Who would use a portable solar energy power station? Perhaps the largest users are military groups stationed around the world. They are not the only users, however.

Portable solar energy power stations are used by universities that send groups of students and researchers into remote areas. Such users find a portable solar energy power station gives in-the-field access to laptop computers. It helps recharge GPS units, cell phones, cameras, and more.

Portable solar energy power stations are used by businesses. Lumber companies can take them deep into the forest, providing electrical power for satellite phones and other necessary applications. Real estate developers can take them to remote, off-the-grid properties. Homeowners who want to live in remote areas, as well as those who want the advantages of emergency power use them. And increasingly, recreational users have begun to purchase portable solar energy power stations.

What a Portable Solar Energy Power Station Is

A portable solar energy power station is a power unit that provides the same type of electricity you get from a wall outlet at home - except that you can take it with you. It will run small appliances and equipment. Some portable solar energy power stations will run equipment on either AC or DC power. That is, either the kind of power in your wall outlet, or the kind in your vehicle’s cigarette lighter outlet.

Portable solar energy power stations come in various sizes. Some will power a small laptop computer or TV. Others are capable of powering appliances as large as a small refrigerator. Some are as light as 22 pounds, while others require a large truck to move them.

Where You Might Use a Portable Solar Energy Power Station

The convenience of a portable solar energy power station lets you use it any of a number of ways.

* In an off-the-grid home or remote cabin
* As emergency backup power in your home
* At your office for emergencies when doing important work
* In a vehicle for safety and convenience
* In an RV for camping without hook-ups
* At a remote tenting campsite
* On your boat

Capabilities of A Portable Solar Energy Power Station

Smaller units are capable of keeping your cell phone operating, or maintaining a critical uplink for your satellite phone. They can power a laptop computer or a desktop PC with monitor. In power outages, smaller solar energy power stations can give you emergency lighting. They will even power a 3/8 inch electric drill for short periods if you are building a cabin in a remote area that is off-the-grid.

Multiply the weight of your portable solar energy power station by about 3 times, and you get nearly 5 times the solar energy power. These larger solar energy stations will power such things as coffee makers, desktop computers, fluorescent or halogen lights, power tools, small refrigerators, stereos, TVs and VCRs.

Practice with a Portable Solar Energy Power Station

You may not be ready for the large investment of a total solar energy home. Cost, advantages and disadvantages, contractors’ part in the project - you want to weigh solar energy further before jumping into it.

A portable solar energy power station can give you a little experience with solar energy before you take the plunge. You can learn first-hand about the conveniences of solar energy - and have an emergency system if you need it.

We began with Jack-in-a-box, I suppose. Now we have meals-in-a-box; bed-in-a-box; birthday-in-a-box; tree-in-a-box; business-in-a-box; and many more.

Solar power in a box, however, may be the best gift-in-a-box of all.

Portable Solar Power Box

Solar power in a box may appear, from the outside, to be nothing more than a sleek, metallic briefcase. This is the case with the portable Solar Power Box we found. Open the Solar Power Box, and you expose two solar power panels to the sunlight. With AC/DC output, the portable Solar Power Box can power a laptop computer, a 21″ color TV, or a fan. It can light up a tent when camping, or power GPS units, cameras, and cell phones when far from electrical power sources.

Some solar power boxes are termed “portable” but qualify only because they can be moved from place to place. Weighing in at 75 pounds, one solar power box we saw would have to go in your vehicle. Does it power larger appliances because of its size? No. It is powerful enough to energize small items such as cell phones and iPods, but laptops and color TV sets appear to be beyond its capabilities.

Solar Power Generator in a Box

Another form of solar power in a box is a solar power generator you yourself can make. Such a generator requires only parts that are readily available in most U.S. towns or cities at less than $350. When finished, it can power appliances such as a computer, VCR, TV, camera, GPS, cell phone, lights, and more. It can be used at home for emergency backup, or on a camping trip.

To call this solar power in a box is a bit of a stretch, since the box does not contain the solar panel. However, the unit is portable.

You will need:

* 1 small solar panel rated at 12-16 volts - RV or boat store
* 1 any size deep-cycle 12 volt battery - not a car battery
* 1 battery box with lid and bungee cord to keep it closed
* 1 “12 volt” DC meter - check stores like Radio Shack
* 1 DC input - triple input is great -“ car parts store
* 1 “115 volt 140 watt” inverter - car parts store or online

Basic instructions:

Drill holes in the top of the solar power box, and attach the meter and DC input. Attach the meter to the battery’s wing nut terminals with insulated wire. Handling only one wire at a time, connect the negative and then the positive poles. In the same way, connect the DC inlet and solar panel to the battery. Close and fasten the lid. Place the solar panel in the sun and wait.

When the battery is dead, you solar panel will charge it in 5-8 hours of sunlight. If it is simply weak, 1-3 hours till bring it back to full strength.

Your solar power in a box can run a radio, fan, or small wattage light all night. It can provide approximately 5 hours of continuous use at 115 volt AC, or about 1 hour of boiling water.

To find more details on building your own solar power generator in a box, search online for how to make a solar power generator.

Solar power electric generators may very well be in your future. They may, in fact, be in the near future for many. With the realization that fossil fuels cannot last forever, governments are stepping up research into the use of solar power electric generators - or solar power generators - for increasing electrical needs.

Solar Power’s True Might

Solar power is derived from sunlight. As you know, the intensity of sunlight changes throughout the day, with the seasons, and with weather conditions. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Energy says that the amount of solar energy striking the earth’s surface every hour, give or take a few minutes, is more than all of the energy the entire world requires in a full year.

Think of it! The sun, the original solar power generator, gives enough energy for every present need of the entire human population - in one hour!

The true might of that huge solar power generator is astounding.

Solar Power Generator in Arizona

To look at it another way, let’s measure off approximately 100 square miles of Arizona desert. A 100 square mile piece of desert measures 10 miles on each side. Many areas of unused desert in that size and larger exist, some just northeast of Tucson, for example.

If we cover those 100 square miles of unused desert with solar panels, we would technically have a solar power generator that would power every one of the contiguous states in the U.S., from California to Maine. That would be an impressive solar power generator.

Smaller Solar Power Generators

Smaller solar power generators use the same solar panels, called PV panels or photovoltaic cells. Each PV panel itself is a solar power generator that turns sunlight into electricity with no intermediate step.

As long as you have sufficient sunlight, these small solar power generators will give you enough power to run your home, aside from large electrical appliances with heating units. A single square yard of these solar power generator panels can light a 100W light bulb.

Small solar power generators such as these are being used to provide power for recreational vehicles and experimental cars. Satellites use this kind of solar power generator. The International Space Station uses photovoltaic cell solar power generators.

Only a Matter of Time

Solar power electric generators in your future? Perhaps you understand why we believe they could be. With governments encouraging research on both a governmental and private level, it is only a matter of time before solar power generators become commonplace.