Welcome to my first dispatch! Earth Week is off and running here at DVICE, and just like I promised, I'm going off the grid for five days. Yep, all week long I'll be getting my power from green sources like solar panels and hand cranks — no wall outlets allowed. From my laptop to my phone to my coffee maker, it's all renewable, all the time for me.
It’s early here in San Francisco, but the sun’s shining and there’s not a cloud in the sky. Comforting, since the bulk of power for my laptop will come from the slick 56-inch, 110-watt solar panel pictured above. Sunday, as it turned out, was not a day of rest either for myself or my dog Gus (dude loves lounging in the sun, so I figure I might as well put him to work rocking Solio’s Hybrid 1000 — that's that thing dangling from his collar — which I’ll be using to juice up my cellphone in a few hours). Sometime yesterday, though, it finally hit me: this experiment is crazy. Find out just how nutty after the Continue jump.
Breaking open all the boxes and boxes of panels, chargers, and cranks splayed out on my floor, my thoughts turned to numbers, volts and watts. Power consumption isn’t something I pay much attention to, not like this. We all know we can stretch out a couple days on an iPod depending on how continuous you use it. I know my cellphone’s always a champ for 24+ hours. No, the biggest challenge here isn’t the littler, 5V gadgets. It’s my 55-watt MacBook. (Why didn't I downgrade to a smaller, more NRG-efficient laptop? Self-flagellation? Pride? A little from column A and B.) Essentially, as you might guess, all these pocket-size solar chargers and doodads just aren’t powerful enough. Yet.
Which brings me to the biggest (and priciest) beacon of hope in my collection of off-grid gear: the Solar PowerPac II, a rig that channels the sunjuice from that glorious 56-inch panel *fingers crossed* into a small portable generator on wheels. Now, the box says a computer with a 15-inch monitor will last, oh, 1.7 hours (kinda depressing, considering that same amount of power gets you 40 hours of NPR). But of course, that’s where the panel kicks in with its promise to offset power draws in the ballbark of 100 watts. Guess we’ll see! I’ve also got Weza’s Freeplay step charger waiting in the wings, too.
Either way I’m developing a mindset of conservation and focus. My first quick morning e-mail check: cellphone. Number of desktop apps running at once: two. My usual RSS feeds: limited to 5 minutes. Screen brightness setting: super low (again, self-flagellation). I also did something I never thought I’d do: drafted a blog post in long hand. I’m used to being online intermittently up to 16 hours a day, and to be perfectly honest, I’m just not sure what I’ll do if the power runs out. Over the weekend, a few less tech-dependent friends told me I sounded like I was preparing for a stint in rehab or a prison sentence. Fair enough.
For now, I’m still working off my full-charged laptop battery (1.14 hours remain), but I’ll soon be powering up the PowerPac's generator for the first time. Wish me luck. And tune in tomorrow for a full report on my attempts to brew a solar cup of coffee using Surfer Chef’s Solar Cooking System.
editor@dvice.com
By Mike T. at 2:18 PM ON 04/22/08
And you have a pug, which means you have an ample supply of natural gas.
By karenwvr at 6:49 PM ON 04/22/08
just keep the sun shining..........
By inspector3500 at 3:13 AM ON 04/23/08
What a dork, how much energy do you think it took to produce the solar panel, you can stay off the grid for the remainder of your life and not offset the carbon footprint generated by the manufacture of the solar cell.
By macgirl at 3:48 AM ON 04/23/08
Congrats for trying, but I kind of agree with the guy who points out the power and resources used to produce solar cells.....defeats the purpose. Now for sustainable energy? someone has to find a way to harness farts...I've fot a 2 Pugs and 2 Devon Rex's and their daily emissions alone would run all the small appliances in my home for a week....or light up 1 floor of an office building for a day. :D:D
By um Why at 4:40 AM ON 04/23/08
Speaking of dorks... Inspector3500 is completely off-base regarding energy return on investment (EROI). When compared to other sources of electricity, Solar Power has one of the highest lifetime EROIs. At this point, it is still a bit more expensive than some sources, but it also is generally sited close to the consumption point, eliminating losses and costs in distribution.
Of course if you compare Solar generated electricity with zero electricity, you will find Solar to have a higher footprint (assuming you don't turn to smoke-signals as a blog delivery mechanism.)
By burden of at 6:48 AM ON 04/23/08
All well and good, I am glad that the peeps that scare the crap outta people (politicians, TV & movie personalities) and do nothing to help... have got you working hard to asure they can have the power to run there 15,000 sqf homes... I say use it till its gone... then they will find power else where! :)
By Hrafn Skaldskapur at 11:18 AM ON 04/23/08
Or, Inspector3500, you could remain off the grid for a lifetime and never offset any electric-powered manufacturing plant. I could leave all of my lights on for 100 years and any factory using expensive, heavy machinery still has me beat. Good points UM WHY.
To Steven Leckhart, the original poster, I will be fascinated to see how your solar cooking module works -- and if it does work at all. Way back in elementary school, a class I was in was given the project of building a similar solar cooking module using cardboard and a whole lot of foil. We were reassured that we would be able to bake and cook in the box afterwards. Unfortunately, it did not work at all. It is possibly because we were told to keep it closed rather than let the sunlight reflect off of the foil. Good luck and I hope you get a steaming cup of coffee out of this!
By Bob at 12:16 PM ON 04/23/08
Wow - You will certainly have a new appreciation of how much we depend on electricity. Sadly your dependence on the batteries you charge will very much limit your activity. Good thing you are going solar for your cup-o-joe, because no way can you brew a pot at a 1000 watt load!
By Bob at 12:35 PM ON 04/23/08
The myth that a solar panel takes more energy to produce than they can deliver is a pure fiction. As long back as 15 years ago, solar cell production crossed the net-zero energy point, where the energy required to produce the solar cells was lower than the capacity of the cells to produce power themselves (and that was instantaneous power, not power over the 20+ year life of the cell).
This myth needs to die along with other equally false but strongly held beliefs such as "Your face will freeze that way", or "Stop that or you will go blind".
Quit spouting urban myth people and check your sources.
By Bob at 12:57 PM ON 04/23/08
After looking up the details, the polycrystalline solar panel being used in Steve's experiment has a 1 to 2 year "energy payback" -- In other words, in less than 2 years the panel will have produce more electricity than was used to construct it (including the processing of all raw materials). Also don't forget that EVERY source of electrical power, has an energy cost associated with building the generation facilities. But the belief that solar PV is somehow cursed with higher "up-front" energy costs is simply false (or based on a 1976 paper for NASA that talked about space-based solar cells based on 30+ year-old technology).
By darkamor at 1:45 PM ON 04/23/08
Wouldn't putting the Pug on a treadmill [that powers a generator] work ? How about a treadmill you can walk / run on for exercise [that powers a generator].
For all you solar haters out there [although it can be costly to install] did you know in the state of Arizona if you install solar in your home the State Power Co. buys back 1/2 of your total monthly wattage from you ? [i.e. you house uses 30,000 a month? you get charged 15,000 - comprende bitches?]
By zemery at 2:43 AM ON 04/25/08
good job Steve! Keep it up!
By Janlinae at 3:11 PM ON 04/25/08
Good Luck and Good Job. Depending on which cooker you invested in, you should be able to get some decent meals AND your morning java. If you had thought to add a small wind turbine to your set up, you would have 2 to 3 times as much energy to use as just using solar. After your week "Off the Grid" you might consider making some permanent changes to your energy lifestyle. Like I said, Good Luck and Good Job.
By Jiffyjeff at 3:54 PM ON 04/25/08
Everyone can do this: charge your devices off your car's cigarette lighter! I use a splitter to charge my cell, MP3, elec. razor and power tool batteries during my commute. Wall charger transformers draw power 24/7 whether hooked to a device or not so I'm saving there too.