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11488
June 27th, 2004 13:00
Solar power
Hello,
I am looking for ways to keep working in areas without electricity (like Sahara for instance) (context : for non extended lengths of time each time, just like 2 weeks or so, but regularly).
What is the best way?
Solar power seem to me to be the perfect candidate but I would like to know if it's really feasible and realistic to keep powering a powerful enough laptop that allows me to work properly (i'm a translator running localization software and occasionaly bulky terminology databases).
I have an Inspiron 8200 for now (I am however thinking of getting an Inspiron 300m if it makes things easier, since it has an external battery recharger.)
Could I get some opinions, experience on this?
Could Dell people officially advise on a recommanded solar system to power a laptop on the move (like panel on the roof of a 4x4, converter, safe connexions for the laptop, etc.) ?
Thank you
mattcowger
2.6K Posts
0
June 27th, 2004 16:00
1) Get a Centrino based laptop (like the 300m or 600m), as they are veyr powerful but dont drawdown a lot of power (65W max, 30-40W nominal).
2) No solar panel of reasonable size is going to be able to power your laptop while on. The best portable ones today (about the size of a opened 3 ring binder) provide 12-20W, which is enough to charge your laptop, but not power it. You might consider getting a larger solar panel that can provide, say, 25W, along with a battery system, and leave it hooked up all the time, then power your laptop form the battery system. Check here:
http://www.innovativeoutdoortechnologies.com/brunton_main.html
wlderdude
4 Posts
0
June 29th, 2004 02:00
Solar power is EXPENSIVE!
Count on each watt of solar panel costing you around $10. Read that AC adapter. Mine says 65 watts. You will also have ineficencies from converting the voltage from the solar panel to what you adapter takes. You will either need a 12 volt car adapter for your laptop (which will be a boost circuit to get it upt to the required voltage, which are never very efficient) or a power inverter to get your 12 volts up to 115 volts AC (which is horribly inefficient) and then the AC adapter to plug into your laptop (which is not so bad, but still looses power).
Oh, and the rated watages of solar panels are always VERY optimistic. The Sahara might be the only place you will get anywhere near the wattage they advertise.
So, lets see. I need 65 watts coming out of my adapter. I will loose at least half that in DC adapter, so lets just round up to 100 watts. At $10 a watt. . . it sounds like about a grand. But wait, I am only dreaming if I think I can get 100 watts out of a 100 watt panel. More likely I will need closer to 200 watts for consistent performance. Ouch! I also hope ther is plenty of area on top of the vehicle. Running your laptop consistently will be expensive.
Yeah, get a large lead acid battery and some solar cells. Deep cycle would be better since you can drain them all the way without damaging them. Run the car to charge your laptop battery when you can. You might find some of those battery booster batteries you can jump your car with and maybe a few trickle charging panels.
I have one with a power inverter built so I can plug in any 115 v AC appliance. I ran my laptop for about 2 hours before the battery voltage started getting low (draining them down low damages them). 17 amp hours is huge compared to the 4 amp hour battery in my laptop, but hey, you don't expect high efficiencies when you have to change the power so much.
Good luck in the desert. I have hopes of living in the desert in a van and powering my life from solar cells, but the solar thing is very discouraging. Ebay is the cheapest place I have seen solar panels. Harbor Freight ocassionally puts some on sale for a decent price.
godim
507 Posts
0
June 30th, 2004 12:00
Can't you use the sigarette lighter of your 4x4? Some laptops have special adapters so they only drain 4-5 amps from the battery., It should be safe to work for some hours with engine of. You can also take a laptop which takes two batteries (like the 8600), this gives you about 6-7 hours battery life (enough for a days work normally). You can then charge the laptop using you 4X4 battery (while riding) or solar power...