Solar Power

Sometime late last year, I purchased a relatively small but powerful power station.  The primary use for this power station was for my astronomy gear but it has proven to be a useful power source for blackouts at the house.  So far, I've been very happy with this little powerhouse.

When I purchased the power station late last year, it was on sale at a very good price.  This power station also has a portable solar panel array that you could purchase separately, if you needed, that could charge this power station using only solar power.  Unfortunately, that portable solar panel array was priced a little higher than I was willing to pay at the time so I was waiting for it to drop in price.  

Shortly after purchasing the power station, I couldn't find the portable solar panel array anywhere.  I kept this product in my Amazon Wishlist anyway.  I would periodically check to see if it was in stock and, last week, I noticed not only was the portable solar panel array in stock but it was at a significantly lower price.  I immediately ordered it and it arrived a couple of days ago. 

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to test this solar panel array and I have to say that it worked flawlessly.  It was easy to set up, easy to use, it is pretty small and folds to a very small package, and it charged up our power station more quickly than I had anticipated.  Now I have a power station that can be taken anywhere and charged daily using nothing but sunlight.  

This power station is useful for a number of purposes around the house especially for my astronomy gear but I wanted to test this relatively small power station for another reason too.  I've been thinking of purchasing a much more powerful power station...  well...  actually two more powerful power stations...  one to power our furnace and another to power refrigerator during blackouts.  If and when I go that route, I plan to have a few solar panels mounted on the roof to charge them.  The roof mounted panels will provide a much greater charge than this little portable panel array that I purchased this week.  

Now that I have a little more experience with these portable power stations, I'm liking the idea of using these as backup power for the furnace and refrigerator during blackouts.  I like this idea far better than a gas-powered generator.  These power stations are silent and they can be recharged using the sun.

Now I just need to wait for the bigger power stations to drop in price!