How Much Solar Power Can You Get Out Of $250? - CleanTechnica

Today, even in 2024, many people believe that solar power is expensive. Whole disinformation campaigns are based on this idea. “Camel-uh is going to raise the price of your electricity with green energy!” they say. “You can’t afford to put solar panels on your roof. It’s cheaper just to buy electricity from the electric company.”

Like all good disinfo, there’s a nugget of truth in there: solar used to be expensive. So, instead of coming up with a lie out of whole cloth and tying to get it to spread, all the lie needs is for people to not be up to date on knowledge. When you consider an elderly and/or traditionalist target audience, messaging based on old data find fertile ground in which to grow.

But, at the same time, anyone can be out of date in their knowledge. When technology and production of a technology changes quickly enough, even the enthusiasts can risk falling behind and not knowing just how cheap the technology is becoming. To drive this point home a bit, I’d like to share a YouTube video I came across showing how much use one can get out of a measly $250. (summary and commentary continues after video)

In the video, Alex at the Footprint Hero YouTube Channel shows us that with as little as $248.66, you can generate, store, and use enough power to do a lot more than many people think.

He started with an EcoFlow River 2 power station (we’ve reviewed a number of EcoFlow products in the past). At the time of the video, the little River 2 was going for $239, but there was a $70 off coupon, driving the price down enough to make some room for a solar panel. To keep the cost below $250, he got a non-portable solar panel (it doesn’t fold and isn’t flexible, plus it’s somewhat heavy). For $58, he got a 100-watt panel that produced the right power for the River 2 to soak up and almost max out in ideal sunlight.

I’m sure some readers could come up with even cheaper setups, but it’s hard to beat the value that a $180 power station provides. Not only does the River 2 have 256 watt-hours of storage capacity, but it includes a solar charge controller, cables to connect to a generic panel, and a 300-watt inverter to power 120-volt devices and appliances. Having to buy all of that and have the know-how to put it together makes for a much more prohibitive purchase than one might think shopping for individual components.

A few days later, the panel and the power station arrived. He got everything out and did an unboxing video going through all of the things that were included. The solar panel was just a panel as expected, and he got a cable to plug it into the EcoFlow. The River 2 also came with an AC cable for backup wall charging.

Instead of charging up on the grid and sticking it in the closet for a rainy day, he took it out and fed it straight solar power. With the River 2 in the shade and the panel just outside of the shadows in the sun, the River 2 registered that it wasn’t receiving anything. The adapter cable was getting voltage, but not enough power for the station to recognize. So, he moved further out into the sun to avoid partial shading and the power station showed that it was pulling in 62 watts. Angling the solar panel on a chair, the power increased to 78 watts.

Starting at 28%, the station managed to get to 55% in only an hour. The whole time, he stayed inside and connected to the little power station with the EcoFlow app (presumably via Bluetooth, but possibly via WiFi, another advantage of power stations over DIY kitbashing). This means that in only 3.5–4 hours, the $250 solar rig can collect up the full 256 watt-hours of juice to do real work later.

What if “the sun don’t shine?” Well, the joy of power stations is that you can power them with anything. Got a car? Plug it into the cigarette lighter for a similar charging experience as you drive around or even sitting in a pinch. There’s also a regular wall charger that pulls up to 365 watts, charging it up in under an hour. The same can be true if you rely on a generator during emergencies, making it possible to run the generator a lot less to save fuel. You can also charge it on USB-C, like from a laptop charger! Options are everywhere.

Once fully charged, he was able to do a lot. Obvious things like charging a phone or a laptop were easy. You could charge a number of phones several times a day with 256 Wh. Other things, like a fan for comfort or ventilation, are possible. Lamps (LED or incandescent) can be powered, so you could theoretically bake with an Easy Bake oven. Things like small refrigerators, blenders, and other medium-power devices can easily be run.

The fact is, there are many devices that you can run during the day if you keep the power under 60–75 watts without depleting the power station that you’d want to have available for nighttime tasks. Again, phone charging is the obvious low power winner here, but smaller fans can keep you from totally roasting during a summer power outage while saving some power to run it during the night. You can even watch TV some, but larger TVs will deplete it pretty quickly.

Most appliances have the power draw listed on the device itself, the cord, or somewhere in a manual (available online). Using Ohm’s Law, it’s possible to convert things like volts and amps to watts, but keep in mind that there are some losses that happen converting the DC batteries to AC power. It’s also possible to use many power stations as a “pass through” device that can keep a critical device running without interruption if the power goes out.

Many people can’t afford a large solar array at home. Many more live in a home where solar power can’t happen, because you don’t own the roof or you live under other people. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of solar power for some cost savings, emergency preparedness, camping trips, or just for convenience.

While big solar arrays and big battery packs are certainly more exciting, it doesn’t make sense to ignore the advantages that almost anyone can afford with a small setup like this!

Featured image: a screenshot from the embedded video (fair use).

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