Has anyone made a solar power setup for a computer?

[Joshua Zeidner]

  I wonder if its possible to bypass the PC power supply?  By using an
inverter you are essentially converting from DC to AC and back to DC
again (bound to be inefficient).  This hold true only if your system
is specifically for the PC.

  -jmz

On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 4:25 PM, James
Finstrom<jfinstrom at rhinoequipment.com> wrote:
> 3 Steps to this
>
> 1. Use the correct hardware, something atom based and low power.
>
> 2. Determine requirements for 12V at about 5A solar panel cells/regulator
>
> 3. Add a battery in to the mix matching the same above stats 12V 5A
>
> The hardware would run off the battery and the solar panels would charge the
> batteries. This will help for low light ang in general power conditioning.
> Straight solar would be too dirty and would cause hardware failure pretty
> rapidly.
>
> Note this is just for the PC requirements for a monitor etc would increase
> needs.
>
> With all of this in mind go wwith a netbook that has insane battery life
> anyway and one of these:
>
> http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/10/7-portable-solar-laptop-chargers-worth-considering.php
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 3:50 PM, Trent Shipley <tshipley at deru.com> wrote:
>>
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>> Joshua Zeidner wrote:
>> >   Im interested in this topic as well.  If you manage to build this,
>> > please let us know how it goes.
>> >
>> >   -jmz
>> >
>> > On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 3:35 PM, Josef Lowder<joe at actionline.com> wrote:
>> >> Have any of you made a solar power setup for your computer system?
>> >>
>> >> I've recently begun researching this and it seems very feasible.
>> >>
>> >> At one website, a writer claims one can make a solar power generator
>> >> for less
>> >> than $300 -- www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html -- in summary he
>> >> says:
>> >>
>> >> 1. Run a line out the window to an 8" x 24" panel on the roof.
>> >> Solar panels cost about $100 rated 12 volts or better at RV store or
>> >> at Greenbatteries.com. Powerfilm R15-300 Rollable Solar Panel is
>> >> $98.47.
>> >> A 300 mah (approx 5 watt) solar panel comes with cable to connect to a
>> >> battery. Internal batteries of wireless electronics can be charged by
>> >> connecting a PowerFilm Rollable Solar Panel to a device's 12V adapter.
>> >>
>> >> 2. Get a deep cycle battery from Greenbatteries or Batteries.com for
>> >> about $50.
>> >>   Or a Xantrex XPower 1500 W/60 AH battery from GoGreenSolar.com
>> >>
>> >> 3. Buy a 12 volt DC meter. Radio Shack has them for about $25.
>> >>
>> >> 4. Buy a DC input - a triple inlet model, enough to power many DC
>> >> appliances
>> >> like fans, lights, laptops, etc. costs about $10. With the right cable
>> >> will
>> >> run straight off the box.
>> >>
>> >> 5. To run AC appliances, get an inverter to convert stored DC power in
>> >> the
>> >> battery to AC power for most household appliances. A 115 volt 140 watt
>> >> inverter by Power-to-Go at Pep Boys is $50.
>> >>
>> >> 6. Attach the meter and DC input to the top of the box.
>> >>
>> >> 7. Attach the meter to terminals on the battery.
>> >> Connect the solar panel to the battery.
>> >>
>> >> 8. Put solar panel in the sun. It takes 5-8 hours to charge a dead
>> >> battery,
>> >> 1-3 hours to top off a weak one. This will run many appliances for 5
>> >> hours
>> >> continuous use at 115 volt AC. Add larger panels, inverters, batteries
>> >> for more.
>> >>
>> >> Options: A pop-up circuit breaker between the positive terminal and
>> >> volt meter.
>> >> May add an ampmeter also. Some panels have built-in bypass diodes, or
>> >> use a
>> >> charge controller for panels without diodes. Another option is a
>> >> voltage regulator.
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>> >
>> Will the power be clean enough?  I'd expect a typical inverter to be
>> noisy.
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