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Solar Powered Wi-Fi

Posted by samzenpus on from the wireless-anywhere dept.

inkslinger77 writes "A small US startup has announced it has created a system for running Wi-Fi routers in remote places using only the power of the sun. Among the first round of products from Solis Energy is the Solar Power Plant, touted as being capable of supplying 12, 24 and 48 Volts DC for use in stand-alone applications such as surveillance cameras and outdoor Wi-Fi."

7 of 119 comments (clear)

  1. Bright idea by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 4, Funny

    Its always illuminating to see developers take a lateral step towards problems.

    Here in the UK we use the tiny amount of light to power calculators but I think you would need a panel at least 3km square.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Bright idea by Eivind · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Yeah. Why not ? A mesh-network is ideal in many parts of the world with poor infrastructure. Sure, the mesh needs to connect to the internet at *some* point, if internet-access is desired, but it's sufficient for a small portion of the nodes in the mesh to have internet-connection that can then be shared with the others.

  2. Been around a while.... by butlerdi · · Score: 5, Informative

    There have been several such projects such as the MIT http://www.green-wifi.org/ which is itself beholding to the MIT Roofnet project http://www.comclub.org/roofnet/.

    --
    "If the King's English was good enough for Jesus, it's good enough for me!" -- "Ma" Ferguson, Governor of Texas (circa
  3. And this is 'news'? by chris_sawtell · · Score: 4, Informative

    Here's a link for an historical perspective.

    http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/144812 1

    Note 2002, FIVE years ago.

  4. Exactly (time investment) by choseph · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And that is the key -- it is a pre-built set of products.

    I could also create something for my shed if i want to look into manufacturers for quality and price, choose the individual components, ensure I knew how they all went together (safely), and mount it on the shed. Just like I don't have the time or interest in building computers from scratch anymore, I don't have the interest in investing all this time into building a custom solution. If they can give a warantee that covers their whole package, they can test the configurations and crazy outdoor conditions, and they can build thousands of them in the time it takes me to assemble one, then super. They aren't stopping you from creating your own custom product for your shed.

    I wish someone would make some entry level package like this for homes -- a solar cell, simple cables (as easy as a power cord you can plug into each side), and a battery. Then give me some ways to go battery-out to random appliances and I think it would be a good way to let people try solar without the 10K+ investment and installation knowledge. Even if I only get enough juice to charge my laptop, it is at least a way to get started/interested.

  5. Slashdotted? by 6Yankee · · Score: 4, Funny

    TFA is taking an age to load. Either it's slashdotted, or the sun went in...

    1. Re:Slashdotted? by ebolaZaireRules · · Score: 4, Funny

      nah - DOS attack. I'm stading in front of it.

      --
      The Bible: Historically verifiable fact from an observers point of view