Beautiful Solar Panel

[eh4]

Suntactics sCharger-5 Solar USB Charger

5 volts 800mA-1200mA, weighs about 8 oz. and has a reset function to keep a usb compatible device charging after interrupted sunlight.
looks like a winner to me, a little pricey, I'm going to pick one up when I can and check it out.

 

[Norm]

Also see Cottonpickers solar panels in the Marketplace.

Norm

 

[eh4]

The appeal of Cottonpicker's set up is that he seems to have about thought of everything, it will take me a while to read through all the details of his setup.
The appeal of this new fangled plastic folding panel that I mentioned is in it's size, weight, and usb device friendly charging scheme.
I'm definitely planning of getting some of Cottonpicker's li-on chargers and mini volt meter, and I'm going to read up more on his solar setup.
Less weight and more power (and more stable power), that's pretty much what I'm going for.

"Mind the grams and the kilograms will take care of themselves." -unknown hiker

 

[ama230]

I have the nomad 7 kit and the mobile kit from goal zero and love them.

I have been able to pull 13.41W from my nomad 7 panel. This is from the 12v port.


Also if you are looking the absolute best dollar/watt/quality, then you should check out the instapark 10watt on amazon as they have it for less than fifty bones shipped. I love this as I have a guide 10 plus charging and a phone at the same time. This panel looks similar to the nomad 7 but with one more folding panel and much bigger pocket. No 12v port but its top quality. All the ones mentioned above are monocrystalline and are top notch quality.

I have heard nothing but good comments on cottonpickers stuff and he's an all around great guy that will take care of you.

Hope this helps,
eric

 

[jayflash]

ama230, off topic, but I'm curious about your Edison sig line. I'm interested in history and new findings and am not seeking to argue three-phase AC vs. DC. I'll appreciate any enlightenment. Thanks.

 

[ama230]

AC systems are strictly for large scale grid based infrastructure.

DC is naturally occurring and is for self sufficient non grid tied systems.

Its all about preference as I do not like being tied to a plug.

AC systems just got the push and DC got the boot. Just like caffeine vs cocaine, Whatever they can make the most money off of.

As a human i enjoy being a self sufficient and rechargeable power unit.

 

[jayflash]

I understand. If I'm ever able to purchase a good value in a solar unit, I too, would install PV panels. Twelve years ago I got a couple small panels from a surplus shop, but need larger units for practical use. It's interesting that my new PC monitor uses 12v DC.

A decent set of PV panels may be very useful during a prolonged outage. I wish I were more self sufficient, but I'm working towards that, slowly.

 

[eh4]

DC and wireless is the way to go!
lower power systems with greater efficiency, ephemeralization.

 

[Russel]

DC and wireless is the way to go!
lower power systems with greater efficiency, ephemeralization.

That is an interesting statement. Respectfully, doesn't low power wireless power transfer require AC?

 

[eh4]

I'm sure that there is all kinds of alternating currents going on in little tiny components throughout many DC powered devices, and yes we've got to strum antennas with AC to make signals, but I'm talking about AC grid vs locally produced DC, and using devices that are directly powered by DC rather than requiring an inverter.

... oh wait, you were thinking of something more exotic, I was just meaning locally provided DC power by sun, steam, thermo-electric generators, wind and water turbines, etc., ...and wireless communications.

 

[Russel]

[...] but I'm talking about AC grid vs locally produced DC, and using devices that are directly powered by DC rather than requiring an inverter.
[...]

OK, my bad, I didn't understand you correctly. I use a couple solar panels to power a car stereo and the lights over my garage workbench. I've got to agree, the stereo operates directly off the 12 volt system which is much more efficent. The lights are powered using an inverter, which is a little wastefull, but at least it is powered by recycled solar photons that haven't been converted to and from fossil fuel. One of these days I need to build some proper LED lights from my bench with drivers that operate from 12 volts.

 

[eh4]

interesting AC/DC article: http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/ac-or-dc-should-we-switch-our-electric-current/

"A 380-volt DC charger can charge an electric car in 10 minutes, said Liang Downey, director of digital applications. A 220-volt AC charger needs five hours."

 

[Joe Talmadge]

Beginner question about solar panels: do they become less effective over time? That is, if I buy one today and test it out, will it work just as effectively in (say) 10 years, or do you need to plan to refresh every so-many years if you need to depend on these? thanks!

 

[eh4]

someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that when they rate a long life solar panel for say 20 years, that they mean it will deliver a certain percentage of it's rated wattage for that many years... leds are rated similarly. 80% is the number off the top of my head.

 

[SemiMan]

Edison was not really right at the time. When Edison was around, DC was not viable (and still really is not) for large scale grid implementation.

You cannot have large scale grid implementation without being able to transform voltages. Sure there are ways of doing this now with DC-DC, and yes even moving magnetic machinery can do this on a large scale. That can even be economically feasible when you are talking 500KV lines where power loss is measured in millions of dollars. However, at the neighborhood level, the viability is not the same. Perhaps one day, but not today yet and certainly not in Edison's time. DC is being used for high voltage transmission lines though.

Love solar, make money off it, but realistically without currently very expensive storage, it can only do so much. One has to balance the economics of storage with on-demand generation (say Nuclear (thorium cycle of course)).

Semiman