kittysmith Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Did anyone use a solar-powered generator during an outage post-Ike? How did it perform? I'm reading up on them for the next time I'm out of power for 15 1/2 days. I don't like gasoline powered generators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houstonmacbro Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Did anyone use a solar-powered generator during an outage post-Ike? How did it perform? I'm reading up on them for the next time I'm out of power for 15 1/2 days. I don't like gasoline powered generators.Links? I am kinda interested to learn a little more myself.FTR, my mother is STILL without power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h8s Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 FTR, So am I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgriff Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 There was a company in Galveston that was on the news for donating some solar panels to charge cell phones, etc... I can't remember the name of the company. I looked them up when I saw the report and the cost was astronomical. Something like $8k for a 400 watt generator that only works during the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barracuda Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 I'd love to have a solar panel system already installed, not just to provide power in the week following the storm, but to supplement the electricity I buy. That's assuming it wouldn't have been destroyed by the hurricane force winds. Unfortunately, I think up-front cost is still way to high, but if you have the cash go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 There was a company in Galveston that was on the news for donating some solar panels to charge cell phones, etc... I can't remember the name of the company. I looked them up when I saw the report and the cost was astronomical. Something like $8k for a 400 watt generator that only works during the day.Cell phone chargers run on the order of 500 milliamps on a 12 volt charge, roughly 6 watts. As for running a much larger set of appliances, yes, solar generators are currently far more expensive than they are practical. To make them effective, numerous efforts to reduce overall electrical usage must first be undertaken, such as CFC or even LED lighting, gas or solar water heaters, super-efficient and SMALLER refrigerators, and gas stoves. Even then, there is the problem of air conditioning. A central unit of 4 tons may draw 20 amps or more, or 4800 watts on a 240v circuit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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