Going Green : Running our office off grid
Today we took one more step toward running a solar powered office in New Orleans,Louisiana on our own alternative energy products.
Right now, we are using the solar power to run one of two desktop computers with the monitor. With the battery (charged by the solar power) serving as a backup incase the sun goes behind the clouds, the computer is running really great on the solar energy. Then again, it is New Orleans, so there is hardly any escape from the sun anyway.
We took two 95 Watt Solar Panel Kits and put them on the roof of the garage/office. The solar panels are hooked to a battery, which is hooked to a 300 Watt True Sine Wave Power Inverter. The Solar Panel kits come with everything you need to install solar panels, including wires, brackets and the charge controllers used to measure the amperage the sun is providing.
Installation was easy, and only took about an hour to do. We just let the battery we installed charge for about a day before we plugged the computer in.
The best way to reap the benefits of solar powered office is to cut back on energy usage first. The less solar panels you have to buy, the better. Get efficient! Look below for a picture.
Here is a 95 watt solar panel and power inverter.
**UPDATE**
The 95 watt solar panel that is pictured about doesn’t exist anymore. The technology has improved since this article was written. This panel is now 100 watts and part of the RETREAT kit. Go Power also offers a bigger 190 watt solar panel.
190 Watt panels are a great RV size and footprint
For years we sold the Go power 190 high quality solar panels. This robust size was powerful yet had a great form factor. These panels have recently been upgraded to 200 watts in the same form factor.Some 190 and 200 watt RV solar panels
Go Power 190 Watt Overlander Kit
This Go Power kit is the basic building block of a standard RV solar kit. It comes with the solar panel controller, brackets and solar cable.
Last updated 3 mins ago
Maybe save a few dollars with another RV solar panel brand.
190 Watt Solar Panel
This is a 190 watt bare solar panel. It claims to be RV friendly and has a pretty good price.
Last updated 3 mins ago
