Has anyone made a solar power setup for a computer?

[Steve Phariss]

found this short, basic howto for running computer via DC instead of AC.

http://www.wikihow.com/Run-Your-Desktop-off-DC-Power

On Mon, Jul 27, 2009 at 4:46 PM, Trent Shipley<tshipley at deru.com> wrote:
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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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