4 ms·

There are many places in the world that are beautiful, more or less in the countryside, yet have access to electricity and running water. And hey, if your tech

by rtpg 4y ago

There are many places in the world that are beautiful, more or less in the countryside, yet have access to electricity and running water. And hey, if your tech job is just typing along on your Macbook, you're actually not pretty high in energy usage! They're machines that can run on tiny batteries, after all. Same as a fridge, basically. Dunno how much you can get out of RV solar panels on a good day though.

bombcar 4y ago
Especially if your vehicle has battery capacity itself if some sort - you can charge the batteries on grid in the morning and head out to the lake all day.
zie 4y ago
> Dunno how much you can get out of RV solar panels on a good day though. As much as any other solar really, it just depends on how many panels you can put up there.
- dzhiurgis 4y ago
  Minor nitpick, but if you use flush semi-flexible panels vs rigid ones their efficiency is 10-17% vs 16-23%. Flush ones are way easier to install, basically glued on, while rigid ones need some sort of support system.
  - elcritch 4y ago
    One big downside of semi-flexible panels are how susceptible they are to damage from hail. One big storm can kill 40-50% of their efficiency. Here’s some test results: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/01/f7/pvmrw13_ps2_westpak_brown.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/01/f7/pvmrw13_p...
  - rootusrootus 4y ago
    The flush ones don't last nearly as long, either. AFAIK most manufacturers, and most aftermarket installs as well are using rigid panels mounted with z-brackets. More effort to install, but gluing flexible panels to a membrane roof wasn't what I wanted to do either.
PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
I have 515W on top of the roof of my sprinter. I also have a custom-built 12VDC-direct mini-ITX system that I use in the van (160W TDP). Because I do native development, not web related stuff, that means compiling a lot. The computer uses more power than the refridgerator. The 515W is enough for about 7-8 months of the year at the range of latitudes spanned by the USA. It's not enough during winter even in sunny NM or AZ.
- rtpg 4y ago
  I guess I was being a bit "greedy" on the analysis, cuz I was thinking about an M1 Macbook Pro, or just laptops in general. An M1 Mac Mini max power draw according to Google is ~40W. Google tells me a 24 inch monitor is 20-60W. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong numbers, but that looks like a 100W thing? Perhaps that's totally off base though, or not comparable numbers. But I have to imagine that a laptop (or laptop-based infra) is gonna be better for you (even if you need the power in theory).
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    I have a laptop also (Lenovo Y700). Because I need the compilation power, it basically uses about the same amount of power as my custom built system. The difference is that it has its own battery, which changes (a little) the way it interacts with the van's power system.

by rtpg 4y ago

bombcar 4y ago

Especially if your vehicle has battery capacity itself if some sort - you can charge the batteries on grid in the morning and head out to the lake all day.

zie 4y ago

> Dunno how much you can get out of RV solar panels on a good day though. As much as any other solar really, it just depends on how many panels you can put up there.

dzhiurgis 4y ago
Minor nitpick, but if you use flush semi-flexible panels vs rigid ones their efficiency is 10-17% vs 16-23%. Flush ones are way easier to install, basically glued on, while rigid ones need some sort of support system.
- elcritch 4y ago
  One big downside of semi-flexible panels are how susceptible they are to damage from hail. One big storm can kill 40-50% of their efficiency. Here’s some test results: https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/01/f7/pvmrw13_ps2_westpak_brown.pdf https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/01/f7/pvmrw13_p...
- rootusrootus 4y ago
  The flush ones don't last nearly as long, either. AFAIK most manufacturers, and most aftermarket installs as well are using rigid panels mounted with z-brackets. More effort to install, but gluing flexible panels to a membrane roof wasn't what I wanted to do either.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago

I have 515W on top of the roof of my sprinter. I also have a custom-built 12VDC-direct mini-ITX system that I use in the van (160W TDP). Because I do native development, not web related stuff, that means compiling a lot. The computer uses more power than the refridgerator. The 515W is enough for about 7-8 months of the year at the range of latitudes spanned by the USA. It's not enough during winter even in sunny NM or AZ.

rtpg 4y ago
I guess I was being a bit "greedy" on the analysis, cuz I was thinking about an M1 Macbook Pro, or just laptops in general. An M1 Mac Mini max power draw according to Google is ~40W. Google tells me a 24 inch monitor is 20-60W. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong numbers, but that looks like a 100W thing? Perhaps that's totally off base though, or not comparable numbers. But I have to imagine that a laptop (or laptop-based infra) is gonna be better for you (even if you need the power in theory).
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  I have a laptop also (Lenovo Y700). Because I need the compilation power, it basically uses about the same amount of power as my custom built system. The difference is that it has its own battery, which changes (a little) the way it interacts with the van's power system.