Solar Generators? (house, light, install, pressure)
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I live in apartment so a gas powered one is not an option. All I would want to power would be my refrigerator and a couple of lights. Maybe a microwave if it wouldn't overload things. Is that even possible on a solar powered one? Anyone have information about solar generators?
What you want to do is NOT possible. Those things are toys, just like a child's chemistry set. They show certain concepts on a VERY limited basis, but if you are planning to use them to power a refrigerator, or your old Gilbert chemistry set to make quantities of thermoplastic, you are going to be severely disappointed.
Dont know why they call them generators. They dont generate anything they collect and store solar energy. For what you want to do you'd need an industrial size "solar generator" costing tens of thousands of dollars.
Your better off having an ice chest ready and going propane with a camp stove for cooking.
Now understand there is a method to use deep cycle batteries and solar charger to turn a chest freezer into a refridgerator but you probably dont have the space in your apartment.
Get a solar charger for your batteries and laptop inmoney better spent in your senario.
Do you have room on your balcony for a solar collector and will the management allow it? The collector feeds into a battery bank, doesn't run a generator.
You can purchase a propane refrigerator and run it off of bottled propane, if all you are expecting is power outages for a few weeks. You could store a couple of weeks of propane in an apartment.
Maybe get yourself a pressure canner and some jars and learn to can so you don't lose what is in the fridge.
Solar can easily handle small electronic devices (phones, laptops, radios, mp3 players, etc), but you'd need a huge solar system for the things you mentioned.
As was stated, look into propane for the fridge. Better yet, ween yourself away from needing a fridge at all. Look into foods that store a long time or dry foods, or canned, etc. You don't need any energy at all to store these sorts of things--and most will store at room temp for many years.
im sure you can do it. it's gaining popularity so im sure u can find a professional installer easily now. the problem is will your apartment's association allow u to install it? because there was actually a news about that. a renter or a condo owner even i believe wants to install solar power to his house but the associations nazis prevented him. i wonder how he thinks the nazis will allow him to install it when they give people hell when they want to install sat dish cable. the reason is even mindboggling they reject it coz 'it looks ugly'. reallllllllllllllly?
i swear a loathe housing associations they are the new nazis.
I don't like them either. But then again, we do have a choice of whether to move into one or not. Some people like the Nazi thing--of course, generally just enough to make sure all the homes on the block are painted the same drab, boring avocado green (because they like that color, of course) and that there is no more than 2.65 dandelions growing in the yard.
Dont know why they call them generators. They dont generate anything they collect and store solar energy.
They generate electricity from solar energy. Similar to how gasoline generators generate electricity from chemical energy. Neither really generate energy.
OP, I'm looking at the solar generators on the market. It appears that you can charge them in 20-40 daytime hours depending on sunlight availability and can power a refrigerator for 8-12 hours once charged. A microwave will use the battery up MUCH quicker.
I don't like them either. But then again, we do have a choice of whether to move into one or not. Some people like the Nazi thing--of course, generally just enough to make sure all the homes on the block are painted the same drab, boring avocado green (because they like that color, of course) and that there is no more than 2.65 dandelions growing in the yard.
I agree with you 100%. If you don't like associations, then don't choose to deal with them.
If you have the ability to set up a large enough array of solar panels, and the money to purchase them, then you could power anything you would reasonably want to use. The problem with doing so in an apartment is that you probably wouldn't have enough space to set up the array needed. One possibility, though, would be to set up a small array (~100-150 watts) and run a small 12V refrigerator from that. You would not have the capacity of your regular refrigerator, but you might be able to keep a few things cold this way. There are some decent 12V refrigerators that only draw a few amps, which could be run nearly indefinitely on a small solar array.
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