Chapter 9: Jumping In to Small Projects with Big Results About $1,000 can get you 500 watt hours, or 1⁄2 kWh, or a 60-watt light bulb for 8 hours. This is plenty of power to run an office or all the equipment other than power tools at a construction site. At this size (on the order of a small end table), you won’t be toting your solar system around in a case, although you can find units on sturdy wheels.
Working with RV appliances Small appliances for RVs, boats, and camping are widely available, and any of these work with 12VDC solar power systems. You may even be able to run some appliances without batteries, which makes things a lot cheaper and easier. Heaters don’t care how the power looks (it can fluctuate, the voltages and currents can change, there can be ripples galore); how much heat you can generate is all that matters. Fans may blow directly from a PV module; the more sun, the harder the fan pushes. Water pumps don’t need batteries, and some portable coolers are made to connect directly to solar panels. You can also get a power system with a 120VAC outlet so you can use your existing household electrical devices. You give up efficiency, but it may be worth it. If you have a 12VDC system, you can buy a really cheap 120VAC inverter from an auto supply store. They come with a cigarette lighter plug, so you have to do some splicing because most solar systems don’t come with cigarette lighter jacks. The AC power is dirty, but it works for certain things just fine. It’s difficult to specify a list for what will work and what won’t without giving it a try. Radios may be noisy, as well as TVs, but some have good internal power regulators. Anything with an internal battery won’t mind the noisy AC power.
Going Off-Grid on a Piece-by-Piece Basis You can go off-grid with small functions — you don’t need to go off-grid with your entire home. You’ll save on your power bill, plus enjoy some interesting independence and help save the environment, all in one.
Making your reading lamp go off-grid If you like to read, you can spend $50 to get a small, battery-charged light (LED) that works for four hours on a four-hour charge. A PV module with a length of wire attaches to a battery/light/switch housing with Velcro backing.
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