Archive for the ‘Solar Power’ Category

Real portable power from the sun, made simple

Posted: July 4, 2011 by Troy Saxton-Getty in Accessories, dropSKIP? What???, Power, Solar Power
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Real portable power from the sun, made simple
By Troy Saxton-Getty

In a recent article we covered the Nomad 7 ultra-portable solar panel for charging mobile phones and other small devices. In an hour or two from reasonable direct sunlight you can charge the typical mobile gadget. When we purchased the Nomad from Goal Zero we also purchased some additional solar gear which fits into the “transportable” category.

Specifically the Boulder 15w Panels, The battery power pack, LED Lantern and LED Light stick.

Solar Gear

Solar Gear

Goal Zero has made it extremely simple to setup, collect and store power from the sun. After spending years researching, buying and testing various solar power tools, Goal Zero is finally a company that has made it end-to-end simple and I mean like what we’ve come to expect in a user experience from the likes of Apple.

What could you use this stuff for? While the Nomad 7 is designed to go in your backpack, the Boulder 15 panels aren’t, but they can easily be transported to any location you might setup a camp site, temporary location, emergency situation or remote spot where you need power and you will also need it after dark, that is where a collection of simple plug and play products from Goal Zero come in.

First, the Panels, each produces about 15 watts with direct sunlight, this might not sound like much, but to give you some comparison, the Nomad 7 charged our empty iPhone 4 in less than 2 hours, it is a 7 watt panel.

What’s cool about these panels is the connectors, long and light-weight cords and simple ability to chain them together. You can connect up to 4 panels for a continuous 60 watts of DC power. From a transportable solar perspective, this is big power and connecting them is a plug-in affair. Each panel has a power connector module and a long cord, plug one into the next and so on until you have 4 in-line, the last one plugs into device directly with a standard 12v auto style power connector or into any of the battery packs Goal Zero offers.

Power Connector

Power Connector

Now combine that with their 800 watt power storage battery pack and you can collect power, store it and use it later when you need it. plug the last panel in the series right into the power pack and it starts charging and its fast.

Battery Meter

Battery Meter

The power pack has a USB port, a 12v auto style power connector and a 110v A/C wall outlet. In addition it has a simple “gas gauge” style LCD display to show the battery level. Now, you can’t run a high power gadgets like a blow dryer or curling iron (yes, these can consume 1500+ watts), you can run any of your basic wall plug electronics, lights etc.

Battery

Battery

Since standard lighting is not very power efficient, Goal Zero sells several LED lighting options, two of which we picked up to test, a multi-LED Lantern light and a direct LED light light bar, both of which have standard USB plugs, making it really simple to setup. Oh, btw, you can chain together the LED lights just like the solar panels, simply daisy chain them together using their USB plug, each light plugs into the next and you could effectively light the camp site or temporary location using one connection with multiple lights, you can even mix and match light types.

The LED light bar is a simple USB light bar that you would use to light up a desk or computer/work area, all of these LED lights use the latest low power, high-bright LED technology.

If you live in a area where the power goes out due to storms for example, this setup is perfect, charge in the day, run from the power pack at night. (you can charge the battery pack from the wall or car outlet just to keep it topped off too)

LED Light Stick

LED Light Stick

In using the panels to charge the power pack, we were able to use two panels and charge the battery with a typical afternoon of sunlight and with regular camping type use, the power pack was able to easily support the evening with plenty of power to spare. That included using a laptop plugged in for several hours.

LED Lantern

LED Lantern

The quality of the manufacturing is really high end, the technology is the latest in solar efficiency and the user experience is fantastic.

You never know when you might need extended emergency power, lights and the ability to re-charge without the grid, these products are designed like an ecosystem, each product works with the other, no special talent is required, plug and go.

Check their website, they have a very nice array of products, battery, connectors, lighting and panel options, you can find them at Costco at about 40% off of the pricing shown on the GoalZero website. I’ve been carrying the Nomad 7 in my regular backpack ever since testing it last month.

Finally, Solar power made simple and it works well, Bravo Goal Zero!

Portable solar power gear worth buying…(no, really!)

Posted: May 22, 2011 by Troy Saxton-Getty in Accessories, dropSKIP? What???, Power, Solar Power
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Portable solar power gear worth buying… (no, really!)
by Troy Saxton-Getty

We’ve been watching, buying and experimenting with several different solar power products on the market over the past few years, usually this effort starts with spending a bunch of money which gets you marginal results and you end up at the thought that Solar for portable power isn’t practical, affordable or very useful yet and the industry needs more time and product efficiency.

After doing a little research a bit ago we were surprised to run across www.goalzero.com and we were really hopeful that once we got our hands on some of their products, we might be pleasantly surprised. What was even more surprising is we found that Costco recently did a deal with them covering several key products at 40% or better off of their website retail store pricing.

We purchased several products which we will write about over time, here is the first product we tested from GoalZero:

Nomad 7 Solar Panel (folding/portable)
http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/11/Nomad-7-Solar-Panel/3:1/

Right out of the box one of the most impressive things we noticed is how integrated the products are. For example, the Builder 15 panels can work alone, or you can chain up to four together, the connectors are simple and sturdy with enough cord to allow for great direct sunlight placement.

Each product comes with simple connector accessories, like 12v car power port type plugs, and standard USB plugs.

Let’s start with the Nomad 7 folding portable solar panel:

Nomad 7 Solar Panel

Nomad 7 Solar Panel

This folding portable panel is very efficient, we were able to take our  test iPhone4 from 73% to 90% in late afternoon sunlight in less than 18 minutes, the documentation says it will fully charge the average smartphone is 1.5 hours from empty in solid direct sunlight.

This is 2-3 times faster then any of the other solar gear we have previously tested.

So as to not overheat your phone in extreme summer sunlight, keep it in the shade behind the panel or in the inclosed pocket on the back of the folding panel. You will also need your phone’s normal USB charging cable which simply plugs into the USB port on the Nomad 7.

Keep in mind, the Nomad 7 Solar Panel does not have on-board battery storage, you simply point the panel into the most direct sunlight and plug in your smartphone or other USB powerable device. The Nomad 7 is a sturdy and semi-flexible portable unit that folds up easily with a velcro fastener.

The Goal Zero rep told me there is a $59.95 USD (full retail) battery charger option which can be connected that holds 4 AA/AAA rechargeable batteries with an average full charge time of about 90 minutes in decent direct sunlight. (Included with the product are 4 AA rechargeable batteries) This opens up a plethora of options as well as charing your phone or other USB device outside of sunlight hours.  http://www.goalzero.com/shop/p/8/Guide-10-Battery-Pack/2:1/ unfortunately they were out of stock when we purchased our test gear.

This is the first time we have had a seamless, simple and effective portable solar power product in our hands!

Nomad 7 Solar Panel folded up

Nomad 7 Solar Panel folded up

What a fantastic product from what appears to be a very progressively thinking and disruptive solar products company, all of the other portable solar products companies should be concerned about these guys..

All-in, this is a great product when you need power, you can top off any device that uses a USB or a automobile style 12v power port plug as they include a power port dongle with the product.

We purchased several other products from GoalZero and will continue to use these tools and report on them over time as we use them in the real world.

SOLAR Battery Case for iPhone 4

Posted: April 12, 2011 by Gill Haus in Accessories, Cases, Chargers, iPhone4-ATT, iPhone4-Verizon, Phones, Power, Solar Power
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My quest to find the perfect iPhone case continues (some who know me may just call this OCD).  I picked up the SOLAR Battery Case for iPhone 4 on eBay a week ago and gave it a trial run.  First, some background.  I love how my iPhone looks without a case – most of the time.  When I decide to buy one, I want it to either enhance the appearance or add utility.  In this case, it’s purely utilitarian.

SOLAR Battery Package - Front

The battery pack is a slider case.  This means that there is no difficult dressing procedure.  Simply slide your iPhone 4 into the case and you’re done.  The good news here is that you can easily use this only when you need juice.  The bad news is that the case offers no protection when dropped (unless you have the most amazing drop skip of your life).

SOLAR Battery Package - Back

When fully charged, the battery has 2400 mAh, not a bad charge for those flying between coasts on a regular basis.  It can be charged both by the sunlight and a mini USB port.  Having the battery pack charge your phone requires a manual double click of the only button on the device.  One push will activate the LEDs telling you the charge (1 – 4 bars).  Two clicks enables phone charging.  Holding the button down for 2 seconds turns off phone charging.  I’m still not certain I understand this feature since (as far as I can tell) the battery will charge itself and the iPhone simultaneously.  The case will also turn itself off automatically once the iPhone is fully charged, but it’s delayed.

To get a good test, I used the battery case for an entire day indoors and did everything I could to block light until it was out of juice (I was never able to get to 0 bars, but the device would immediately turn off when I plugged in my phone – I assume this was empty). The case has a small red LED that will light up when charging via sunlight.  I attempted to place the case on my home office desk (there is ample light in there, but it’s not direct) and received no indication of charge.  I then put it on my windowsill in as much light as is possible in my home and received some indication that it was charging.  I left the device for four hours and still had only 1 bar, but the device did not turn off when I put in my iPhone.  I then took the case on an outing to Target (as a side note, I should move closer to Target).  In the direct sunlight the LED lit up brightly.  Since I don’t tend to leave my electronics on my porch, I didn’t leave my case in the direct light for long.  I will say that in my car the light stayed bright red when there was light – that may be a good sign, but again…limited time in the car.

For my last test, I attempted to charge the device while on an airplane.  No dice.  I wasn’t in ‘direct’ sunlight, but it was bright and the LED did not light.

Verdict.  If you are planning on being outside quite a bit, you may be able to gain some charge from the sun on this battery pack.  If you are a heavy phone user, don’t bank on it.  That said, the case feels good in your hand and when charging with the USB cable charged in a little over an hour.  It has no kickstand, which makes it unwieldy on a plane.  If you are willing to overlook these weaknesses, and don’t mind spending about $30 bucks (or less when I put it back on eBay), go get one.  Personally, the MiLi PowerPack with 3000 mAh and the kick stand is a clear winner.