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Solar Powered Computer

judasmachine

judasmachine

Diamond Member
I just got a wild hair up my a$$, and have found some small solar panels for a reasonable price (or so I think.) Anyway, how much wattage would I need to run a PC? I will in the future go with a system to spin the meter on my house backwards, but I don't have that kind of money, and wanted to experiment on a much smaller basis, my PC. The place I was looking at had from 5W panels on up. I'm pretty much clueless on how this would work.

BTW I live in Amarillo, TX so max days of sunlight are not a problem at all, even in the dead of winter.
 
you can't really run it off solar power. the solar power would charge batteries and your PC would run off the batteries through an inverter. pretty inefficient and not worth it.
 
Originally posted by: crumpet19
Originally posted by: judasmachine
...I will in the future go with a system to spin the meter on my house backwards...
Click to expand...


Cause that's not incredibly illegal or anything.
Click to expand...

Actually it's not illegal. In my state (not sure about others) the electrical company will pay for part of setting your house up to be completely solar powered. It's not cheap to do but over time it does pay for itself. And if you're not using the power that's being generated it's sent back up the electrical lines for other people to use. The electrical company then pays you for how much power you generate.
 
Originally posted by: nsafreak
Originally posted by: crumpet19
Originally posted by: judasmachine
...I will in the future go with a system to spin the meter on my house backwards...
Click to expand...


Cause that's not incredibly illegal or anything.
Click to expand...

Actually it's not illegal. In my state (not sure about others) the electrical company will pay for part of setting your house up to be completely solar powered. It's not cheap to do but over time it does pay for itself. And if you're not using the power that's being generated it's sent back up the electrical lines for other people to use. The electrical company then pays you for how much power you generate.
Click to expand...

he was thinking that you were physically gonna spin the meter down, lowering your bill. I believe

 
Originally posted by: crumpet19
Originally posted by: judasmachine
...I will in the future go with a system to spin the meter on my house backwards...
Click to expand...


Cause that's not incredibly illegal or anything.
Click to expand...


Dude, your panels generate an excess of electricity which you release back into the grid, and the electric company then compensates you for the excess, albeit not very much...


The meter will read a negative usage.
 
I have built a computer which runs off DC power, its not that hard, you just have to choose your parts wisely. The whole thing with a low power LCD monitor takes up about 60 watts.

I used a AMD Geode processor bundled with a MicroATX motherboard, because I was cheap. It takes up about 20 watts. I used a ATI Mobility Raedon which I found on newegg in an AGP card, it only takes up 5 watts. I went with a notebook hard drive and CD-ROM drive, they took up about 10 watts. I used a small screen running off the PC's power supply, which takes up about 10 watts. More modern choices are available, a 7600GS and a Turion might work too.

Anyways, for an idea for what is out there in DC/DC power supplies (rather than AC/DC, which would force you to use an inverter), check out logic supply.. They don't have as much power as you might be used to, but if you choose parts carefully, it is possible to greatly reduce power consumption. I used a M2-ATX, which takes a pretty wide voltage input, 6-24 VDC.

How good are you with a soldering iron? It should be possible to build your own SLA battery charging circuit, and buffer power in batteries. Goldmine Electronics has cheap solar panels, I have got some smaller ones from them in the past. Right now they are selling a 20 watt panel for $89.
 
Originally posted by: slackwarelinux
I have built a computer which runs off DC power, its not that hard, you just have to choose your parts wisely. The whole thing with a low power LCD monitor takes up about 60 watts.

I used a AMD Geode processor bundled with a MicroATX motherboard, because I was cheap. It takes up about 20 watts. I used a ATI Mobility Raedon which I found on newegg in an AGP card, it only takes up 5 watts. I went with a notebook hard drive and CD-ROM drive, they took up about 10 watts. I used a small screen running off the PC's power supply, which takes up about 10 watts. More modern choices are available, a 7600GS and a Turion might work too.

Anyways, for an idea for what is out there in DC/DC power supplies (rather than AC/DC, which would force you to use an inverter), check out logic supply.. They don't have as much power as you might be used to, but if you choose parts carefully, it is possible to greatly reduce power consumption. I used a M2-ATX, which takes a pretty wide voltage input, 6-24 VDC.

How good are you with a soldering iron? It should be possible to build your own SLA battery charging circuit, and buffer power in batteries. Goldmine Electronics has cheap solar panels, I have got some smaller ones from them in the past. Right now they are selling a 20 watt panel for $89.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I have very little sodering skills. But I think this project may be a good one for the summer time, as I'll have a little more money to play with. Perhaps I'll start with lighting my office with a single panel first. BTW I have years to finish this, but I think I'm going to do it. Ahem, now to the books.
 
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