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I'm starting small. Want to get off-grid the efficient way (self.solarpunk)

submitted 1 week ago by WorldsDumbestMan to c/solarpunk@slrpnk.net

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I want only portable devices like solar, and hand-crank chargers. I want to be able to boil water, charge my Laptop and phone, run my induction stove for a few minutes thrice a day, want it rugerdized at some point, and want to depend on my equipment for day to day life as preparation for having no support.

How am I doing so far? Did I waste money?

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[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

I have been using a BLUETTI battery with solar panels for over 6 months now.

We can power an electrical skillet (over 1000w) and an air popcorn maker (1500w) or a microwave (1500w). The battery we have is 3000w and the inverter is also 3000w. As for boiling water we have 2 kettles, one small on that uses 300w and a large one that uses much more.

We started with only 400w of portable solar when we lived in the car, but now in the RV we went to 1000w then 2000w of solar. By 10am the battery went from 40% to 100%. This is with the panels laying on the dirt, we do not have a stand yet.

We bought the panels at an electric store as new/old stock, so the 255w panels were only $90, although we have seen them elsewhere for cheaper (around $50).

We have been happy and can power anything we need. We borrowed a carpet shampooing machine and it used 1600w and we have a big shop vac too.

[–] eleitl@lemm.ee 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

400+ Wp PV modules are 70 EUR new.

[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Wow that’s really affordable! That’s only $80 USD.

[–] WorldsDumbestMan 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Thank you for the insight. Always nice to see real-world experiences with solar.

Oh I know about that one. Way out of my budget for now, and less portable than I'd like, but it is an option. I'm basically going for frugality/low power. That does sound cheap...except for the bluetti generator. And it is fairly reasonable.

[–] Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

I got the battery from their official eBay as a refurbished unit so it was a huge discount.

Another option is buying one or more lithium battery such as 12v 100ah and using a charge controller and inverter. Then you can scale or grow the system to your needs, it’s a bit more complicated to setup but way more versatile.