline vs propane. Gasoline is more energy dense and on my generator it produces about 1200 more watts of running energy. By volume and cost I have no clue which better, but propane stores forever whereas gasoline has 1 year shelf life.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I thought about that. I could do the mathematical analysis, but I might actually run the test if I can find some time.

[@t.d.harris1311]

@@winstonsmiths2449 Your right, that's why my next generator will be a duel fuel inverter type.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Dual fuel just makes sense. In an emergency you want to have options.

[@MrSkunks]

Would love to see a 24 hour home test of. Run your daily needs for a 24 hour period and see how many watts that uses. Let’s say that’s 30 kw. Now test how much propane it would take to charge your battery’s 30kw. But don’t run the generator at 100%, efficiency seems be at 50-85% load, so if you charged at 1400 watts, you’d probably get your 30kw in the 24 hours. Since the load would be constant, you could run it for 2 hours and figure out the propane use for the 24 hours. I’d like to figure out what the best variation of a hybrid system is to get most efficiency. For example, 2 Delta Pro 3s with hub, can start a 5 ton AC. To get an equivalent 16kw starting watt generator, it’d be pretty large, like 12kw running. In the the 5 ton example, running watts at ~3500 watts, you’d be at 30% load, below optimal efficiency. Not to mention that my typical duty cycle in a day is 30%, even at 50%, your sipping a lot of fuel. The biggest advantage of this system is that if we take those same 3500 running watts of the AC at a 50% duty cycle, we could charge those delta pro 3 at 1600 watt, right in the sweet spot of efficiency of the generator, sipping fuel compared to a 12kw generator. You’re now running a 5 ton all day with a 3600 watt generator. Now if you can package a hybrid generator all into one, with the right algorithm, you’d have something pretty nice.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Theoretically, if you have an inverter with batteries you can get away with a much smaller generator. However, you would want to have a high quality generator that is designed for many hours of operation. I assume you have a soft start on your AC unit, even with that it's a big surge for the Delta Pro 3 system.

[@George_us]

I was paying $4 per gallon of propane to run my inverter generator 8 hours a day, costing me big money before getting my solar panels going. I haven't used the generator even once in four months. It is crazy how much the propane would have cost me if I was going to use it 24/7. I really missed taking the tanks for refilling every few days (NOT). Just FYI, the monthly cost of propane was about $400 for 24/7 vs. $40 from power company (assuming access to one). A generator should only be used for emergency, short duration. Besides my initial solar investment, I pay zero now for electricity.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Yes, they are great for emergencies, but not ideal for constant use.

[@cleancutpropertymaintenanc7698]

You need a 12v fridge/freezer combo

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I have a video on that: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZnKve3htr9l1f80

[@Inisfad]

Now let’s take a look at the EMF that the batteries give off????

[@davefroman4700]

Having a cheap generator around is handy, but really annoying as well. Not only when you are using it, but also having it taking up space when its not in use. Where as Solar and Batteries can be used virtually all the time, and justify its use of space. While saving you money every day. A generator does nothing but cost money. Even if you just have 1200-1600 watts of solar and 1/2 of that battery storage its enough to keep the deep freeze in the garage and a fridge going. And provide lights and charging etc in an emergency. Without the drone of a generator.

[@benoitbeaudry4640]

This guy is Einstein's son...great video..

[@ProjectsWithDave]

😂 Thanks!

[@davefroman4700]

Combustion engines are always horribly inefficient compared to electricity. 70- 80% of the energy in the fuel is lost to friction and heat loss. Electrical loses are typically less than 12%. And while a H2 fuel cell may run at 60% efficiency, that does not include the inefficiency of the conversion process to create the H2 in the first place. Which brings it down to actually being not more efficient than a gas car. Ive seen a couple of studies that concluded an H2 powered infrastructure would actually require roughly 3 times the amount of energy generation vs a battery powered system.

[@ooglek]

So heat, use petroleum products directly. Cold? Generate electricity.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

There are a couple of factors that impact these results. 1) The fridge is an intermittent load, so a lot of energy is wasted when the generator is idling and the fridge isn't running. 2) The fridge has a heat pump that can multiply the effectiveness of the consumed power. If I had a heat pump water heater, I might get different results when heating water. However, even in that case the inefficiency of the internal combustion engine is probably greater than the efficiency gained by the heat pump.

[@ooglek]

@@ProjectsWithDave Fair. A better summary might be: Electric Resistive heat vs combustion: combustion wins. Heat pump / compressor heating/cooling? Use electricity. I don't really know of a way to use combustion to cool things, so I don't have a thing to compare it to.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

This is how a direct propane powered fridge works: www.warehouseappliance.com/blog/functions-of-a-propane-refrigerator/

[@ooglek]

@@ProjectsWithDave An electric refrigerator is still more efficient, which still matches my summary and your results -- electricity wins for heat pumps, A/C, and refrigerators/freezers. For heating, cooking, baking, combustion of a petroleum product wins. For now!

[@ronamo111]

that's not a fair test when you use a generator you more than likely are running way more than one item such as fridge freezer lights etc so the power from generator is not wasted

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I showed both conditions: 1) Intermittent load with the fridge 2) Full load with the hot plate.

[@ronamo111]

@@ProjectsWithDave i guess that's true

[@Inisfad]

I have the same generator. You’re not supposed to start it up on eco mode, but start it in regular mode, and then drop down to eco mode. Just saying…..

[@PHamster]

Too bad you can’t use the heat from the generator to heat water

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I'm sure you could with some creative effort.

[@av1204]

Doesnt this show why electric vehicles are dumb for the environment? Most power is produced using non renewable sources ie natural gas.... the transmission losses and efficiencies from generation to car motor are abysmal.

[@ProjectsWithDave]

Power stations run at much higher efficiencies than internal combustion engines, so it would not be an equivalent comparison.

[@av1204]

@@ProjectsWithDave There has to be a way to convert it from power station to drive.

[@jmacd8817]

@@av1204 power stations are roughly>85% efficient, as delivered to the house. Modern EVs are anywhere from 60% to 80%, including charging. Using WORST CASE, 60%, you just multiply 0.85x 0.6 = 0.51 = 51%, which is STILL far more efficient than the ~30% efficiency of internal combustion.

[@av1204]

@@jmacd8817 Not sure where you got your information from. They are not 85% efficient. Not even close.

[@KennyMacDermid]

I don't see how you could possibly conclude that from this video. If you're not just a troll, here's just one of the many people that have worked it out: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIPLpZyGmsuJsK8

[@We-Do-NOT-Consent-303]

Speak slower! There is no hurry!

[@6789olds]

Propane is terrible for this put some dam gasoline in the generator .

[@ProjectsWithDave]

I may run a test back to back, propane VS gasoline if there is enough interest.