PV Gap

Dora Said:

Portable solar chargers for laptop and LED lighting..Anyone have experience?

We Answered:

I'm sorry...i can't answer your question cause i have no idea about solar chargers...lol
But i'd like to take this opportunity to make a suggestion :p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkRKY6K47…
You know, to get a headstart on 4/20 & whatnot...hehehehe
:)

Toni Said:

Can i charge a kindle3 with a 20W portable solar panel?

We Answered:

I theory yes.

The specs for the kindle charger are
AC Input 100-240 Volts, 0.15 Amps, 50/60 Hz
DC Output 4.9 Volts, 0.85 Amps

The AC charger input requires 16.5 Watts at 110Volts

However there is bound to be some loss of energy when it converts from DC to AC, does it really provide 20 Watts of AC output at 110 Volts, if so you should have no issues.

The USB charger may not suffer from any loss due to conversion, I believe that's DC all the way and will charge at night since the AA batteries are an intermediary.

Juan Said:

How should I ground a floating circuit that is a portable solar generator?

We Answered:

If you ground a circuit, then it isn't floating is it?

Since you don't know electricity, you should consult an engineer.

Donna Said:

Portable Solar Panel Powered Mini Radio with Speakers?

We Answered:

Very, very simple!

Find a small portable radio - Radio Shack has some nice ones with potential. Your best bet are the ones powered by two penlight batteries, since you're power consumption requirements are small.

Then, you can source a couple of solar panels - again, Radio Shack will work well. Find ones with sufficient power output - you'll need sufficient sized panels to put out the same power as the batteries the radio came with.

From there, its simply a point of tying in the panel wiring to the old battery terminal wires, and you're done.

Kay Said:

Can I use a 12v solar panel to charge a 19v Laptop?

We Answered:

12v will not charge a 19v laptop at all.

Also, the solar panel's power output is likely to be low if it's a cheap panel, and even less if it's small. A panel that can keep up with a laptop would be on the order of 2 feet by 3 feet.

Michael Said:

charge a backup battery with a portable solar panel.?

We Answered:

Yes it would work by using a voltage regulator to keep the voltage stable.. Without it the panel voltage will not be controlled when the voltage goes up and down during sunny days, and it could damage your battery. 12v panels can range from 15-20v depending on the panel you have. This is what I did to control the voltage output to my phones and DSL box. My phones require 6v, and my DSL box require 12v. The output should match the input voltage to your device. Here's what they look like, and how to hook them up. You may have to double them if your pack draws more power, they put out about an amp of power, and should be mounted on some metal to dissipate the heat. A 10w 50 ohm ceramic resistor will help as well splicing it in from your panel + to your regulator input +.

http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9G…

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9G…

Carlos Said:

Water and portable solar heater?

We Answered:

Good question. I'm curious what your lease says about major installations. Coming from a property management background, I would definitely check the lease language first and make sure that it's ok to install what would be major systems into a place that isn't legally yours.

I haven't tried or seen solar space heaters as such, but a quick google search indicates that there are such things on the market. As far as adapting your boiler/water tank for heating the water, there are such things as solar hot water heaters that you can get. My parents actually heat their home by running hot water through a radiant sub-floor system, and their water is heated by a solar hot water heater. You're talking major installations here though, I don't know if it'll fly with your landlord, but you should raise the issue with him/her and see if you can come up with a good solution. People often find that tightening up the home through storm windows and insulation is actually more economical than installing solar panels, as solar panels are very expensive and often they don't recoup the upfront costs within their lifetime. But make the case that apartment complexes that are energy efficient typically can command higher rent prices. If you want to push the solar panel thing, definitely make sure your landlord is aware of net metering through cooperating utility companies. Solar panels on a flat roof on a bright day, for example, could run a small apartment complex and still provide excess energy that goes back into the grid for use by other customers. In that case the meter literally runs backwards, crediting you for the energy you're feeding into the grid. There's a back episode of Renovation Nation on planet Green that features a man in Raleigh North Carolina who produces solar energy and stores it in basically a large bank of car batteries in his utility room. It means that he can switch on and off the grid whenever he wants to (In his case, Progress Energy doesn't pay out for energy fed into the grid...if you have produced more in a month than you've used, they don't charge you anything, but they don't pay you either...they claim the maintenance costs are too prohibitive to pay anything back to anyone).
Anyway, do a little more research on the actual cost benefits of solar installations, but definitely talk to your landlord about getting off of oil heating. At the very least I would buy myself a space heater, since electricity is likely going to be cheaper than oil this year.