Experiences With "Portable" Solar Power?

dilettante

dilettante

Well-known Member
Location
Michigan
I'm not into this in a big way. I have some solar-powered outdoor lighting and a 10 watt car battery trickle charger, but until now I've only looked over the shoulder at others who've dabbled in this.

One of my friends has done this while camping, but his 2-panel solar array struggles to crank out 60 watts in full sun in the Summer. He has a small "Jackery" brand battery pack and inverter he can pre-charge via AC at home first. But even then he can't get through a 3 day weekend even when sunny. And he isn't even powering much. The system is too small.

Keep in mind both of us range mostly within a couple of degrees +/- of the 45th Parallel North.

I recently got a deal on a Bluetti AC200L (2400 watts) + PV350D bundle for 50% off with free shipping (and I also got $217 in cash back rewards, so if we count that it was even cheaper).

The folding solar panel array has 4 segments and produces a nominal 350 watts in full sun. But it weighs 29 pounds and folded is about 32 by 27 inches. This is heavier and more awkward than you might imagine. While water-resistant, it can be left in the rain so you need a tarp or something too. You can clean off dust with a water hose at low pressure but that's about it. Unfolded it's about 103 wide by 32 inches, plus with kickstands holding it perpendicular to the sunlight you can't just use a tiny tarp.

The "power station" package needs even better water and dust protection. It weighs 63 pounds and even the manual says: "should be handled by 4 people or using a cart." Boy, is that right!

I haven't tried charging from the solar array yet, but we're well past the Summer Solstice anyway. But I plan to get to that soon. Right now cleaning up the leave is the priority.

I'd like to try Winter charging, but the unit shouldn't be charged below freezing so I'll have to run the cable outside for that test. The solar array can operate to -10C.


I don't buy a lot of toys, and that's what this is. Even with a good deal it's basically my Christmas present to myself, as early as we still are. Something to tinker with and explore.

Under some conditions it could serve as backup power for outages, and in an extended one the solar panels should help. I also have a small gasoline generator that must be run outdoors and that could be used to recharge this "power station" for more convenient use of generated power.

But even though this is a pretty robust unit: "If you have a 40W refrigerator, you can run it for about 34.7 hours."

You can add various expansion batteries at different capacities, up to 2 of them depending on the model. But these are also heavy as heck and cost nearly as much as the entire unit.

My initial impressions are that these are not as practical as the sellers (and the fans) would have us believe.

Does anyone else have experiences to share?
 

Well I'll give it some time. But with all of the pontificating here about "renewable" power I guess there isn't much practical first-hand knowledge in these here parts.

 

So I bought another accessory, a 20 foot extension cable for solar charging. The PV panel array only has a 9-footer (3 m) attached and I want to have the power pack ("station") further from that at times, like upcoming winter testing.

It's a little tricky, because smaller units use a smaller connector and lighter-gauge cables that look very similar in assembled cable pictures online.

XT connectors.gif

Luckily I noticed that just before pulling the trigger on one that looked amazingly cheap, a steal. But it was a lighter cable with XT60s on its ends.

Now I need to figure how to best weatherproof this extension cord where it plugs into the 3m long cable wired into the solar array.

Cords need to be as short as practical to avoid line losses when charging, which is why the 3m wired-in cable makes sense.
 
Did firmware updates on the power station. Plural.

Turns out that there are three processors that get updates, plus one more in each battery pack. I just have the one internal pack but there could be up to two expansion batteries too.


But the upshot is: while none of this is hard there are lots of details to consider and procedures to observe.
 
One of the main components of a solar power system is an inverter to convert DC battery power to AC line levels for standard appliances. In these smaller "all-in-one" power stations this is internal, but usually switched.

Why not always on? Well as it turns out they have inefficiencies and can consume 15% down to maybe 8% on the better-made large-scale products. Even when powered on and not in use!

So if you want to run as much for as long as you can, DC appliances might be your best bet. The DC to DC converter usually required is also typically built into smaller all-in-one power stations. These tend to be more efficient than inverters, consuming 4% or less while in use.

Using DC lamps for example helps you get the most out of your battery in power outage situations. There are small USB-powered lamps but even larger more "standard" lamp types sold for things like RV use that accept 12 volt DC power. Even a small 12V DC fan might be a good thing to have on hand in sweltering heat.
 
i have 2/2000 watt....bluetti inverters....and 2/800 watt bluetti ones...
2 sets of portable solar panels ..the..
one set is the foldable array...3 panels..
one set is the monocrystalline panels...
i haven't used any yet..but have a set up that can keep panels toward sun..while extra inverters charge. .in the dry.. maybe never use...but ...one never knows
 
We have a dry and now almost shockingly clear warm Winter day. So... more low sun angle experiments.

I only took out a 100W foldable solar array and a Bluetti AC50B (448Wh / 20Ah) baby power station today. I'm seeing about 40 watts, which probably isn't bad. If I wasn't using sunshine through some leafless trees I might get 50 to 55 watts.

I have a small shortwave radio charging, a battery for an FRS transceiver, and a generic Chinese leaf blower battery. I also have an Echo Flex plugged in. Total "charge" out is 22 watts.

Earlier I charged a larger load: a Snow Joe snow blower battery. However it was already nearly full so that was done in under 30 minutes.

The charge level of the AC50B is barely climbing, probably due to net losses in DC-DC conversion and AC inverter losses.

I like the AC50B. It is very light but capable and seems as well built as its big brothers. I just wish it had a WiFi link as well as Bluetooth, which doesn't reach all the way from there to here. My AC200L has both and the WiFi link is handy.
 
There are also quite a few low-end "toy" systems out there. Much smaller, not as well engineered, but quite cheap and light so in many ways versatile for the sorts of tinkering and experiments I'm doing.

One odd-looking but functional unit is actually a family of products based on copying the same design. They all seem to be christened as "HP100" even though they aren't identical. The cases seem the very same aside from some color variations, and many specs are also identical. This suggests that the electronics may be very close, if not the same. However some contain an additional 50% in battery capacity over the "smaller" ones - but prices are all over the place.

I bought one without a solar panel array and it turned out to be a 98 watt-hour unit. Then I found a second one under another brand with a 40 watt array for less than the first one. This turned out to be a 146 watt-hour unit, and indeed is heavier so it either has more cells or else higher-capacity cells.

The cases are all dark grey to black, and end panels range from orange to red to blue to green.

ENOFLO HP100 with 40W Solar.jpg

It's all much physically smaller than it might appear in this photo. The back panel that you can't see above has a cooling fan grille, a 3-prong 120 VAC socket and a 2-prong second 120 VAC socket.

Its AC inverter is good for a 100 watt load, 140 watts peak for starting some devices.

The shape looks clunky but handle feels good in the hand, it feels solid, and seems practical. There are two USB-A Quick Charge ports, a 12 VDC output that accepts a car cigarette lighter port cable for "car devices" and the two AC outputs.

With careful shopping and coupon codes I got the "bigger" battery unit with 40 watts of solar for under $60 before tax. While I got them as smaller "toys" they are actually useful for running a few lights and things in my shed out back as well as for experimenting.


There are other product series of similar capacities out there cheap as well. Most are "oblong cube" shapes. Some have weird stuff like MP3 players and mono speakers built in. :ROFLMAO:
 
Good information here as I'm considering a portable emergency generator with solar panels for my apartment. Just last month I changed my electricity to a solar company since my state allows people to buy energy on the open market.
 
You need to consider your location's tree cover and climate as well as latitude.

I only have a few part of my lot that get a clear shot at the sun more than 10 hours/day even at the peak on the Summer Solstice. That's due to very tall surrounding trees. Add in the number of even lightly-clouded days and even more potential power generation is lost.

I'm far enough North that even on a clear Winter day with the leaves off the trees I'm finding that the power generation is peanuts. Very cold temperatures also have an impact, and below freezing the batteries don't want to charge well which gets worse the colder it gets. And all of that is with portable panels that I can angle and re-angle to follow the sun. Roof-mounted and other fixed solar will do far worse.

There are maps showing where conditions are more ideal for solar and where it isn't practical.


This doesn't mean you can't benefit from emergency backup power from batteries, but you'll probably find you'll do most of the charging from grid power while available. Car charging might be a desperation measure, though a gasoline generator for charging is probably a more efficient option. But even an apartment balcony isn't a good place to run them because of exhaust fumes that can get inside.

However a $1500 power station only has enough battery storage to provide 100 watts of power for about 20 hours. "Hungrier" appliances needing more power will drain it quicker. Just one 1500 watt space heater can suck it dry in about 90 minutes of continuous running.

A "350 watt" solar array puts out maybe 320 watts under excellent conditions and needs about 7 hours of direct, bright sun to recharge that power station.
 
Looking over my records now, this winter was pretty disappointing.

I even excluded all of the cloudy days, rainy days, and snowy days. But even so, and fiddling and adjusting angles every hour or so... my 100 watt array never topped out above 35 watts for more than 5 minutes and often put out only 2 watts for extended periods.

My 350 watt array did a bit better, hitting 200 watts for 10 minutes twice. But even so, it mostly output from 10 watts topping out at 90 watts most of the time.

My 40 watt baby solar panel array was barely worth setting out there.

As the sun angle improves and days get longer I'll see whether that makes enough of a difference to help take this stuff more seriously. With trees leafed out, good spots to set these out get a lot fewer.
 
papa tiger said:
My experience with solar stufs is you have 2 or 3 years and it quits.
Click to expand...
Good point, and one I'll keep in mind. I'll see how many seasons I really get out of any of this.

So far both versions of the little HP100 that I have seem solid. The higher capacity product is a better value though, often sold at a good price including 40 watts of mini solar array. If the price dropped more I'd buy another combo in a second.

If you have a mature young grandson who might be interested in exploring solar power that "big" HP100 + 40 watt solar bundle might make a good gift. Either to fiddle with, make practical use of, or even as part of some sort of science fair project.

I say "mature" though because tearing it open would be a mistake. Both shock and fire hazards exist.
 
I just found another interesting low-end "power station" device. This was $139 with a $60 off coupon and at 300 Wh, over twice the battery of that larger-capacity unit at the low end I bought with a 30 watt solar panel array earlier. I guess I'll see whether the coupon indicates a quality issue.

Yes, I have uses for all of these things. Some are powering plant lights, while other power misc. devices using power from charging during times of day with low power rates. But make no mistake: it is a hobby activity and involves a lot of fiddling, especially the metering and note taking and spreadsheets.

As sunlight becomes more reliable along with temperatures practical for setting these devices outdoors that'll add another dimension to these toys and my play.

While the Bluetti devices are semi-pro high quality devices and one of them fairly large capacity, these are still portable devices and nothing like a fixed-solar whole house installation. Useful in a power outage, but really just a step or two above flashlights and battery radios and the little phone-charging power banks.
 
For comparison:

Small car batteries come in 40 ampere-hours. Larger cars can feature 50 amp-hour batteries, while oversized vehicles use batteries with a capacity of 75 ampere-hours
Click to expand...

Multiply that by 12 volts to get Watt-hours.
 
So here is that "Dr.Prince" 300 or as I call it, the Lady's Lunchbox. Very unusual look, though much of that may be down to the case color scheme.

That white square left of the display is an emergency light built in.

Dr-Prince.jpg


The case material is a little flimsy, probably the same plastics used in the other oddball small "hexagon" power banks above. But thicker from what I can tell and build quality seems solid. At about 7 pounds weight we're just above the "toy" product level.

Actually around 288 Wh of battery, so around twice what the heavier hexagon HP100 has. Offers 300 watts AC out, but just one outlet instead of having a second 2-prong outlet. No provided accessories aside from an external charging brick.

Takes solar panel input for charging, and using a car lighter accessory cable you could charge it from your car. From the description I was expecting that cable, but I have several already. It's own "car lighter" port is built in.

Assuming it holds up and is stable, if the power brick was internal I'd say the $79 I paid would be amazing. But even as it is it seems like a pretty good low-end device for the money.

Not a name brand, not semi-pro, at $139 regular price I'd give it a miss. But in a power outage there is enough stored power here to be useful for several days (low power lamp, phone and/or radio charging, etc.).
 
I couldn't resist a second Dr.Prince 300 when the price went to $109 and then a 40% off coupon as well. Perhaps they are clearing them out?

I'll test it to be sure it's not defective and then give it to my middle son.

Its DC output jack is a DC5521 barrel connector, but the DC in charging jack is a DC5525 (thicker inner contact). The included AC charging brick has a DC5525 plug so it fits... but other accessories, including things like solar panels, tend to support only DC5521 so you'll need an adapter plug. Most low-voltage (under 30 volt) solar panels tend to come with this and quite a few more adapters anyway.

ba6c0dc26be2bfafa849e5c60e.gif
 
There is a lot of stuff inside these portable power stations, not simply batteries:

Fig-4-A-block-diagram-view-of-a-typical-portable-power-station.gif

Portable Power Stations: A New Breed Of Decentralised Energy.

Many even have a pass-through or UPS mode, where AC power in gets passed to AC power out until line power is interrupted, when the batteries take over.

Others have Bluetooth and/or WiFi connections to a phone app for remote and more detailed monitoring and management.
 
Aside from the solar charging aspect, these portable battery power stations also have more subtle differences you'll care about. Worse yet, the cheapie no-names tend to have minimal documentation and basically no support.


My second Dr.Prince 300 turned out to produce 110VAC, but at 50Hz. This despite the bottom sticker clearly saying 60Hz for US applications.

Nothing in the skimpy docs, no web site or other path to more details or support questions. Just a place to request returns. But I got suspicious and tried weird button combinations, hoping to enter a configuration mode where I could change the inverter setting. No dice.

I kept digging though and found the docs online for a similar device. Just as skimpy but they did cover changing the inverter output frequency. While the available buttons are different, the description of their use gave me enough to work out the Dr.Prince equivalent. Now both of my units output at 60Hz. (y)


One application I have needs 110VAC at low current 24 hours a day remote from the house.

The HP100s I have work great, but the Dr.Prince has twice the battery of the larger of the two HP100s, and a full charge might serve 4 to 5 days without intervention. Sadly, the Dr.Prince will turn itself off after a time at such a very light load. Maybe 3 hours (I haven't watched it).

There might be an option to extend this, but the 50/60Hz switch was tough enough to find. Name brand devices often have a way to turn this on or off, typically called "Eco mode" or something.


Thus it is hard to create a "master list" of features to look for. As I said, some of them are subtle. Every application's requirements will differ too.

If you amble into Big Box Hardware to pick one up don't expect the kids working there to have a clue about any of this. Online you're really on your own of course. The real trick is even knowing what questions to ask.
 
When it comes to portable solar panel arrays there are some handy features to look for.

One that may not immediately come to mind is magnetic closures for them when folded up for carrying and storage. This is very useful.

Another is the sight glass or bullseye. These have an opaque dot, then a gap, and then a target pattern. It is used to adjust the panels to be as perpendicular to incoming sunlight as possible. Some products have this built in, though other do not and you'd spend around $10 for a clip-on or you'll have to make guess using your finger or something and watching its shadow.

Sight Glass.jpg

Building one in should cost nearly nothing, yet for some reason the feature seems rare. Recommended.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top