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Wanting Solar Panel for MacBook Pro Penryn

J

JacksMac

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2008
6
0
I'd appreciate any leads to a portable solar panel that is capable of powering or at least recharging an MBP Penryn. Thanks!
 
All the ones I have seen only charge small electronics like iPods, cameras, PDAs or phones. Based on that, one that can charge a laptop would probably weigh a ton.
 
Solar panel

Oh but Mac owners are soooooo smart and cool!

I know that, because I've seen the ads...

So I figure at least one of us may have come up with a solar backpack hack - you know for trekking and such... solar panel, mini sat dish... gotta keep in touch when peaking the Himalayas you know.
 
Solar Power to the MacBook Pro

Thanks everyone... I figured there was a solution out there somewhere.

I can duct tape the Generator panel to my backpback notebook carrier - unless Generator figures out that most people don't want to drag their panel and puter around on one shoulder.
 
You know that solar backpack, I've seen that Indian comedian on a show on the mojo channel on gadgets use that backpack.
 
wow, solor panels on a backpack.

get a bunch of potato batteries (or with a lemon? kinda forgot) line like 80 of them in a series and there you go
 
Solar Power charging solution for MBPro

Gee Whiz thanks to everybody for all of the erm creative erm solutions...

Ben, did I get that right? You're supposed to drop the potatoes in the lemon juice and when it stops fizzing you chugalug the juice while holding the battery terminals and the rush recharges the battery???

I'm a newbie so I just want to make sure I get it right and, oh yeah I'm supposed to be doing that Indian mojo chant while the taters are fizzing in the juice... Right?

Meanwhile, back in the waking life... Voltaic seems only to be in the business of having a machine taking messages while they're out doing their day job, but Chris at Brunton was pretty helpful for suggesting a possible off-grid longer-term solution. Bit of a Rube Goldberg but of course the grid itself is a massive monster Rube Goldberg that will crash like a rock if somebody quits delivering the daily oil supply.

If I take the plunge with Brunton, I'll post a followup.

Oh jeez, my new MBPro just arrived! Gotta go!!!

Thanks again...
Jack
 
Let us know how it works out. I'm curious as well. What are your reasons for wanting such a setup? If you are traveling and have an RV I know that Wind outputs energy pretty well. Though I don't think that would work well if you are walking.

It might also be worth considering some solution if you are biking..
 
I don't see the benefit of getting a solar powered charger...

But that backpack looks good.
 
laptops need a big solar panel

The trouble with laptops is that they use a lot of power. A solar panel that provides enough will be big -- an 80 watt panel is something like 2 feet by 3 feet. And, evening out the current so that the laptop can accept it is hard. The easiest approach would be to charge up a gel-cell battery with a small solar panel, then run an inverter off the battery for as long as it can go. Wasteful, but fairly cheap.

The power from a solar panel is constant amps, variable volts. That needs to be regulated by something to become acceptable to the laptop. And there needs to be enough total power to handle what you want to do.

The XO (olpc) is getting a small, cheap solar panel, but it needs lots less power than an MBP.
 
Nichod said:
Let us know how it works out. I'm curious as well. What are your reasons for wanting such a setup? If you are traveling and have an RV I know that Wind outputs energy pretty well. Though I don't think that would work well if you are walking.

It might also be worth considering some solution if you are biking..
Click to expand...

Nope, no RV.

Just want a reliable, reasonably portable or at least schleppable energy source for operating off grid. Solar seems reasonable.

RE: not seeing the need for solar, if you don't feel the need, then I guess it's not for you.
 
JacksMac said:
Nope, no RV.

Just want a reliable, reasonably portable or at least schleppable energy source for operating off grid. Solar seems reasonable.

RE: not seeing the need for solar, if you don't feel the need, then I guess it's not for you.
Click to expand...

Do you live off the grid in general? I'm curious since we are considering pushing for an off the grid lifestyle as much as we can anyway.
 
observer said:
The trouble with laptops is that they use a lot of power. A solar panel that provides enough will be big -- an 80 watt panel is something like 2 feet by 3 feet. And, evening out the current so that the laptop can accept it is hard. The easiest approach would be to charge up a gel-cell battery with a small solar panel, then run an inverter off the battery for as long as it can go. Wasteful, but fairly cheap.
...
Click to expand...

I don't think it would be wasteful at all. Many inverters are over 90% efficient, and your laptop's power supply is relatively efficient. A moderate size solar panel (depends on your budget--maybe 100 watts) and a deep-cycle battery will run a lot more than just your laptop, and it would let you run things at night or on cloudy days if you have enough reserve power. A system like that is perfect for an RV since the weight of the battery and size of the panel won't be a big problem.
 
solar panel for Macbooks.

observer said:
The trouble with laptops is that they use a lot of power. A solar panel that provides enough will be big -- an 80 watt panel is something like 2 feet by 3 feet. And, evening out the current so that the laptop can accept it is hard. The easiest approach would be to charge up a gel-cell battery with a small solar panel, then run an inverter off the battery for as long as it can go. Wasteful, but fairly cheap.

The power from a solar panel is constant amps, variable volts. That needs to be regulated by something to become acceptable to the laptop. And there needs to be enough total power to handle what you want to do.

The XO (olpc) is getting a small, cheap solar panel, but it needs lots less power than an MBP.
Click to expand...






We are looking to offer solar panals for the Macbooks.
this is the 60w version with magsafe connector and adapter for your macbooks.

http://mikegyver.com/gyverisms/files/category-solar-panals.html
 
I am having the same issue, looking for battery solutions in a remote region where I will need the laptop to handle recorded audio and video.

SUNLINQ apparently has good panels, which can be combined with a Tekkeon All-in-One. This site explains it, but I think you can get the products cheaper elsewhere:

http://www.21st-century-goods.com/product/SolarSolutionForMacBooks.html

Would be curious to know what has worked for folks, or if anyone knows of other portable lightweight charging options.
 
you could use a simple ~40 watt solar panel along with controller and inverter (solar panels comes out as 12-14V)... it won't charge your MBP while you're using it but it can charge it. Though the whole pack of stuff would cost quite a bit...
 
If you want to read a detailed gude on building your own solar poered rig for a MacBook, check out this: HOW TO: Use Your MacBook with Solar Power

Link: http://globetrooper.com/notes/solar-power-macbook/

It goes into a lot of detail to explain the science. It also applies that science directly to a MacBook and then suggests 3 different options to solar power a MacBook. One is easier to do, but much more expensive, while the more DIY option is relatively cheap.

Hope that helps.
 
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