Solar powered generators
- Thread starter Alvariam
- Start date
There have been a number of discussions on this topic over the last few months. Do a search on 'solar power', or 'jackery' and you should get a few hits.
Here's one for a start:
bushcraftuk.com
Here's one for a start:
Solar pannel query
Hi, I have an old 14 Yr old solar suitcase pannel that I've barely used, it's been in store under the spare bed for years(14) I'm wondering how I can find out if its still working and viable. It has crocodile clips to connect to a leasure battery. I've lost all the paperwork that came with it...
bushcraftuk.com
Use a jackery, ecoflow and poweroak, all have there uses. In my experience the smaller ones are great for electronics, but when you plug appliances in that's where the limits come in. The batteries with a lower capacity wont power for long. The smallest jackery is 240wh with a 200w surge and 400 protected. If I charge any devices on this and use more than 50w it will last around 4 hours.
The ecoflow delta I use is a 2000wh so will provide longer durations.
What do you want it for? Camping or anticipation of the power outages?
The ecoflow delta I use is a 2000wh so will provide longer durations.
What do you want it for? Camping or anticipation of the power outages?
I've recently got a Bluetti EB70 with one of their PV200 foldable solar panels. It was the best compromise I could find for my various needs (camping, power cuts, luggability, cost, and do on).
I can only suggest that you have a think about what you really need it for and what's important to you and then get the biggest capacity one you can afford that still fulfills your criteria.
If you outline some of them here I'm sure people would offer their opinions!
For just recharging phones and tablets, we just got a stack of powerbanks that have worked really well.
DH tried some small solar panels previously that were useless sadly, but I'd still like to get a smallish, carriable one if I can find one that's actually good and not super expensive. The Bluetto one is ok for car camping and seemed good when we tested it.
I can only suggest that you have a think about what you really need it for and what's important to you and then get the biggest capacity one you can afford that still fulfills your criteria.
If you outline some of them here I'm sure people would offer their opinions!
For just recharging phones and tablets, we just got a stack of powerbanks that have worked really well.
DH tried some small solar panels previously that were useless sadly, but I'd still like to get a smallish, carriable one if I can find one that's actually good and not super expensive. The Bluetto one is ok for car camping and seemed good when we tested it.
Given the variability of the sun in the UK, and the fact that it is quite a lot lower in the sky in the winter months and hedges, fences, neighbours' houses may shade your panel(s) to a greater or lesser degree during parts of the day, I would recommend - subject to finances, obvs! - that you try to max-out with the solar panel capacity for your particular solar generator.
I have a Jackery Explorer 1000 (2 x 100W panels) and Ecoflow Delta Max 2000 (2 x 400W panels). The Jackery will run, for example, the Bread Maker (3.5h) using about half its capacity, and the upright fridge for 24h at around 65% capacity (but not concurrently!). It'll run the computer (desktop) for a number of sessions of a couple of hours. The Ecoflow will support almost every item in the house (in ones and twos), including the washing machine and microwave, but definitely not the electric kettle and electric shower.
The Jackery solar panels aren't waterproof but the Ecoflow ones are. I like the flexibility of Jackery as I can move it around the house / take it camping easily. The Ecoflow is portable but requires a bit more effort. I'm pleased that I have both.
I have a Jackery Explorer 1000 (2 x 100W panels) and Ecoflow Delta Max 2000 (2 x 400W panels). The Jackery will run, for example, the Bread Maker (3.5h) using about half its capacity, and the upright fridge for 24h at around 65% capacity (but not concurrently!). It'll run the computer (desktop) for a number of sessions of a couple of hours. The Ecoflow will support almost every item in the house (in ones and twos), including the washing machine and microwave, but definitely not the electric kettle and electric shower.
The Jackery solar panels aren't waterproof but the Ecoflow ones are. I like the flexibility of Jackery as I can move it around the house / take it camping easily. The Ecoflow is portable but requires a bit more effort. I'm pleased that I have both.
There's a few ways to look at it really for what you want. If it's just for a one off scenario then they can be costly, but if used frequently they can be a god send.
Maybe take a look at petrol generators? Cheap enough and reasonable power (800w -3000w) if the electricity goes off. If you do pick one up just make sure to run it regularly and service it.
Maybe take a look at petrol generators? Cheap enough and reasonable power (800w -3000w) if the electricity goes off. If you do pick one up just make sure to run it regularly and service it.
If it's just for 'home' use, i.e. you're not looking for a portable system, you can put something together for a lot less than the packaged units. I have a solar power system in my shepherd's hut that is more than capable for my needs which are LED lighting and small DC appliance charging. It could run an inverter if I should ever want mains, but the battery size would limit that to about 1kwhr.
Total cost for a 1200wh, 1500A system, including solar panel (charges battery when the mains is off), battery, and 20A mains battery charger (charges battery when the mains is on), and pure sine wave inverter is around £475. For a modified sine wave inverter, it would be £365. Without an inverter (i.e. 12v DC power only with 5v USB charging) would be about £100 less.
Total cost for a 1200wh, 1500A system, including solar panel (charges battery when the mains is off), battery, and 20A mains battery charger (charges battery when the mains is on), and pure sine wave inverter is around £475. For a modified sine wave inverter, it would be £365. Without an inverter (i.e. 12v DC power only with 5v USB charging) would be about £100 less.
If it's just to charge your phone, get a good powerbank, we've got some that you can select the output voltage up to 12V I think to suit whatever you are charging (we use them to run small appliances in field labs - rather niche, I know!). If you want a solar panel to charge your gadgets, then the Jackery foldable (but still huge) panel can be plugged in directly to a phone to charge (no idea how good that is in reality though). And there are of course smaller panels that are still big enough to do a decent job of it.
I have been playing around with the idea of power stations and did end up buying the Anker 757, which is brilliant.
But for portable use, plus small electric charging, and still able to plug into a solar panel to charge I combined a solar charge regulator, super glued to a li po4 36ah battery, with xt90 to mc4 connectors for the solar, xt90 to 12 volt plug on the 12v load, and an inverter to clip on to the battery terminals when needed.
Works for in house and camping use, and similar capacity to power stations at £600 cost, this setup cost £200 (without the inverter)
The rest of the setup is being modified
But for portable use, plus small electric charging, and still able to plug into a solar panel to charge I combined a solar charge regulator, super glued to a li po4 36ah battery, with xt90 to mc4 connectors for the solar, xt90 to 12 volt plug on the 12v load, and an inverter to clip on to the battery terminals when needed.
Works for in house and camping use, and similar capacity to power stations at £600 cost, this setup cost £200 (without the inverter)
The rest of the setup is being modified
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This is a wide ranging discussion depending needs, expectations, and budget as a start.
Being in Europe, I would strongly suggest you look towards Victron charge controllers for solar panels. Right now I am finding Renogy "portable" panels to be priced well compared to things like the GoalZero series.
A $50USD Renogy 21W solar panel charger is good for cellphones and similar things but, be aware that Winter and UK "solar hours" are limited so production will be low so, a powerhog Iphone may not fully charge in one 'solar day'.
A couple 100W portable Renogy panels with a simple Bluetooth enabled Victon MPPT charge controller will put out reasonable power for modest needs.
In the UK, unless you are outside the city and away from other building, trees, hedges, etc., you aren't going to get enough Sun on the solar panels to be effective IMHO.
Not a super "green" approach but, an inverter run off a car and car battery is easily achievable by most people assuming you can afford gas/petrol. Something like the Honda EU1200i generator is an awesome option but, a bit spendy for most people. Those Honda generators work for a really long time and are relatively cheap to run as well so, not as crazy as it first appears.
I have 35Kwh of LiFePo4 batteries and ~4Kw of panels at the moment so, judging the merits of a gasoline powered generator took a while for me. The Honda generator makes power on a cloudy days and overnight if needed. Being able to top off batteries or run electric household appliances is nice as well. In my case in the USA, costs for a 1,000W to 1,200W Honda generator range from $800 to $1200 depending on where, when, and how you shop.
Being in Europe, I would strongly suggest you look towards Victron charge controllers for solar panels. Right now I am finding Renogy "portable" panels to be priced well compared to things like the GoalZero series.
A $50USD Renogy 21W solar panel charger is good for cellphones and similar things but, be aware that Winter and UK "solar hours" are limited so production will be low so, a powerhog Iphone may not fully charge in one 'solar day'.
A couple 100W portable Renogy panels with a simple Bluetooth enabled Victon MPPT charge controller will put out reasonable power for modest needs.
In the UK, unless you are outside the city and away from other building, trees, hedges, etc., you aren't going to get enough Sun on the solar panels to be effective IMHO.
Not a super "green" approach but, an inverter run off a car and car battery is easily achievable by most people assuming you can afford gas/petrol. Something like the Honda EU1200i generator is an awesome option but, a bit spendy for most people. Those Honda generators work for a really long time and are relatively cheap to run as well so, not as crazy as it first appears.
I have 35Kwh of LiFePo4 batteries and ~4Kw of panels at the moment so, judging the merits of a gasoline powered generator took a while for me. The Honda generator makes power on a cloudy days and overnight if needed. Being able to top off batteries or run electric household appliances is nice as well. In my case in the USA, costs for a 1,000W to 1,200W Honda generator range from $800 to $1200 depending on where, when, and how you shop.
I have finished it, and put a 12v led light strip on it too. I have teamed this with a 300w best tech modified wave 240v plus 2 x 3ah 5v USB A. Or just straight 12v.Very neet
So the whole setup has 4 x USB A charging points, 12v DC load, and a single UK plug.
I will post a picture tomorrow
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