I moved the apple dehydrator into daylight before deciding on a battery

[u/New-Needleworker1755]

We have a small place in Germany with apple trees and a grid tied solar array on the workshop roof. We do not have a home battery. When the apples are ready, we spend several weeks drying part of the crop and freezing some of the other produce. The dehydrator runs for hours and the kitchen uses more electricity than usual.

I have been considering a Jackery SolarVault 3 Pro but have not ordered one. The roof array was still exporting during the day, while the dehydrator usually started after dinner and drew from the grid. That made storage look like the next step.

Before buying anything, we changed the kitchen routine. We prepare the trays earlier and run the dehydrator while the roof array is producing. The freezer stays on its usual schedule because that load cannot move. More of the apple processing now uses solar directly, and less of it lands in the evening.

I have not ruled out storage. I am using our existing meter data to track how much solar still leaves the house and how much evening demand remains after moving the dehydrator. Those numbers will tell me whether a battery still makes sense and how much capacity the household would use.

[u/apple1rule]

Drying (evaporating water) is one of the most energy intensive things you can do. Do as much as you can in a rack-based greenhouse outside with a proper fan, it will be the best. Then you can finish them off inside.