Solar Charging Station
We are often asked how we charge our electronics. For about $300, I can charge my phone, Kindle and computer. My computer only draws 4.5 amps, so it charges pretty well except if it has been cloudy for several days. A larger computer would require a bigger battery and a larger solar panel.
I have a 300 watt 12 volt pure sine inverter ($72) with a LMS series controller ($37 at Amazon). The battery is a 75 watt deep cycle battery. You also need some 12 gauge wire and a couple of MC4 solar connectors.
I mounted two 40 watt panels on the roof. If I were to do it over again, I would use one 100 watt panel, but I used what I had.
Without much experience, it is easy to build your own small solar system.
CAUTION: When using your system, never let the battery go below 12 volts because you will quickly kill your battery.
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Thanks for reading and up voting.
Nice post, thanks for sharing
Great post, appreciate you including the list of stuff needed and where to find it...it is very helpful. :D I'll have to make sure my hubby, @timmyoflinn, sees this post as he's the one that would be putting it all together for us. :D
Thanks for sharing and have an awesome day! :D
Great work. I love the DIY aspect of this. We are about to put up 5kW in our field but it would be great to have a little home backup unit like this as well because the field solar is just going to be grid tied, which still means reliance upon the grid.
That's a great solution! I would love to set up something like that here in South Africa!
I would love to do these kind of DIY but unfortunately I live in a highrise so my options are a bit limited.
After experiencing Irma it would be nice to have little set up like that. Thanks for the info. 🐓🐓
Very imformative blog. Thanks @hansjurgen. Upvoted and followed.