Posted: 2/12/2009 3:32:55 PM EDT
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so I was reading Lights Out, and started thinking about different ways to make sure I could keep my small electronics - radio, comms, lights, laptop - powered if/when the grid fails. I dont have enough money to buy a generator, and I think that they are short to mid-terms solutions anyways, due to the inevitable shortage of gas/diesel in that situation. batteries die and degrade, and rechargeable batteries need recharging - which again brings to mind the shortfalls of generator dependence.
I've seen bits and pieces of info across the web about personal solar technology - some that use panels that feed DC batteries/inverters, and others that take solar energy and make AC power out of it directly w/out batteries and stuff. that's about as far as I could get before things went over my head. do any of you guys have experience w/small and/or personal solar power devices? how to make them or where to buy them? how much that type of thing would cost? how about the reliability of the technology? i.e. - can I get my hands on a personal solar device and count on it operating for 10 years, 20 years, or beyond? I've read that solar panels to degrade over time due to weather/exposure, w/some estimates of panels retaining 80% of their potential after 15 years. thoughts? thanks for reading 
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If you have enough money to buy a solar setup, you have enough to buy a good generator. Either way you will need batteries to store the energy and an inverter to convert (unless you are smart and get things than run on DC) so you are comparing a generator to a solar panel. Something about solar panels:
You will need a lot of them to equal the output of a generator Solar output varies depending on time of year, region, and weather An equivalent amount of solar panels won't be as easy to move as a generator All that said, I have a flexible panel that I use to charge AA's. It's a 26 watt panel and does 4 AA cells in well under a half an hour *in the summer here in Michigan* it can do quite a bit better than that elsewhere as I get only 1/2 of the rated output on my test equipment. Still, it does the job and folds up like a magazine. Add in a gel cell and it's not too awful much for a BOB. |
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Quoted:
I dont have enough money to buy a generator, and I think that they are short to mid-terms solutions anyways, due to the inevitable shortage of gas/diesel in that situation. batteries die and degrade, and rechargeable batteries need recharging - which again brings to mind the shortfalls of generator dependence. A good battery charger does its job quickly - thereby keeping generator run-time to the absolute minimum. It would take over 300 watts worth of solar panels to produce 2,000 watt-hours per day, assuming bright summertime sunlight. A 2 KW gasoline-fueled generator could produce the same 2,000 watt-hours in an hour's time, on less than half a gallon of fuel. Generator power is MUCH cheaper than solar, IF you use it efficiently. The trick is to run it hard, for as short a period as possible, relying on battery power the rest of the time. |