Solar Suitcase

Solar Suitcase – A portable Generator

Here we will be looking at small and portable yet powerfull mini solar system. This system was done as tutorial and training to get some basic experience. The design was choosen to have a electricity supply for power needs during camping and other outdoor activities. Charging the phone, run some small stereo, illuminate a construction site using led’s, etc.. nothing like powertools or such.
This little system is running since 2014 and is always usefull to have around. I can not count how many times it was great to have a small mobile electricity source that recharges itsself.

Technical Stats

• 10 Watt Solar Module
• 5 Ampere 12 Volt Solar PWM Chargecontroller
• 20 Ah 12 Volt Lead-Acid Gel La batterie
• Voltmeter
• 300 Watt Modified Sinus Onduleur
• 5 Volt / 12 Volt / 220Volt Output

Materials used

As housing i choose a aluminium suitcase. They are reasonable cheap, very lightweight and easy modifiable. For DIY projects any casing that can house the components should do.

The size of the solar module was picked so it would fit inside the suitcase for transport. The solar chargecontroller supports a lot more power-input so it is possible to have a larger “home station module” to connect the suitcase to. This is highly recommended to have if you DIY this project, as the 10W solar module will take quite a while to charge this battery size.

As mounting for the chargecontroller and the switches i choose a sheet metal plate and cut it with an anglegrinder to fit the suitcase middle bar.

For connections i used the power plugs and cables from computers.
The Plug in the solar suitcase was recycled from a broken pc power supply. These make for smooth connections. As this system will not be getting to much power from the solar panel the cable diameters is not a problem.

Inside the suitcase

To stabilize the components i used a few wooden blocks that got fixed by screwing them into the suitcase. I made some distance pieces and used ductape to make shure the metal cover and inverter or cables dont touch.
The inverter was fixed to the suitcase using additional screws.

Output

220V and 5V output of the inverter and the 12V output of the chargecontroller are placed to the right side of the suitcase.

Questions, ideas or input on this or many other projects ?!?
Join our Un merci spécial à Sylfix, membre de la communauté OffGridEnclave, pour avoir fourni des photos et des informations pour le présenter en tant que projet.
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Advanced OffGrid PowerSystems

Advanced OffGrid Power-systems

The Information here are more advanced setups. It is assumend that the reader has the basic knowledge of solaire, inverters, charge-controllers, batteries, générateurs et basic solar-system types. Pour des questions ou des commentaires, rejoignez notre Un merci spécial à Sylfix, membre de la communauté OffGridEnclave, pour avoir fourni des photos et des informations pour le présenter en tant que projet.

Redundancy

If a vital system breaks and you do not have a local backup installed or a workaround is deemed impossible you might be in a position of having to source things quickly. Having systems setup from the start that take that into account can ease a lot of stress and basically removes the need for spending “emergency $/€” to workaround something until it gets properly replaced. This should also be taken into consideration for the budget.

Example: having a generator is a legit “workaround” for your electric system, good to use when maintaining batteries, changing cables, installing new solar panels etc, but it is not a “backup” for when your main inverter dies. It is exponentially more expensive to run a full household 24/7 on a generator, to maintain everything while you need to wait for your new inverter to arrive. The proper backup would be to have a 2 inverters setup, use one as default and resort to using the 2nd if the default one fails. If it does, casually order a new inverter; and when it arrives run your generator for 20 minutes whilst replacing the broken one.

Redundant Off-Grid Power-system

For our redundant OffGrid power-system we will be using “OffGrid Inverters”. These house a inverter, solar-chargecontroller, generator/grid-chargecontroller and electronics in a single unit. You can connect to these units via USB and configure them according to your needs.

The idea behind this approach is a maximum of flexibility and redundancy. Having two inverters gives plenty of options for the household, and eases the load on each for bigger houses.
It is recommended to not “hardwire” the battery to utility connection but use plugs and flexible cables. (These plugs are usually used for electric forklifts). If need be you can then always connect any device to any battery. For bad weather conditions this can be great, you have the option to connect all your solar-lines to a single battery. No matter which part breaks or needs maintenance in the setup, your power is sustainable.

TheHappyBunker Power-system

A certified, tested and running system that is used in the HappyBunker project. The location is central Europa in the Czech mountains. This is built to sustain electricity during prolonged periods of fog, clouds, snow and general bad conditions.

Pour des questions ou des commentaires, rejoignez notre Un merci spécial à Sylfix, membre de la communauté OffGridEnclave, pour avoir fourni des photos et des informations pour le présenter en tant que projet.