Ultra-Budget Solar Panel Setup - What Can It Power?

[@footprinthero]

To see me buy and test out what a dirt-cheap SOLAR GENERATOR setup can run: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e33Vgpitfd2doJI PARTS (affiliate links) • 20W solar panel kit - amzn.to/48jZXFj • 12V 18Ah battery - amzn.to/3SGheTs • 150W inverter - amzn.to/48sUWKG • Adapter cable - amzn.to/3woDlGw In this video I tried to focus a bit more on storytelling (even though I don't really know the first thing about storytelling lol). Lemme know if you liked it 😄

[@RahulMohall2000]

You could have skipped the adapter cable

[@paradoxworkshop4659]

Easily...​@@RahulMohall2000

[@chrisregister8021]

A small fan, a small light slowly recharge your phone....

[@jimmyfarfalla8124]

You shouldn't discharge a lead-acid battery by more than 50%, so you can halve that 18Ah.

[@arduinoguru7233]

Do same experince simlar budget with AliExp or Alibaba

[@jasonbroom7147]

First of all, another EXCELLENT video. Your production quality is next-level! The way the segments are laid out and how clearly you articulate each of the ideas makes it an absolute joy to watch the entire video. With that said, your timeline in this video is typical for those who are new to the idea of solar; buy some stuff and then see what it will power. I know YOU know this, but you always want to spec your system the exact opposite way. You want to identify your loads, including peak draw and total watt-hours of draw over a given time period. That's how you make your decision on both the inverter and the battery capacity. Once you know your battery capacity (and voltage) you can make a good decision on how much solar to bring in, which helps define which charge controller to buy. Great stuff, as always. :)

[@footprinthero]

100% correct Jason. Best to determine your energy needs and then size everything based on that. Thanks for the comment!

[@maggew]

I already knew within 30s of clicking play this is a thumbs up. A simple solar related search on KZbin is littered with garbage. Glad I found your video. Thank you very much.

[@glifortconstant7072]

Well said brother

[@harshbarj]

I hate to say it, but this is kinda garbage too. It's clearly a better attempt though.

[@brucekempf4648]

For $173 Total- I was able to come up with a 12V, 20AH, 256WH LiFePo4 battery, 500 watt pure sine wave inverter and 50 watt solar panel and 10A Charge controller. Its worth the extra $73.00

[@johndavid1239]

Can you share details/links to your setup?

[@ppqp83]

Could you share which components you used?

[@SonnyDarvish]

Yes, in this field, a little bit more investment and deal hunting goes a long way. I got a Litheli solar charger at a discount for 100 euros (330 Wh battery, pure sine inverter, 100w usb-c port and some usb-a ports, car socket). On another deal, I got an Allpower 100w folding solar panel that has 100w usb-c output and a 5521 dc port. Ideal scenario, it can generate over 75 watts. Winter is coming, keep your eyes on deals.

[@ppqp83]

@@SonnyDarvish Sweet deals! Thanks for sharing your recipe

[@HansZimmer-b1r]

Actual 500 watt? I think I paid twice that for the inverter I run my small AC off of.

[@iindium49]

Thats impressive. I've lived on limited power for two years now. You really get a feel for what you "need" and more importantly, what you can do without.

[@penguinvic9892]

Excellent comment above. You’re correct, with limited power you learn what you can live without. In the 1980s lived at an off grid rural shack. A small windmill generator trickle charged a couple of old car batteries. This powered a functional, if gloomy indoor low voltage light 💡 system, a portable B&W 12 volt TV set, and a small radio / cassette sound system. We never ran out of power but made sure lights were not unnecessarily left on. That’s the good news. Everything else was non electrical and we read by candlelight. Fast forward to 2020. I use a portable solar generator of 240 v at 150 W. Can be charged at mains power (OPE = Other People’s Electricity); from my car when driving; and by solar panel. The last 2 mentioned are surprisingly effective. So what will it power. At 150 W not much for not long, but it will power a bright 240 v 8 W globe 💡 for hours. It provides about 4 or 5 recharges for my Nintendo DS XL. About 3 charges for my portable DVD player. I can use it on my portable computer for about 3 hours. It’s good for my hair trimmer. Etc. So it’s good for a range of “Micky 🐭 “ low wattage gadgets. This is great for one person but that’s about it.

[@sirtimatbob]

Can you give me more details on mains power? How exactly does one find that​@@penguinvic9892

[@jasonbeymer4025]

For the price, it's a wonderful introduction for kids in science class or even the Boy/Girl Scouts. It would be a cheap yet effective system for light camping or at the beach.

[@FrugalShave]

Inverters are so inefficient that I just never use them. Since most devices you might want to run use a transformer that converts your house AC back to DC, and very often 12v DC, I just either buy or make a replacement cable to go 12v to 12v. USB is an easy adaptation from 12v as well. My CPAP machine for instance, will run about 10 hours using the inverter, but with a direct 12v to 12v connection, I can get up to 8 nights of sleep using my 505wh power station. I am hoping that one of these manufacturers will figure that out and make a more svelte version with all the bells and whistles but dump the useless (to me) inverter.

[@davidbroadfoot1864]

Wow.. so you are saying you get about 8*8 = 64 hours using direct DC-DC, but only 10 hours with an inverter? That's about an 85% loss.

[@einyv]

For the CPAP machine do you have an adapter for the plug?

[@fltfathin]

​@@davidbroadfoot1864 it's due to the multiplicative nature of the loss, two 50% efficient part means 75% energy is lost. Most hardware i know is at least chain of 3-5 of such lossy converters. (Inverter-adapter-motor driver)

[@sluggodna]

This is the only guy that say how long it takes to charge something. Power banks, to car batteries. Most informative videos 👍. How bout car jump boxes?

[@jacquespoirier216]

It's not complicated to do the math. For a 10 000 mAh power bank, 10amps x 5 volts = 50 watts. If you have a 20 watt solar panel. Power bank 50 divided by panel 20. 50/20 = 2.5 hours to fully charge a power bank. (in perfect sunlight condition). You must take into consideration that power banks are charged 5 volts at 1 or 2 amps. That's 5 or 10 watts hours respectively. You can literally charge 2 power banks at the same time with a 20-watt solar panel in 5 hours.

[@sluggodna]

@@jacquespoirier216 thank you.

[@CasperMade]

I think its amazing what you're doing on your channel man, keep up the great work and please as always keep em coming !

[@footprinthero]

Thank you!

[@ernestsbrigis1004]

Totally worth it if you have a small garden away from the house far enough to be too expensive to get power and still close enough that you can walk by feet. With a bigger battery and maybe a little beefier inverter it should be enough to power a small water pump once a day, some night lights and maybe once a week you can charge some power tools.

[@dabig77]

Extension cord from the house is even cheaper

[@ernestsbrigis1004]

@@dabig77 not if you have to walk 10 minutes, and cord is not always the best solution. I am living in a small town there is one field split into small pieces every piece is a garden. I don't think the extension cord from the apartment building would be good idea

[@sirtimatbob]

​@@ernestsbrigis1004buried cable could be an alternative to look at. I do think this video shows a good alternative as well

[@ernestsbrigis1004]

@@sirtimatbob buried cable is good alternative if you are the owner of land between both properties. Otherwise it is a huge paper mountain and that's expensive

[@Skudster13]

I see this as a good testbed to get into solar and get your feet wet, without breaking the bank. Something like this would work great for small USB devices (phones and maybe tablets), LED lighting, or any other small 110V devices you might have. Giving the basic math equations would certainly help people figure out what they can power safely and get a loose expectation of duration and with figuring out the limited solar charging you get from the small solar panel. A great intro video to solar power that should help people answer their own questions!

[@lawrence7407]

actually it would be great if you can also suggest another budget build with up to $150 to $200. I am sure some of the people who watch your video can afford a slightly more budget build.

[@lawrencedavidson6195]

I started out with a 40 watt panel, i now have four 450 watt panels.

[@Junyo]

Two things about the inverter: When it says 150Watts it means it can run 150Watts for a few seconds - not "all the time". Usually inverters are rated at about DOUBLE what their continuous output would be. In this case, your inverter shouldn't be connected to anything that draws more than 75 Watts. Another thing about the inverter is that your doesn't state it outputs "Pure Sine Wave". This means it will work on stuff like an LED-light, but most electronic devices with chips in them would probably fail. Also, the lead-acid battery won't like it if you draw more than (AxV/10) about 20 Watts as it would get quite hot if you draw much more than that.

[@panayioti74]

I think it worth the price, you can easily use with it a larger panel in order to charge the battery faster.

[@entertaindane7957]

Could you do another video upgrading the parts used in this video? I think that would be a good idea and a fun video!!

[@silentcartographer7685]

I think this would be a great idea as well! Currently upgrading as I learn and this is about where I am at the moment!

[@das5813]

Important. Thanks for letting me know. Always disconnect the solar array before disconnecting anything else when disassembling the kit

[@coffelt683]

I literally built this same exact setup 4 years ago lol. It is a fun project. Also you do not need an adapter for the inverter, just cut the plug off and splice directly to the wires.

[@Metriximor]

I'm gona be honest, the video is short, simple, high quality, and you explain all the math and even provide some common knowledge figures and estimates for those that don't know about this kind of stuff (like me). Massive thumbs up, keep it up!

[@atranimecs]

Started with a single panel setup for garden pumps and lighting at night. Now im fully invested in a 48v system that can power my lights and a fridge/freezer if the grid goes down. This is a nice video for getting into the hobby. Learning about different battery chemistry, why higher voltage is better for distant setups, why an MPPT charge controller is better than a PWM solar charger, and how to properly/safely wire setups are all wonderful follow ups for beginners. For starters, learn to create your own wire lengths and have appropriate connectors thay work with distribution bars to clean up the wiring and reduce saftey issues

[@jessicaalvarez273]

I’m impressed!! Pretty good for the budget

[@footprinthero]

I thought so too!

[@michaelbenefield1044]

I've used this solar kit for powering my lights in my chicken pen. I had a 35ah AGM for longer discharge. It also ran a 12v Ceiling fan 24/7. I have another 20w top solar kit powering a 12v RV diagram pump installed on my 50 gal rain barrel collection. I use it to give water to my goats and pigs. It does a great job keeping the batteries topped off. I would recommend it for low power devices that are used sparingly.

[@realflow100]

Put it all together in a plastic container or attach it to a wooden platform with a handle and bracket/angle adapter for the solar panel. Instant portable energy supply anywhere in the world!

[@Kasslim11]

I set up something similar recently. 2 important notes for someone who wants to do this too: - My battery is almost identical to the one in the video, the manual said to charge it fully _before_ pulling power from it. Don't damage your batteries unnecessarily :) - Take care in what order you connect things. My charge controller required me to connect the battery first

[@tempest-523]

If this is what you can afford then this is good. At least you can keep a light or two and recharge small things like battery bank or phone. Instead of a regular 60W regular light on this system I’d recommend a 4W USB string lights. 30 bucks but 4W and lights up a room decent in an outage and will last a long time.

[@spacejihadist4246]

You should do more of these budget systems. I have a small cabin I go to every week and this is perfect. I only need to power a light bulb and charge my phone. Subscribing. I hope to see more.

[@ivey77426]

Hey, that's a fun video you made. I do have inverter from your video. You should keep in mind that it's not 100% efficient. In fact if you measure AC inverter efficiency you will find out this somewhat terrible. At 13watts load it will consume 24watts from battery or 54% efficiency. That number will rise slowly as the load gets bigger, for example at 18watts load it will take 30watts from battery or 60%. You get the idea. Paired with the fact you should not discharge a lead-acid battery below 50% the total usable capacity is pretty terrible to be honest. But the first step improving that should be removing the AC from the chain. When building such tiny system you should power everything via DC-DC and that will bring you above 80% instantly. Second step would be using LiFePo4 battery instead of lead-acid. The changes proposed will double your usable capacity for the same money. Cheers.

[@rickkrockstar]

He could have cut the inverter wires and stayed under budget, but who's counting a few dollars. Nice and simple overall. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@TheDeelunatic]

Cool and all, but there is something to note about the 12 volt fridge he plugged in. Many portable appliances may have a larger initial load that could overload that fuse... or you could take out the Charge controller if you drag the battery down too far.

[@NWAAdventures]

Can't wait to see the budget solar generator setup vid.

[@datashadow]

This would be great for an emergency backup during hurricane season or take with me camping as an emergency backup. Would easily fit in a compact container.

[@twooey8232]

I don't believe it has much practical value, but educational is great. I was kinda wondering what would happen if you plugged the panel directly into a 12v cell phone charger. They normally have a pretty wide range of voltages, and it might work!

[@razzix2]

I struggle understanding the pricing that people get into on stuff like this. I have access to local companies that sell bigger used residential used panels 250w or so in the 40$ range. They exist all over the place across the US. For my use case I drop the small inverter in favor of direct DC powering for chargers for phones, laptops, fans, and lighting. Save the money from inverter and buy 2 lawnmower sized batteries for 24v in series and you are off to the races. Heck little U1 batts are under 30$ brand new and you can find em for dirt cheap used on local pages. Even seen some folks score great deals on used RV batts but that could push out the budget. WAY more bang for your buck - way faster charging - going to last longer in regular capacity - cheaper on wire - will run way more during peak charging - also lead acid will be much happier with a few hours of recharge time vs 2-3 days. Not even a step up in budget. same budget 250w vs 20w.

[@Renvaar1989]

Your suggested setup does ALL that...?! AND it even COMPLETELY misses the entire premise of the video! The ENTIRE point of the video was a budget, easy to setup and easy to use system any beginner could use to get started... Literally a few clicks on Amazon Where as a beginner like me has almost no idea what you're talking about.

[@razzix2]

@@Renvaar1989 Its gotta just be different chapters in life. Not doggin the vid - just genuinely stating I struggle to understand how folks get into the weeds when pricing these out like this. Its the human condition - genuinely you and I can start from the exact same position and end up in completely different conclusions and neither of us has a clue how the other got to where they are given the overarching objective. Its just spec comparison and shopping around to arrive at a different config man. Maybe its just getting snow blind from all the options. Or not knowing what you dont know? Its all in the instruction manuals tho. Spec sheet for the panel etc. Even as complete beginners we do that to get our bearings. Wiring up a residential panel and 24v batt isnt any harder than what he has done here. I don't think I've missed the point on that at all. And that is what is so cool about this stuff. It is actually super easy and really accessible when you break it down. I would encourage you to give it a shot AND to iterate it - share the journey too with others too :) its actually a lot of fun and you can do some really cool stuff. His configuration is not 'bad' or 'wrong' but you can get a LOT more bang for your buck if you go a little deeper. Edited for clarity 8/23/2024 - responded as tho renvaar was video poster.

[@Renvaar1989]

@@razzix2 Why are you talking to me like a made the video?

[@razzix2]

@@Renvaar1989 banged out the comment without reading the context. totally confused this with another thread. will edit for clarity.

[@fromcitytowild]

I'll be using this setup for our offgrid water pump house! Stoked!

[@chadhodson7976]

I like this setup. I use something similar when tent camping with my kids. It keeps our cell phones charged, and my led flashlights. We have a 12v stereo we listen to as well and this helps with that system. In an emergency, we would have power to at least have light and communications. I could also use this to keep my car battery fresh in the same emergency situation. I try to not use inverters, and only use lower voltage stuff that is close to the 12v battery supply- this helps eliminate waste when going from 12v up to 110v which makes heat and heat is wasted electricity.

[@S2KV]

This is perfect, I just need to do this for a gazebo out in the backyard that doesn't have any power line in the area. This would be great to run the LED lighting, but maybe up the solar panel.

[@keithjansen1734]

Best use i can see for this is charging usb devices. Good news is phones,lights,fans,usb battery banks,all could operate or charge from this set up.

[@bits360wastaken]

And laptops.

[@bigrob029]

This seems worth it! Low investment and very simple for a beginner that's interested in getting a little knowledge and attempting a small project. Great breakdown on the basics of what to do, what to think about, and what you may need for an application like this.

[@happycamper010]

Small setup good for charging things that already have batteries, flashlights , radios, Nintendo switch , phone , laptop, etc . Me personally I went with the runhood Rallye 600 swappable batteries and their nmc chemistry. Freaking love it anytime it goes to die I just replace the batteries with fully charged ones , pretty much endless power if you got the extra batteries and gear.

[@penguinvic9892]

Liked your suggestions. Others may think some of the gizmos you charge up are in the ‘Micky 🐭 “ range, never underestimate the uses for cheap entertainment. I use my cheap 240 v 150 Amp solar generator to recharge my Nintendo DS XL (game cards: chess, solitaire; scrabble; 100 classic books; Chinese language learning program, etc); my portable DVD player; a mini computer; and even my hair trimmer. It will power an emergency bright light 💡 but low wattage globe for hours. The solar generator is basically just a cheap battery, but if off grid, it would be plenty of power for a range of low wattage and battery operated gizmos, at least for one person. After that, it’s limitations would be obvious. I can recharge it by car 🚙 (in transit) or solar panel or OPE (Other People’s Electricity mains power).

[@Bob-p2q9q]

Love this video,i started learning with a 100 watt solar panel,that came with a solar charger,and 300watt inverter,and a used power wheels battery that I already had

[@umbra234]

I've done some experimenting on this subject as well. Other potential uses are charging any kind of portable device such as a phone. For activities like camping this kind of thing could prove quite useful I think.

[@PurposePlastics]

Man I’m loving your style, I grew tired of the other soler guy. You should redo this sería every few months, I o see what you come up with today for $500

[@crazynok5511]

A 100w flex panel connected to a small lithium power station with mppt and small buck converter for USB fan is what I have , the fan doubles for the swamp cooler also. It all cost about $215 with tax and everything else but the shipping sucked .

[@bruce-le-smith]

charging a laptop with a $105 setup is pretty cool, thanks! charging the battery in 2-3 days seems rough, but it would be better than nothing

[@demogirlsworld]

Thanks for articulating this basic set up so simply! I'm slowly collecting bits and pieces based off your videos in order for me to build my own system. Thanks for the tip re the lithium batteries. I have a 3 season greenhouse as it can get to -50 where I am in winter and even fall temps are in the low minus weather. SLA I think will be a better solution for me.

[@johnmal5975]

Kinda of a neat project to see how things work which is really important. Not practical you need to spend more to get something useful.

[@alanalot]

I got a decent small solar set-up in my van for 200 bucks. A 240 W/h LiFePO4 battery 300 watt inverter and solar charge controller for $140, a 50 watt solar panel for $50, and a solar to DC7909 adaptor for $10.

[@ghost405060]

sure worth it for some specific ideas like camping and stuff but not really daily usable

[@DavideNastri]

I want to help a friend that lives in a challenging area where they have no electricity. He would be SO HAPPY to have light at night. His needs are very barbone and so is the budget. I think that a couple of 20w 12v lights for 6/8 hours a day would do... Would this setup do it? Or is it better to use the inverter like you did?

[@chaon93]

Not sure if you ever got your answer, but id probably avoid 20w 12v lights in general, 20w for 6-8 hours is well beyond what a small panel like shown is going to handle, or that battery will be viable for. Go for a car socket adaptor into a usb power plug. There are very nice usb powered hanging light bulbs that only pull 5w-8w. So 1) battery (lead acid if it needs to handle below freezing, otherwise lifepo4) 2) solar charge controller and solar panel 3) usb lightbulbs 4) car socket cables 5) usb car socket adaptor or inverter with usb ports or you can go full usb 1) usb portable battery (a 50k mah (about 170 watt hour) usb battery will run a 5w usb light for about 30 hours) 2) usb solar panel (a 20w usb solar panel will restore about 20 watt hours per hour of good sun) 3) usb lightbulbs

[@silvanaleverrier]

What a great video. I’m subscribing and will now go back and binge on your other videos. Thank you, from Wales, UK 😊

[@MrJoe478]

I'm loving my solar powered dusk to dawn lights around my home. I'm looking to do something just like this in which I'm will to go a little over on a panel, battery inverter etc. Well I already have a newly 1500 watt inverter for starters. I like this guy videos. Very interesting and informative. I'm subscribed bro. Thumbs-up.

[@PKAdventures]

you can check your local battery distributor and there's a good chance that they will have some blems/blemished/superficial damage full sized car or deep cycle batteries for around the same price as that battery. that's where i always get my replacement car batteries. basically they are batteries that got a tiny scuff mark, or the handle broke off, or something along those lines that maybe doesn't look pretty, but has no negative impact on the function of the battery. but since it doesn't look perfect, they can't sell it to the local stores, so they will sell it at a discount to anyone, 40-60% off is pretty common but sometimes you can get an even better deal than that

[@AdamDaviesSussex]

Marine equipment is good for DIY battery setups. For a little more I got a nice multi socket adaptor with switches. It's more efficient to use 12v power if you can and bypass the inverter.... These days many things can run from 12v. Car cigarette sockets and USB are a great combo :) I use two car batteries with a similar setup to this.

[@cenajoel]

Bro!! I already knew all you explained, and even with that I enjoyed it so much!!!!

[@BlessedLaymanNC]

You have probably figured out that the real cost in solar power is in the batteries. But, what you have can be expanded on, and that is exactly how I got started. The difference was that I found a battery company that replaces fleet truck batteries. They will sell you usable truck batteries for pennies on the dollar. The biggest use for small scale solar is to have some kind of power when camping or power outage. Even with that small battery, you can supply much more power during a sunny day. If you have 100 watts of panels, you can feed the battery, then draw up to the amount of charge the panels are charging the battery. That, will of course, fluctuate. The bottle neck will be in the long term after the sun goes down. I started out just taking my computer and phone chargers off-grid, and operating my ham radio QRP rig on the battery during the evening, as long as it lasted. When power did fail, I stratigically used it to keep communications running and a little LED lights in the room. Little by little, I've grown to handling a full 24 hour outage of essentials. Now I'm working on taking most of my apartment off-grid. It's hard to find someone to talk about small-scale solar because most of those doing solar don't consider those of us not taking our whole house or farm or business off-grid. RV is closer to what we do, but still bigger systems. Thanks for sharing.

[@pattisimus5944]

The question is not " can it " it's " how long does it take "

[@timlee5260]

This could work for a camping setup where you started with a full battery and used the kit to power the stuff you showed. The big advantage to this small setup is price and easy enough to carry in a duffle bag.

[@betsyross2.065]

Let me start by saying,thank you for the tutorial,I know nothing about these things, however for the equipment needed,it seems that items exist neatly housed and packaged ready to use ,but I'm a complete novice ...❤

[@chrissenefili4971]

Bro I wanna try your solar plan budget, I gotta test it out here on isolated island by following your instructions.

[@escapetherace1943]

I'd say for the price it is not worth it, because it's worth going a bit over that budget for. I probably wouldn't use anything smaller than a setup with a 100w panel

[@KidCarnival]

You know the crazy part is it took this video to get me to understand this system

[@pnowikow]

If all you used it for was charging USB devices, it would work pretty well even with a small solar panel. For lighting I would invest in USB rechargeable lanterns or other lighting accessories that don't draw much current. Add everything inside a $10 ammo can. Put everything inside except for the solar panel. Permanently hardwire all the connections to the battery and make sure it's all fused

[@tufelhunden5795]

You could have saved on the wires if you were willing to take apart the 12v plug on the inverter. It’s what I did to make my power tool battery charger with a cheap 300 watt pure sine wave

[@darylefleming1191]

Forget the price tag, it does not seem to meet any basic needs. How long will it run the 12 volt mini fridge? 2 to 3 days to recharge the battery. Thanks for the video.

[@andririan6342]

You can just let it charge there and use it in case of emergency

[@mikemcdonald5147]

good explanation video for beginner solar setup for people wanting to learn more.

[@joshm7769]

Exactly the video i was looking for

[@mikeshanermusic]

For a lamp, a phone, and a laptop, yes, it's worth it.👍👍

[@narii87]

Great way to approach much more complex set ups. Cool content

[@SkepticalCaveman]

In a few years that lead acid could be replaced with a sodium battery instead.

[@marcdaquina5472]

Can I use this for a heating pad for dogs or cats outdoors?

[@414RadioTech]

I do this all the time in fact I have four 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries at 9 amp hour batteries that are on a 375 watt inverter it seems to work flawlessly all I need now is the solar kit which I can get and I'll be in business thanks to this video I won't be getting any of those power stations that you see like ecoflow so I don't have to worry about lithium batteries at all which I don't like so at least I can eliminate a fire hazard there and still use it inside my place without the risk of it overcharging or having an issue and then lithium fires

[@mikechaplin1566]

Good deal, I may use this setup to put some lights in 2 sheds that I have.

[@eric7843]

It’s a great back up generator for small things that need it

[@John--qh9xl]

Great video. I really want to learn about solar, so this is an excellent starting point.

[@Wild_Pernaja]

With this size the only continuous sensible use would be charging small electronic devices, like phones or running a led light setup. And for that there are some parts that are not needed. Like the inverter. I guess.

[@popcorn782]

Inverter with battery and charger is good for power outage emergency power. Albeit probably only for phone charging and a light if it’s dark out.

[@IvicaMilaric]

Awesome video, great idea and I love the follow-through with the actual real-life potential of the charged battery. Great job!

[@tenshiabse]

This looks like a decent (not sure about the inverter's wave quality) small, cheap back up system (kinda like a UPS) you can deplete the battery over 50% (like 75-80) it will only severely shorten the battery's life expectancy.

[@sandramiller6996]

If you want to make a product that sells... I suggest a solar powered space heater. Like solar powered lights. Everything included, that includes the caution of handling the outdoor solar panel for the indoor safespace heater. New name & idea.

[@jabba334]

Fun and informative video! All-in-one solar generators do keep getting cheaper though! Right now there's a Powerstream branded solar generator on Amazon rated at 167Wh @100 watts with a lithium battery, two plugs/three USB plugs and some DC output plugs for $110. It also comes with a 30 watt rated foldable solar panel. Is it any good? If you trust the ratings, it is. IMO, the best way to save lots of money is if you're going for a lot more power. Rolling your own system for whole house power is going to be way cheaper than buying the big powerful solar generators. If you're just looking to power/charge the items in the video, than buying a small all-in-one solar generator rather than cobbling one together is probably the best way to go (less chance for crossed/sparked wires too!).

[@Prime-rn7yw]

Please locate the draw of 2-3 separate branded oxygen concentrator running at 12-15 liters... and design a build that should be able to facilitate the bare minimum of 3 day run time. That may help alleviate the stress for some individuals effected by long outages. If you don't want to do it, please let me know.

[@Don-ii4vm]

I would love to set up a wire shelving unit as a mini indoor greenhouse and run the uv lights (and maybe heating pads) off this setup.

[@AlexanderBelikov]

I would try to avoid the inverter as much as possible. Boost converter to step up the voltage and then power any dc load directly from dc. It will make a difference, especially on such tiny system. Charging phone, laptop, lights - all that can be powered from dc.

[@bbasmdc]

This is a great video - thank you! So many of these simple installations get bogged down as the presenter actually installs it in a building/shed. But you kept it simple...just laying everything out on the floor. I have a question about the choice of lead acid. The price is right, but other videos on the topic say it's the worst type of battery for a solar setup as these batteries are not supposed to be deep drained. I can think of a use case for this setup - a small garden water feature. Pumps can pull a lot of power so it would need to be small, and you can buy submersible 12V pumps really cheaply. So maybe you could create a follow-on video that also has a light sensor that would switch off the pump when it gets dark.

[@acegear]

if you can rewire "critical lights" in the house is the only thing i can think of the best purpose for that kind of setup and possible a higher wattage panels so i wont take a 2-3days to recharge

[@NevsTechBits]

Good job man. I learned. Commenting to support your chan-chan. Hoping good things for you!

[@KitsuneVoss]

I have a question with this. My non gaming laptop uses a 45 watt power supply. I doubt it uses that regularly but curious what I would need to power a relatively low powered laptop such as it?

[@PeloyGeek]

excellent price, this seems a bit more convenient (price wise) than buying something like the anker products, that you still have to charge from your house or something powered already. of course the setup is a lot bigger but it works!

[@nathanbrown492]

Would be great if you could showcase something we can do with power packs we already have for example.

[@paullabourne4803]

Why did you connect the inverter directly to the battery and not via the power output of the solar control unit? Does a direct connection make a difference? Thanks great video

[@gg-us9rk]

How much watt inverter can we connect with a 12V 200Ah Lead Acid battery for good life? I am using the battery-inverter combo as an alternative power source like an UPS

[@IvorLongarrow]

It would be interesting to calculate the payback. Suppose you this configuration daily to charge phone or similare, given the cost of energy at home, how much time will be needed to have a return on the investment?

[@Orodreth888]

Hm... I think this can work if you just want something to charge your laptop or have some light devices powered somewhere off grid. But I strongly advice to add more solar panels.

[@thehappyscrappy5681]

I think it would be ok for my use I’m looking for a small solar set up to put on a kayak not to charge batteries but just to keep some charging going in while load is drawn out I’ll be running a usb phone charger and a small fish finder (nav plotter) so looking for something small enough I can hide everything internally on the kayak and have a small water safe plug on the outside to plug in the solar panel as I do a lot of trips away so something that can just put a lil bit more charge in the battery while away … I’ve already parallel wired 2batteries together so I drawn and put out same wattage but it gives me more AH so need something light and easy to remove from the kayak wen at home or loading and unloading kayak so I think this would be perfect plus I’m in aus so plenty of strong sun here even in winter

[@thehappyscrappy5681]

Altho I wouldn’t be running and inverter just solar and solar charger as my usb chargers and sounder run directly off battery with a fuse box installed

[@Setrany]

I think with these systems, if the rate of return on your investment is measured in years, then its just a demonstrator project. For that, this is really good. But you aren't gonna rely on this day-to-day. Maybe when out camping, you might. Or for a trucker to stick on the hood of their vehicle. But I don't think this make sense for anything more.

[@maximchahal578]

would be a cool setup for a camper van

[@noobrefinisher5443]

bro where you been I've been looking for a vid just like this for so long

[@Superminaren]

I honestly think you're better off going the second hand solar panel route and buying a decent MPPT for the saved money, it's certainly doable within 100 USD and gives you far superior hardware.

[@jscythe74]

You know you can buy used solar panels by the pallet for

[@naumanmemon]

As of today (25 August 2024), 1$ = 280PKR, so 100$ = 28,000PKR. And the current price of Solar Panels in Pakistani Markets is 32PKR per watt. That means I can purchase 580W solar panel for 66.2$ only and I can buy charge controllers and buck converters from the rest of the money :)

[@josepl7639]

Interesting, I know that solar has improved in the last 30 years but not as much as I would of liked. I would be curious of a hybrid solar and vertical wind mill system. I am sure if everyone used a bit of solar it would help. The cost of going solar in Canada is about 25 k and I would estimate it would take 19 years to recover the cost. By 19 year most if not all components would need to be replaced. Things have improved but we are still a ways off