Is there anything like a portable Solar Power Box that will power normal devices useing 110v, with standard three prong plug?
I have a few items in my back yard (well pump, pond pump, spot lights) that need to run on normal power, the products that I have found available that run on solar standalone do not really meet the needs that I have.
I was hoping to make a solar box of sometype; Would it be practical to make one with the top of the box being a solar panel and inside containing the battery, converter… with outlets on the side? how big would the pannel need to be? or should i just continue useing the power off of the grid?
How big of a solar panel and battery would I need to run aprox. 1200W - 1500W a day?
Would a compact wind turbine possibly work?
4 users commented in " Solar power box? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYou’ll need panels much larger than a portable box would allow to run loads such as well pumps. You’d have to cover your roof, garage and/or shed for starters.
It would be much cheaper and more reliable to continue to use power off the grid.
To get 1200 W peak you need about 15 square meters of panels. To average that you need 2.5 times that area at least. Peak sun, at the equator, is about 1000 W/m^2, but panels get maybe 10% efficiency if you’re lucky.
I don’t know where you live so it is hard to say if wind will work at all. In most areas wind is not enough to be worth messing with. Some times we get 7 MPH wind but not all the time so the wind mill would set there doing nothing.
Solar is always best when grid tied. It gives the best return for investment. When used off grid you need to know how many days you want to run the load if you don’t get any sun.
If in your area you get 5 hours of peak sun a day you would divide the 1500 by the sun hours to get 300 watts in solar modules.
There is a little more to it in an off grid system but that alone tells you that you could not go with a small box. 300 watts in solar modules would cover 4 foot long by 3 or 4 foot wide.
It would be cheaper in the end to just buy DC pumps and motors then buy the extra solar panels and inverters needed to run the AC power stuff. for your small needs is is best to just stick with public utility or add a grid tied system and still run wires from your house.
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