I bought a Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus kit containing a 30aH LiFePo4 battery and a 100W portable solar panel from Costco earlier this week in preparation for the Monday Midatlantic windstorm, further supplemented with an additional 200W solar panel.
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I bought a Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus kit containing a 30aH LiFePo4 battery and a 100W portable solar panel from Costco earlier this week in preparation for the Monday Midatlantic windstorm, further supplemented with an additional 200W solar panel. Yeah, I probably could've done better for cheaper than Jackery, but I was in a hurry and the storm was coming. The primary goal is to keep the fridge and sump pump powered during extended power outages. But now that I've got this thing, I'd like to solicit some ideas for what to do with it in-between emergencies.
The battery is rated for 4000 full charge/discharge cycles, which means I could theoretically use it hard every day for the next decade. I've got a nice, unobstructed, south-facing back deck next to a window through which I could run wires from the battery to the panels. My region's cloud cover is highly variable, but averages out to something like 4 hours of sunlight a day, temperatures ranging from 7F in the winter to 100F in the summer (-14C to 38C), and lots of humidity and unpredictable precipitation.
My initial thought is to keep the battery inside the house by the window to protect it from the elements, run cables to the panels through through foam backer rod or a pool noodle trimmed to size for insulation in the window, along with a rain loop to prevent water intrusion into the house and the panels, and hang the panels on a small frame on the deck. Then maybe I use the battery to charge up gadgets like tablets, bluetooth devices, etc.
Thoughts and suggestions? What do you use your portable solar/battery rig for in-between emergencies and camping trips?
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I bought a Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus kit containing a 30aH LiFePo4 battery and a 100W portable solar panel from Costco earlier this week in preparation for the Monday Midatlantic windstorm, further supplemented with an additional 200W solar panel. Yeah, I probably could've done better for cheaper than Jackery, but I was in a hurry and the storm was coming. The primary goal is to keep the fridge and sump pump powered during extended power outages. But now that I've got this thing, I'd like to solicit some ideas for what to do with it in-between emergencies.
The battery is rated for 4000 full charge/discharge cycles, which means I could theoretically use it hard every day for the next decade. I've got a nice, unobstructed, south-facing back deck next to a window through which I could run wires from the battery to the panels. My region's cloud cover is highly variable, but averages out to something like 4 hours of sunlight a day, temperatures ranging from 7F in the winter to 100F in the summer (-14C to 38C), and lots of humidity and unpredictable precipitation.
My initial thought is to keep the battery inside the house by the window to protect it from the elements, run cables to the panels through through foam backer rod or a pool noodle trimmed to size for insulation in the window, along with a rain loop to prevent water intrusion into the house and the panels, and hang the panels on a small frame on the deck. Then maybe I use the battery to charge up gadgets like tablets, bluetooth devices, etc.
Thoughts and suggestions? What do you use your portable solar/battery rig for in-between emergencies and camping trips?
I'm getting a respectable 145W out of this Sokiovola 200W panel despite a certain someone partially shading it.
I guess my Jackery battery isn't the only thing that's solar-powered.
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I bought a Jackery Explorer 1000 Plus kit containing a 30aH LiFePo4 battery and a 100W portable solar panel from Costco earlier this week in preparation for the Monday Midatlantic windstorm, further supplemented with an additional 200W solar panel. Yeah, I probably could've done better for cheaper than Jackery, but I was in a hurry and the storm was coming. The primary goal is to keep the fridge and sump pump powered during extended power outages. But now that I've got this thing, I'd like to solicit some ideas for what to do with it in-between emergencies.
The battery is rated for 4000 full charge/discharge cycles, which means I could theoretically use it hard every day for the next decade. I've got a nice, unobstructed, south-facing back deck next to a window through which I could run wires from the battery to the panels. My region's cloud cover is highly variable, but averages out to something like 4 hours of sunlight a day, temperatures ranging from 7F in the winter to 100F in the summer (-14C to 38C), and lots of humidity and unpredictable precipitation.
My initial thought is to keep the battery inside the house by the window to protect it from the elements, run cables to the panels through through foam backer rod or a pool noodle trimmed to size for insulation in the window, along with a rain loop to prevent water intrusion into the house and the panels, and hang the panels on a small frame on the deck. Then maybe I use the battery to charge up gadgets like tablets, bluetooth devices, etc.
Thoughts and suggestions? What do you use your portable solar/battery rig for in-between emergencies and camping trips?
That’s how I started. Just be aware it’s a gateway drug. I went from that to about 12 kWh of “semi” portable 240v capable stack and 4kW of mixed hard/soft portable panels. Then graduated to 17kW roof install with 24kW of batteries wired in.
Now I want more battery capacity because they are full and my car is max charged by 2pm.
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That’s how I started. Just be aware it’s a gateway drug. I went from that to about 12 kWh of “semi” portable 240v capable stack and 4kW of mixed hard/soft portable panels. Then graduated to 17kW roof install with 24kW of batteries wired in.
Now I want more battery capacity because they are full and my car is max charged by 2pm.
I'm probably due for a roof replacement in another ~5 years, and I'm absolutely certain I'll include a solar panel install when I do and probably some sort of large capacity battery to go along with it.
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