QUESTION We'd like to replace our propane fridge with one using solar panels. Is this possible? Ken Lynn, via e-mail ANSWER Is it possible? Sure, it's possible. But it is going to be expensive. A suitable ultra-high-efficiency refrigerator will cost more than $3,000, and may be hard to get. Ingrid Thompson, a sales rep at Sun Volts Unlimited in Parry Sound, which sells and maintains solar electrical systems for homes and cottages, explains that refrigerators draw energy constantly and require a lot of generating power and electrical storage. That's why the kind of high-efficiency refrigerator referred to above is a must for someone determined to run the appliance off solar. Companies such as W.C. Wood, SunDanzer, and Sun Frost produce high-efficiency models that run on roughly half the wattage of normal fridges. Still, even those consumption-friendly models use more than eight times what a radio might. David Nixon, the sustainable technology education coordinator at the Kortright Centre located in Woodbridge, says finding the available power isn't an issue; photovoltaic systems can power every convenience, including table saws in a workshop. However, he notes that the $13,000 cost of the 500-watt photovoltaic system necessary to run the refrigerator is far more than the cost of the fridge. (Photovoltaic systems generally retail for $15 to $20 per watt, plus installation. As an example, one 80-watt panel would run a couple of lights, a radio, and your water pump.) Nixon says the expense of both the fridge and the larger system usually persuades people to avoid running this appliance off photovoltaic. Both Nixon and Thompson recommend keeping your propane refrigerator. Steve Brearton * Published in the September/October 2006 issue of Cottage Life