19
submitted 1 year ago by Crotaro@beehaw.org to c/diy@beehaw.org

Hiya, I hope I'm not completely in the wrong place (/c/Technology seems to only be dedicated to tech news but not questions). I have this powerbank with a built-in solar panel. The powerbank itself seems great so far, but it's a pretty tiny solar panel. I've read about the difficulty of just hooking up a regular powerbank to a solar panel (spikes and dips in voltage due to clouds, people, etc.).

But since this powerbank is already designed to be charged with solar energy, can I simply hook a big-ass solar panel onto it and recharge it much faster than the officially displayed "several days, depending on the weather"?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Crotaro@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Wow thanks to all of you for the very detailed replies, especially you, @Powderhorn@beehaw.org !

Looks like I'll save your answers and keep them in mind for when I have the nerve to deal with all that effort (we had the idea of installing solar panels on our car roof and buffer it to a second car battery for extended camping trips)

[-] Powderhorn@beehaw.org 2 points 1 year ago

It's definitely a rabbit hole. What I can recommend as first steps if you're considering a vehicle solar setup is a two-pronged approach: determining what will be electric vs. some other fuel source and getting a usage monitor like a Kill-A-Watt for devices you'd be planning on using during those trips.

Hard numbers on capacity need are crucial when starting to put together a system. Everything else stems from those figures. Good luck!

this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2023
19 points (100.0% liked)

Do It Yourself

7675 readers
1 users here now

Make it, Fix it, Renovate it, Rehabilitate it - as long as you’ve done some part of it yourself, share!

Especially for gardening related or specific do-it-yourself projects, see also the Nature and Gardening community. For more creative-minded projects, see also the Creative community.


This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS