Slashdot Mirror
Practical Solar Power for Travelers?
kalido asks: "When travelling with gadgets it can be a pain to keep the power flowing, especially in remote locations. Are there any practical methods to recharge batteries and devices when on the go? A bit of googling turns up the PowerFilm, PowerFlex and SolarRoll flexible solar panels. But I haven't seen any reviews anywhere. Have any of you used these or similar devices and how easy is it to use if attached to a pack, bike, jacket, etc.?"
It works in the dark, on the go, and when you want it. FreePlay in particular has manufactured and sold WindUp Radios and Flashlights in Africa for some time now. Free Play WindUp Radios and Flashlights http://windupradio.com/windup.htm Sidewinder Portable Cell Phone Charger: http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorconten t/sidewinder.htm
For portable MP-3 players, I guess that you just have to bring extra batteries. They can last quite a long time, depending on your brand.
The world will not get better through technology. We must seek to be better people.
By Bob Pease, a living national treasure amongst hardware engineers. He does yearly walks in Tibet and discusses how he keeps his batteries charged: http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/4251/ 4251.html
"Eve of Destruction", it's not just for old hippies anymore...
Check out Ken Kifer's account of bicycle touring with a solar powered laptop.
He has some relavent and informative links in the right panel as well.
Even if you were using the best photovoltaic material available, you probably couldn't get more than 20 or 30 watts from a module small enough to carry around with you, and that's only when the sun is shining at its peak.
No matter what your solution, bear in mind that you will additionally need a charge controller and a battery to dump the energy into. You can't just plug a random power source directly into a device which expects clean DC at a specific voltage.
My first-ever foreign trip outside Italy (I was working for a solar power firm in the south) was to RWE Schott Solar's facilities near Frankfurt. As an icebreaker our hosts gave each of us FreePlay windup radios.
I used my radio for the next two years in just about every situation imaginable, many without proper electrical otherwise (the Mezzogiorno is unfortunately quite backwards in many ways -- often during the summer we would have weekly blackouts and no water in the evenings).
Solar's fine if you can forget about something for a few hours. But, elbow grease usually is more convenient.
I only stopped using the radio when I gave it away. Still miss using it though.
========================================
Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
i just bought the 5w version from Sundance Solar. i have not used it yet, but i almost returned it when i got it. specs stated it weighed .6 pounds but its about twice that. it is very durable feeling. they have a much lighter version aht i think i will order next. FYI i think all of the ones you listed are made by the same company.
no sig today, come back tomorrow
http://www.uni-solar.com/cons_products_marine.html
I'm a unisolar fan when it comes to solar PV. They actually put thought into the frames as well as the solar part, both my flexible modules and the rigid framed ones I have are very tough built.
The FLX-11 models on the page are the ones I have that are flexible/portable for camping, etc.. They work as advertised. Not a tremendous amount of power, but enough for some smaller gadgets. You'll need to McGuyver your connections, they ship with normal ring connectors for screw posts on storage batts, but it's doable to make a 12 VDC cig lighter plug on the end, or whatever you need. Use geek skills and stuff there. NOTE: SOLAR PANELS ARE HOT IF THERE'S LIGHT OUT. As in watch careless handling, shorts, etc. The backing is quite tough, and it has grommets in the corner for handy attaching. Lightweight enough for travelling. If you notice, they make the 32 (numbers correspond to watts basically) model as well, correspondingly larger with more capacity. As to what I have run off a battery charged with one of them, old powerbook lappie, 12 VDC fluorescent light, small TV, multiband radio, FRS radio. It takes a LONG time to get a near flat large battery up to speed, and I never tried to use them for charging any drycells, so don't know there. There's no automatic shutoff, etc, with them, so you have to use your noodle.
Scottevest (here) is an interesting company, making technical garments. I own their basic vest, and love it dearly, but the Solar Finetex Jacket (look here) is a great product, already set up for charging, and with the system of internal conduits, you can run wires without having them hang off you. Check it out; I highly recommend it.
How much power do you need, and for how long? I find myself using solar to top off batteries that I fully charge before my trip.
I found the new Everlite solar-powered lamps to be very handy, you can charge a cell phone or PDA off of the lamp battery with the adaptors they have. Obviously not enough for a laptop, but to top off your cell phone, pretty practical.
Most of my camping these days is car-camping, though (pull up car, unload tent and cushy gear) so weight's not an issue; I take along an rechargable air compressor (for blowing up the mattress) with a 12 VDC socket, it's got a built-in lead-acid battery. That, you can top off with a solar car battery charger.
Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
You cannot wash away blood with blood
I'm just in the process of writing a consumer complaint against a lot of thin film solar cells, the type that you showed. Don't get any that were manufactured in China! The problem is that a lot of thin film solar manufacturers will overstate their peak wattage. If it says 12W on the box, then in some cases you'll only get 6W! There was a study done by Humboldt State University about this specifically for the Kenyan solar market but it applies everywhere since the same manufacturers sell worldwide (.pdf available here). First of all some of these companies just plain out lie about their peak wattage, and then after 3 months there's a further degradation in performance. If you do want to buy thin-film solar equipment, go with the PowerFelx model or any model developed by ICP Solar, as you can read in the pdf document, they are one of the most reliable companies in this area.