Solar Charging - has anyone needed to use solar to charge their laptop?

[rawdawg]

(short related question - do laptops require PD protocol for charging from DC?)

I will be hiking 20 miles away from civilization for a solo documentary shoot. I already have a strategy for charging my phone. I bought a solar panel and three Power Banks which provide 45w PD protocol power.

I chatted with someone at Apple who specified for the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, "yes, this power bank needs to support the USB-C Power Delivery (PD) protocol and have sufficient power output at least 30W, 45W, or even 61W or 70W"

The solar panel setup I am bringing is only 2lbs and I don't think I can bring anything bigger. I can't carry any more weight for this excursion. But it doesn't have the PD protocol. The next size up does have PD protocol but only at 18w.

Has anyone has experience with any of this? Can you charge a laptop without this protocol? -- assuming that means the voltage or amperage changes with the sun?

 

[BigMcGuire]

I have a 120w solar panel setup https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0817V8N5P?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_asin_title&th=1 - these ones specifically. As long as I wasn’t doing anything too heavy on my Mac, it kinda worked. I ended up getting a lot of charging / disconnected charging sounds depending on the time of day.

Because of this I ended up just using a power bank to power my laptop (2x Anker 737 Power Banks) - and then using the solar panels to charge one while using the other. This worked better for me.

The 120w panels are pretty big … I’d just recommend batteries - make sure to keep them out of the sun.

Now days, I think if I absolutely had to, I’d lug around an Anker Solix C300 DC - that should keep your laptop and phone going for a long time (and it can take in solar at the same time).

Assuming you’ll be going back to power after the day?

 

[rawdawg]

Thanks for the reply. I will be in the field the entire time, so this will be my only power source and I will be extremely efficient using my MBP as little as possible (because I also need to power my other items).

I assume the connecting and disconnecting would be related to the lack of the PD protocol which I mention. It sounds like the protocol is a way to communicate battery to laptop in order to achieve fast charging. It sounds like it was working for you but the disconnecting sounds are probably changing voltage/amperage(?) with sun conditions.

You're probably right to best stick with power banks. thanks.

 

[BigMcGuire]

Yeah that’s what I was thinking. I noticed if I put a battery between the panels and the laptop (the Anker 737 or the C200/C300 - it solved the disconnect/connect MacBook issue) - but also significantly increased the weight.

My 120w panels do a pretty good job of charging up the batteries without complaint tho but I couldn’t imagine traveling very far with batteries AND panels lol.

Remember to put Mac in low power mode.

Very interested to see how it goes for you.

 

[jaytv111]

The DC from solar is meant for a converter, then plugging in your device (USB-PD or other). Often it works best when it’s a power bank with a dedicated solar input port, like from Anker, Ecoflow, Bluetti, or Jackery, when they have an XT-60 port that pairs with a panel with XT-60 and then it charges while handling voltage correctly.

If you’re okay with the MacBook Air charging slowly, you can use the PD at 18 watts. But you can’t hook in the DC (XT-60 or other) directly, needs to be converted.

 

[haralds]

I got an Anker Solix C300 with a Solar Panel for power failures and time away from power. I am happy with the quality.

I bought a second one for my son, who is going to Burning Man.

 

[Deanster]

We’d need a lot more info to offer a real solution. What’s the exact laptop you’re using, and how long/intensively will you be using it each day? How much time will you have each day with your solar panel(s) set up, and at what time of day? Without some idea of how much power you’ll be using each day, it’s impossible to spec what you’d need for input to replace it with the various efficiency losses through the power chain.

That’s all before the news that you’ve hit your weight limit already, and need a zero-weight-added solution for powering maybe a MBP for however long.

Not sure how much anyone here will be able to help based on what you’ve shared so far.

 

[dwig]

I question the need for a inefficient power hungry laptop. If you have significant weight limitations then I'd suggest dumping the laptop and, if your phone isn't up to the task, replacing said laptop with a light tablet (Apple makes some nice ones...). I think you should review the software that you NEED to use (not just "want") and consider what substitutes are available for a simple low end iPad. You'll save weight, you'll get vastly better runtime per charge, and you'll be able to get it to charge adequately on lower power charging solutions (e.g. power banks, solar panels, ...).