Electronic Product Design Blog

Electronic Product Design

The Electronic Product Design Blog is the place for conversation and discussion about EDA; DSP, SoC, programmable logic; power sources & conversion; interconnect & packaging; mechatronics; and thermal management. Here, you'll find everything from application ideas, to news and industry trends, to hot topics and cutting edge innovations.
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Are Portable Solar Powered Generators Ready for Prime Time?

Posted October 05, 2011 9:06 AM

Everyone would like to have a self-sustaining source of electrical power during a lengthy power outage or disaster, but how do current portable solar-powered backup systems compare to gas- or diesel-powered ones? What new approaches to solar-based electricity show promise in cutting costs and improving efficiency in next-generation portable solar generators? What criteria need to be met before a portable solar generator can be utilized on a longer-term basis to reduce home energy uses?

The preceding article is a "sneak peek" from Electronic Product Design, a newsletter from GlobalSpec. To stay up-to-date and informed on industry trends, products, and technologies, subscribe to Electronic Product Design today.

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Tornado
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Technical Fields - Technical Writing - New Member Engineering Fields - Piping Design Engineering - New Member

Join Date: May 2009
Location: Richland, WA, USA
Posts: 21017
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#1

Re: Are Portable Solar Powered Generators Ready for Prime Time?

10/06/2011 2:30 AM

Getting rid of the fluffy jargon would help.

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phph001
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Join Date: Oct 2009
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#2

Re: Are Portable Solar Powered Generators Ready for Prime Time?

10/06/2011 8:35 AM

Portable? If a solar-powered generator of sufficient size to reduce home energy usage takes up the whole of my roof, how is it going to be portable?
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ndt-tom
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Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 1035
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#3

Re: Are Portable Solar Powered Generators Ready for Prime Time?

10/06/2011 9:17 AM

No such-a-thing as "one size fits all", yet. Power goes out frequently in areas hit by hurricanes, and NO solar panels will function til after the storm has passed. And, as much as the glass (solar-panel) coverings hate hail, many don't work even once the sun reappears.

My gas generator has worked great....to keep storms far away from our neighborhood

Someone already stated: a "portable" solar generator isn't likely to ever serve much in the way of reducing home energy use.

However, I (for one) was impressed by the (home) fuel-cell generation systems, demonstrated on nightly news awhile back.... Tho' I haven't seen them at Lowes yet.
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