Your Questions About Solar Generators Portable

Richard asks…

What would be the best way to power equipment in a remote location with no available electricity?

I need to power a few printers and a laptop computer for a small business. I will be working in remote locations out of my van, so ideally the power source should be renewable, and able to be accessed for about 12 hours each day. The entire setup must be portable ( fit into a commercial van ) and ideally cost only as much as necessary. Does anybody have any suggestions?

admin answers:

If it were me, I’d buy a power inverter for the van, and use it to run the computer and printers. They’re available at most truck stops, auto parts stores, etc. If you combine that with a couple of small solar panels that plug into the cigarette lighters and charge the batteries, you shouldn’t need to run the motor more than a few hours a day to charge the van batteries.

Buy a deep cycle battery, and keep an eye on the power levels. You don’t say how remote the location is. If getting help or a jump is a problem when you run completely out of battery to start the van, buy a small generator for emergency starting. Like they said, they’re not at all expensive. You could probably set up the whole thing for less than $500.

Good luck.

Laura asks…

We recently had a major power outage. How do we choose an electric generator to be sure we can use our fridge?

We want to have the capability to generate our own electricity, particularly during an emergency. A solar electric generator would be great for us because we live in the desert. How do we choose the best one for our needs?

admin answers:

Hi there … You can get a whole house generator which will cover all your needs for between $3-8000 or you cab get a portable one and have a swtich fitted to your house so that you basically plug it in….
Here in florida… I have two … A small 1000w and a bigger 8000 watt. The higher the watts the more it will run in your house. For example .. The only things the 8000w wont run in my house is the air conditioning and the stove…. It will run everything else….. It cost $1300
The 1000 w will run the refrigerator… And a few lights… Or the tv and lights and fans … It cost…. $299.
There is also the thing called starting watts… The 8000 wat gernerator has a starting watt of 13500. What this means is that when certain electrila appliances start they need more electricity than when they are constantly running… Like acceleration in a car… More gas to get up to speed…
The site below has a section sizing your generator and it wexplains how to work out what you need…

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