Has anyone made a solar power setup for a computer?

[Trent Shipley]

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Joshua Zeidner wrote:
>   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:
> 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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Can we modify the computer to run on ONLY DC or does it have to run on
AC and wall power?  Does it need to function internationally?
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