4 ms·

I can run many things off of solar without batteries. Calculators are commonly sold this way. It makes perfect sense that this should work scaled up to a whole

• Filligree 7y ago
  Capacitance, not batteries; your calculator includes capacitors, and has low enough draw that they can power it for at least a second or two. That's the minimum requirement. Power draw varies on sub-second timescales; just because your power meter shows a continuous draw of 4 kW doesn't mean it's actually continuous, or that 4 (or 6, or 8) kW of solar panels would cover the spikes. When they don't, you get brownouts. You wouldn't want your house to shut off because of a passing cloud, either. Solar powered houses do not in fact need batteries -- a large capacitor bank would be plenty. It's just that a capacitor bank capable of running it for (say) five minutes, at a draw of several kilowatts, is enough power in a scary enough form factor to need armoring. Batteries are far safer, and also let you use power at night.
  • tropo 7y ago
    It shouldn't be a problem. All the things that matter come with switching power supplies. Switching power supplies can adjust. They normally handle everything from Japan at 90v to Nigeria commonly exceeding 250v. They also internally have capacitance. For everything else, it just doesn't matter. I couldn't even tell if power for the toaster oven dropped to 70v for 200ms.