[ale] [OT]: Solar Panel Electronics

[Benjamin Scherrey]

6.8 watts is not too much at all but you need to find out what peak wattage and constant wattage 
requirements are. Most ratings only show their constant power usage so its best to be able to burst 
to double that but there are a lot of rules of thumb for how long and how much. Generally people do 
not power devices directly off the solar panels as power is quite variable in most conditions. This 
typically means a battery-fed power supply that is ultimately powered by your solar array. Kinda like 
an online UPS. These shouldn't be too bulky for your power requirements considering how big your 
panels will be anyway but they certainly add weight to the solution. Good thing is that panels have 
gotten smaller for the power they generate but their costs are still relatively high. So much depends 
on what your use is that its impossible to give much more detailed advise than that. Sounds like an 
interesting project. You walking around finding wireless access points this summer? :P

	best regards,

		Ben Scherrey

6/12/2004 4:36:53 PM, Christopher Bergeron <christopher at bergeron.com> wrote:

>Guys, sorry for the semi-OT post.  I'm looking to power a device via a 
>solar panel.  What I'm wondering is how to calculate how much solar 
>panel I'll need.  My device has a DC input for 5v input - 6.8 Watt.  I'm 
>thinking that I'll need to pull about 2 Amps for the device.  What I'd 
>like to know is what kind of solar panel I should get to power this 
>device.  Would I be ok to use a 10Watt solar panel?
>
>How can I calculate how much power I'll need?  Does the 6.8 Watts mean 
>exactly that - That I'll need EXACTLY 6.8 Watts or that I'll need AT 
>LEAST 6.8 Watts?
>
>Thanks in advance for any info...
>
>Best regards,
>CB
>
>
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