Solar Laptop Charger
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07. 2.05
Treehugger Warren regrets that the Voltaic Backpack won't power his laptop-Perhaps this would help. Made more for the briefcase set rather than the backpacker, it opens to provide enough surface area to generate 13 watts, enough to power computers, hand tools or even a DC Fridge so you can have a cold beer while you work. ::Sunshine Solar via ::Red Ferret
Puzzling. Most of the direct DC coolers I know of require minimum of 45W to operate: I'm thinking of the bimetalic elememt (thermo-electric phenomenon) type with a fan. I calculated that existiing SPV panels would need to cover the roof of my Toyota van to keep up with the amperage requirments. To get by with less means a battery must be needed to level current flows.
Sierra Soalar Systems makes their Notepower Solar Laptop Computer Charger in a 20-watt and a 30-watt version:
http://www.sierrasolar.com/prod_store/LAP_laptop.html
......coolers are much more ineffiecient than DC fridges! I have a 12v DC cooler that uses 5 amps, i also have a 12v DC fridge that uses 0.5 amps.