The size of the photovoltaic panels is determined by how much power the chest freezer needs.

It helps to overpanel. Solar panels are cheap, and last a long time, and extra capacity can be used for other things than fridge0. If your PV array can produce enough power to run the fridge on some cloudy days, fridge0 is much more likely to work well.

Also, on a scorching summer day, you don't want the fridge to only be able to run during peak solar hours; it's much better for it to be able to run well into the afternoon heat, and overpaneling will help make this possible.

Joey Hess's fridge0

I have a 1040 watt PV array. It's used to power my whole house, not only fridge0.

It cost $2000 self-installed, including panels, mounting rails, cables, fuse boxes, and the charge controller.

Often on a cloudy day, the panels will still produce 150-250 watts, so still enough power to run the fridge. When the sun is high in spring/summer, it can run even during light rains.

others

Please add your information here if you do a fridge0 build.