Solar Panels to drive AP or WRAP

Does anyone know of anyone (doesn't have to be in NZ) that offers solar panels with enough grunt to power an AP or WRAP board? Pref. 1amp with 15-20V. I'd like to make a router that is self-sufficient - that just passes traffic along but doesn't require any power from the mains grid.

Thanks
Richard

http://www.windmills.biz/links.html

http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefron...n/product/O3037

I think this tells me I need to know a lot more about solar power :-)

It's not cheap, and you'll need some nice deep cycle batteries too

like so:
http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefron...n/product/O3254

Just think, the solar panel maximum power output is 40W, you put that into a battery at 12V, that's 3.3AHrs per hour of sunlight.

Which means, when running off the battery something drawing 1A at 12V will last 3.3 hours before the battery is flat.

This isn't taking into account loses due to cabling/storing energy etc.

Assuming that your AP draws 20V and 1A all the time 480W of energy a day to power the thing. I think there's only 4 hours of direct sunlight a day (I could be wrong), unless you get a solar panel that can follow the sun, thus you'd need a solar panel that could generate 120W of power, running for 4 hours.

Thus you'd need 1 of these:
http://www.dse.co.nz/cgi-bin/dse.storefron...n/product/O3036

and a 24 volt deep cycle battery, or a bank of batteries

I'm no expert on solar energy or anything, I'm just working things out from the info given to me. It may be easier to run a power cable to the AP

Even on a typical Auckland day (total cloud) most solar cells generate about 1/2 output.
This I have proved with trials I have been doing.
The 1st and last hours of the day are very low output so are ignored.
Unless it is no cloud and the cell is pointing that direction.

SO; work out the total energy required for your device,
= Volts x amps x 24hours.

Select a solar cell that can do about double + some spare.
Remember the battery you select must have spare capacity to power the unit at night + allow for losses (approx 20% min).

DSE cell prices are good, I have done a lot of checking.
Given the difference in battery prices (car - real deep cycle) I have had good performance from standard lead acid. Given the price difference they are ok.
A solar charger unit in line improves battery life.

Hope this helps.

Have you managed to do it?

The reason I was thinking of it was for remote spots where there simply wasn't any power - like on the top of Mt Wellington... A few directional antennas up there would do wonders to the coverage of East Auckland.

I had the same sort of plan.
Where I am in south Ak is low lying and being an old area is heavyly wooded.
I was looking at using an AP as a repeater.

I have being doing some tests to prove what is already well known.

The problem - price.
Once the wife saw the sort of money involved in the solar cells alone, it got the cold look.

BP cells are really about all you get here of the commercial grade.
I did an excersie costing bulding a cell array from small cells.
Came out at over double the cost of a comparable commercial unit.
The 380 from DSE is a good price/power unit.
I am off to Auz for a few days shortly so am going to have a compare.

I also had this hair brained idea of powering the office from solar but the cost just didn't even come close.
Due to the unreliable power we have I have a bank of UPS for all the machines powered from a bank of car batterys.

I intend to plow ahead with the remote AP plan.
will let you know when I have something more useful.

Here's a couple more links

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/biztech/10/02...lar.cells.reut/

http://www.electricity.co.nz/solarhome.htm