PV Gap

Michael Said:

Will my new solar Christmas light strand work on an indoor tree?

We Answered:

it should work try it

Amy Said:

What would I need to run a laptop on indoor lighting (ie no batteries)?

We Answered:

Grossly impractical. Laptops consume around 45-60 watts of electricity. Watches and pocket calculators consume a very minuscule amount (milliwatts?). There's a reason why it works for those devices.

Even if you replaced carpet and walls with solar panels and turned on all the lights in the building, it would not adequately power one laptop.

Solar panels work best in direct sunlight (i.e. outdoors). Panels run in the thousands of dollars. Even a panel just to power a laptop will run $500.


If you ran you laptop nonstop 24/7 with the screen on for a whole year, it'll only cost about $50 to the power company. 10 years break even if you try a solar approach. Still worth it for you?