I live off grid on edge of a spanish village in the mountains.
We have a 150 watt solar panel only and I do not wish to upgrade, in order to be able to run a washing machine.
As I must anyway buy a generator to charge the battery in case of many days without sunshine, I would like to be able to use the generator for a washing machine also.
I wonder if anyone can give me advice on what size generator I would need to run a washing machine? we will disconnect the heating element and use sun warmed water, or cold water, depending on time of day of course…however the local plumber here says I will need a 5000 watt generator to cope with the power surge.
I find this to be a lot of wattage. I wonder if the newer AA++ washing machines use less power that the lesser rated ones ?
How would I know before buying a machine how much power if will need to wash with all functions except the heating element ?, as the specs usually only tell you the total wattage used .
If anyone can advise me on this matter I would be very grateful.
thanks
Jasmin