Solar PV, even such a small system, was a big leap for us, but we sure do like it. But, our goal was to live well with what we considered an appropriate amount of Appropriate Technologies: simpler tech that’s accessible to most (democratic) and low-impact. Were we a bit dogmatic, maybe even a little puritanical, when we started our project in 2011? Yes. As a result, we only charge them during the day when the sun is out, which doesn’t drain the power station battery at all there’s an equilibrium between the energy input from the sun and the output to the battery. My Ryobi tool battery charger drains the power station rapidly - maybe 40 percent for one battery. The cellphone uses almost as little, while the computer will drain a few points over a couple hours. We’ve learned that our LED lights use next to nothing over several hours - maybe a percent. It has a handy LED display showing its percentage charged, which lets us know when we need to get it back to the solar panel as well as how much each of our gadgets uses. The power station’s two AC plugs and four USB ports make it easy to plug in and charge away. We can now easily charge all of our gizmos and bring the battery in at night for some warm, yellow-spectrum light from a string of LEDs. They’re common, I’ve learned, with car campers and the RV/VW bus crowd. Now, I don’t know much about watts or watt-hours, but after describing what we were looking to accomplish to a friend, he recommended this size of generator. Wanting a simple, all-in-one system, we bought a single 100-watt panel for about $85 and a 296-watt-hour/400-watt Aeiusny portable power station for about $275. Trying Out the Aeiusny Portable Power GeneratorĬost. Then, in early 2018, desiring some of the trappings of 21st-century civilization, such as a laptop, cellphone, and cordless power tools (ah, power tools), we decided to get a small solar system to meet our electric wants and needs.

And, aside from headlamps, we did that for over seven years. Part of having a small footprint and withdrawing support from extractive industries like coal was living electricity-free. We started our urban homestead and Be the Change Project in 2011, dedicated to living a low-impact, high-quality life. Home Organization News, Blog, & Articles.

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