From: NoSpam@AnonymousP.com   
      
   On Fri, 3 Dec 2021 17:01:37 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"   
    wrote:   
      
   >"Bob F"  wrote in message news:sodr9b$v5o$1@dont-email.me...   
   >   
   >On 12/3/2021 10:55 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:   
   >> "Bob F"  wrote in message news:sobi1v$1g2$1@dont-email.me...   
   >>   
   >> Solar alternatives are not cheap or easy.   
   >>   
   >> -----------------------------   
   >> Solar is getting cheaper.   
   >> https://hqsolarpower.com/100-watt-12-volt-monocrystalline-sol   
   r-panel-kit-w-30a-pwm-charge-controller/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnaeNBhCUA   
   IsABEee8XIIJYAmm3nb252reEibE91XrewQyptgs_ryQYJftgkFa12ENtiZCAaAj6NEALw_wcB   
   >>   
   >> I paid about the same $120 a few years ago for a 100W panel and a 20A   
   >> controller, minus the cables. You still need a battery and probably an   
   >> inverter to have 120V AC that will run some but not all equipment. A   
   >> laptop with an auto/air power supply can run directly from the battery. I   
   >> bought a Bestek 300W true sine inverter for $50 that removes the difficult   
   >> question of if the crude output of a modified sine inverter will damage   
   >> something, though 300W isn't a lot of power. That makes a small practical   
   >> system for around $170 in hardware plus the price of the battery. Without   
   >> the inverter it's marginally enough to run my Alpicool C20 as a freezer   
   >> all day and maybe all night, with two 12V 18Ah AGM batteries, and it looks   
   >> like it could handle the 3x larger T60 fridge + freezer.   
   >>   
   >> Adding a second $100, 100W solar panel gives a comfortable margin for a   
   >> laptop and other small loads. A laptop running Win7 can be set up as a   
   >> television so you'd be well equipped for comfortable dry camping. If you   
   >> have a larger AC-powered refrigerator you need a true sine inverter that   
   >> can deliver its starting surge, perhaps 1000 - 1500W briefly though my two   
   >> small fridges each draw less than 100W after the surge.   
   >>   
   >> A larger system quickly raises the difficulty of making your own heavy   
   >> electrical cables. The wire and accessories sold for high power car audio   
   >> are somewhat helpful. Otherwise you need heavy duty crimpers for battery   
   >> and inverter terminals and the MC4 connectors on solar panels. Don't waste   
   >> your time with too-thin wire and its excessive voltage drops.   
   >> jsw   
   >   
   >   
   >And you think this is a solution for an apartment dweller?   
   >   
   >Not that I have any objection about solar. I would do it myself except   
   >for all the poplars in the yard south of mine, and the limited southern   
   >exposure of my roof.   
   >-------------------------   
   >   
   >That's for the reader to decide, based on their individual circumstances. A   
   >south facing balcony or patio might make it physically possible if not   
   >economically wise. It's quite practical if you have no other source of   
   >electricity, i.e. 'dry' camping or a grid outage.   
      
   I love the idea of solar, and if I saved up, might be able to buy one   
   of the cheaper panels after many weeks of saving but I live in a   
   north-facing apartment, so don't see how it would work with any degree   
   of worthwhile success.   
      
   I think some sort of wind turbine on the balcony might do better, but   
   I just don't have those kind of skills as well as never having seen   
   any wind technology on any small scale.   
      
   I DIY a lot, but not electrically and I just don't have the skillset   
   for that, nor the kind of money for those types of solutions.   
   Fortunately humanity has existed on low-tech for millenia, so   
   hopefully more such ideas will come.   
      
      
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