This Portable, Off-Grid Solar System Is Powerful Enough to Be Your Emergency Back Up

By Derek Markham | Tree Hugger

It's described as an “off-grid home solar system in a box,” and it could be a much safer option for home backup power than a gas generator.

Related Article: Why Solar Power is Breaking Records in the US

Portable solar has come a long way from the horribly inefficient and ill-designed devices of just a few short years ago, which were all too often more of a gimmick than a reliable and effective source of energy for daily use. With the increase in solar cell efficiencies, improved manufacturing processes, and better battery technology that we've been seeing recently, it's now possible to buy a portable solar charger and power pack that is not only affordable but is also actually effective and practical. And that's great for keeping our gadgets charged, but considering that our daily personal power needs are much higher than just that of our gizmos, and that if the electricity goes out, we have no way to keep essential appliances running, so while we'll be able to have a fully charged phone, we'll also have our own little global warming event in our freezer.

Related Article: Man Quits Job To Travel In Solar-Powered Home On Wheels

However, one of the recent trends in portable solar setups is bigger panels paired with larger capacity battery storage (often called solar generators), which can be a huge boon when working off-grid or traveling or lighting up a tiny house. These larger solar systems can serve as a microgrid by supplying both AC (house current) with an onboard inverter, and DC (portable gizmos, charging batteries), and by offering a number of different output ports (USB, 12V auto, RV plugs, standard 110V outlet) and charging options (house current, solar panels, additional battery bank, auto plug). In fact, an appropriately-sized battery bank, charged by a similarly-sized set of solar panels, can be an excellent way of ensuring you've got emergency power in the event of an outage, and one that is clean and quiet to operate.

Related Article: Silent Rooftop Wind Turbines Could Generate Half of a Household’s Energy Needs

The latest offering in this category is currently enjoying a successful Indiegogo campaign and is billed as being “the world's most compact, lightweight, expandable, and modular solar system,” capable of supplying sufficient backup power for a home's essential needs. You can't exactly just plug your entire home into it when the power's out, for a number of reasons, but you can use it to selectively power a number of household appliances, medical devices, or lighting.

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE…