Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-settings.php on line 512

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-settings.php on line 527

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-settings.php on line 534

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-settings.php on line 570

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-includes/cache.php on line 103

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-includes/query.php on line 61

Deprecated: Assigning the return value of new by reference is deprecated in /home/dhl/xfsolarpanels.com/blog/wp-includes/theme.php on line 1109
Comments on: What kind of solar panel would be sufficient to run my computer off the grid 24hrs a day? http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day 'Cause Not Paying For Energy Is Fun! Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:02:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: McNeef http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day/comment-page-1#comment-4807 McNeef Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:00:59 +0000 http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day#comment-4807 In round figures, let's say you've got a 500 watt power supply in your computer. That seems pretty average. Now maybe most of the time your computer isn't using all 500 watts, but that's how much your power supply can deliver when it needs to, so we should design a solar system that can accomodate that much as well, so that it's not the weak link in the system. You need 500 watts over 24 hours, or about 12 kilowatt hours per day. Of course, your solar cell isn't going to work for that part of the day when the sun is down, so you have to be charging a battery + driving the computer while the sun is up. To keep the figures round, let's say you get sun for half the day. Then your solar system has to provide 12 kilowatt hours in only 12 hours. Basically, you are going to need a bare minimum of 1000 watts worth of solar cells. A sample solar cell (URL below) is 11.5" x 14.75" and provides 11 watts. That would be one watt for every 15 square inches of solar cell. So you need 15000 square inches of solar cell to get your 1000 watts. That would be approximately 10' x 10'. Of course, the 11 watt rating is probably only what you get under ideal circumstances (like the sun shining directly at the cell, under conditions of no smog and no clouds, etc.). Circumstances are rarely ideal. So you probably want to add a large fudge factor to make up for it. Maybe double the size of your solar cell to 10' x 20'. Now maybe you live in northern Alaska, for example, where you hardly get any sunlight at all during the winter, but the sun is up all day in the summer. That probably wouldn't change your solar cell much, but you would require a much larger bank of batteries to last throughout the winter. You can see that there are a lot of factors to weigh. Maybe if you're going to spend a fortune building a solar system, you could shell out a little more for an extremely power-efficient computer.<br><b>References : </b><br>1.) http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=PWR 2.) http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200306865_200306865 In round figures, let’s say you’ve got a 500 watt power supply in your computer. That seems pretty average. Now maybe most of the time your computer isn’t using all 500 watts, but that’s how much your power supply can deliver when it needs to, so we should design a solar system that can accomodate that much as well, so that it’s not the weak link in the system.

You need 500 watts over 24 hours, or about 12 kilowatt hours per day. Of course, your solar cell isn’t going to work for that part of the day when the sun is down, so you have to be charging a battery + driving the computer while the sun is up. To keep the figures round, let’s say you get sun for half the day. Then your solar system has to provide 12 kilowatt hours in only 12 hours. Basically, you are going to need a bare minimum of 1000 watts worth of solar cells.

A sample solar cell (URL below) is 11.5" x 14.75" and provides 11 watts. That would be one watt for every 15 square inches of solar cell. So you need 15000 square inches of solar cell to get your 1000 watts. That would be approximately 10′ x 10′.

Of course, the 11 watt rating is probably only what you get under ideal circumstances (like the sun shining directly at the cell, under conditions of no smog and no clouds, etc.). Circumstances are rarely ideal. So you probably want to add a large fudge factor to make up for it. Maybe double the size of your solar cell to 10′ x 20′.

Now maybe you live in northern Alaska, for example, where you hardly get any sunlight at all during the winter, but the sun is up all day in the summer. That probably wouldn’t change your solar cell much, but you would require a much larger bank of batteries to last throughout the winter.

You can see that there are a lot of factors to weigh. Maybe if you’re going to spend a fortune building a solar system, you could shell out a little more for an extremely power-efficient computer.
References :
1.) http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=PWR

2.) http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200306865_200306865

]]> By: Stephen M http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day/comment-page-1#comment-4806 Stephen M Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:35:59 +0000 http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day#comment-4806 LOL!! People never seem to have any sort of idea how much this costs. So here is one so you can get an idea. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIZY3U Over $400 for a 60 watt panel. How many of these things you need depends on what sort of a computer you have... If you had a laptop, one might be adequate but if you had some sort of big desktop, the number will go up, but I can't say without knowing the load. Then you will probably need a DC to AC inverter.... Just to give you some very rough ideas... http://www.dcacpowerinverters.com/<br><b>References : </b><br> LOL!!

People never seem to have any sort of idea how much this costs. So here is one so you can get an idea.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FIZY3U

Over $400 for a 60 watt panel. How many of these things you need depends on what sort of a computer you have… If you had a laptop, one might be adequate but if you had some sort of big desktop, the number will go up, but I can’t say without knowing the load.

Then you will probably need a DC to AC inverter…. Just to give you some very rough ideas…

http://www.dcacpowerinverters.com/
References :

]]> By: ►BobB◄ http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day/comment-page-1#comment-4805 ►BobB◄ Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:15:59 +0000 http://www.xfsolarpanels.com/blog/solar-panel/what-kind-of-solar-panel-would-be-sufficient-to-run-my-computer-off-the-grid-24hrs-a-day#comment-4805 you will need something that is atleast 750 watts. Your computer uses 500w, the overhead will recharge the batteries for power at night. then you need batteries and an inverter that will produce atleast 500w per hour times 12 hours. Not exactly a small project! Might be cheaper to run a LP powered generator.<br><b>References : </b><br> you will need something that is atleast 750 watts. Your computer uses 500w, the overhead will recharge the batteries for power at night.

then you need batteries and an inverter that will produce atleast 500w per hour times 12 hours.

Not exactly a small project!

Might be cheaper to run a LP powered generator.
References :

]]>