Portable alternative energy sources

[rdrr]

Came across this today.

Portable Wind Power for All Your Charging Needs

Shine 2.0 powers your devices in every situation and location. It’s lightweight and portable, fast-charges 12-volt electronics, and does so much more.

launch.shineturbine.com

Wondering if people have invested into some of the portable solar solutions out there, and what the real world expecations are. By portable, I don't mean a lot of heavy lifting or a dolly to lug the batteries around.

Also does the provided link look a bunch of smoke and mirror technology? I would be interested in purchasing a bundle of the portable turbine, battery, and charge controller.

 

[Nycturne]

I have a solar setup for camping, but it assumes using a car to get out there, so it’s not quite as portable as something like this.

That said, I’d maybe compare this to something like a GoalZero setup using a Nomad 20 panel and a Venture 35 battery pack. It’s a bit lower power, but at roughly the same weight. GZ is also a bit more expensive than other options, but their specs are detailed and like other brands such as Anker/Bluetti/etc, their ecosystem is straightforward vs going with 3rd party panels and adapter cables. But there’s a lot of flexibility to be had with solar at the moment due to the drop in price over the last few years.

So it seems like this is in the right ballpark according to the specs, but I think my questions are:

* How much? Why no pricing unless you sign up for spam?
* What is the actual expected output during a day? Where would this work well? What is the power output at lower wind speeds? 8mph minimum seems like a key detail here, and I’d expect you need a lot of wind to get the full 50W into the embedded battery.

One thing with solar and wind is that they need a minimum input of sunlight or wind to generate power. Where you intend to use this will determine how many productive hours of the day you will get out of this.

I can use solar at my home, but we don’t get much wind there. High desert trips for star gazing gets a lot of both. In my case, wind doesn’t make much sense if I can use solar in both places.

 

[rdrr]

I signed up for the spam. Oh well, I'll see what it brings me.

I believe the retail price is going to be in the mid 500s, but I am not sure what that "kit" comes with. Version 1.0 had a dual wind generating kit for 600s. All the 1.0 kits came with an anemometer to help determine that there is enough wind to generate electricity.

Some questions I am looking out for after looking at reviews of the 1.0 release.

• How big is the external battery storage that comes with the kit, and how long until 100% charged?
• Does version 2.0 have a wind break, or do I have to get nervous in gusty weather?

 

[Nycturne]

Yeah, this is something that can get messy quick because the market is all over the place. Goal Zero has a 50W solar panel + 300Wh battery kit for 550$ that's currently on sale for 440$, and Goal Zero should be considered the high end of the price range for things, IMO. But I'm a bit biased against packing around a wind turbine like this unless you absolutely need to minimize weight (backpackers) which is what this is kinda aimed at. It seems rather early in the tech, and so I'd be suspicious that they are on a second iteration, but are still making it "invite only".

May I ask why you aren't comparing this to a small solar setup, especially when you're looking for something with a battery pack attached? This sort of setup has a number of reasonable brands providing kits in their own ecosystem with a similar price range that you can get today with less risk.

My setup is bigger, but mostly because it's meant for 3-5 days in the high desert running a 12V fridge, my partner's CPAP, an inductive cooktop, and an big astrophotography rig (the kind where the mount has to move around 30-35lbs of gear with sub-arc second accuracy). I have a smaller battery for taking to a darker site if it's just a weekend or a night, which is a lot like what comes in this kit.

 

[Citysnaps]

I'm thinking of building a temporary emergency power source using a few 12V 100 AH LiFePO4 batteries, a couple of solar panels, a Victron charge controller, and Victron inverter. I love Victron Energy (a Netherlands company) products. A little pricey, but are very well-designed.

I just need enough capacity to keep the essentials running (the electrics in our tankless gas water heater, fridge, a few lights, and occasional TV) until the power comes back on.