[member=297]Michael Kellough[/member] Has been posting some questions about some off grid options in other threads and I thought I'd start this one as a place to document some options.
As some of you know I do a few art fairs annually to sell the lamps I make. Having electricity is usually an important option for me and most artists at these shows. A lot of folks use display systems that make a artist canopy sort of cave like even in the daytime. So having some form of lighting is essential.
The shows themselves have various options for electricity availability. Ranging from NO electricity available to free electricity for everyone to electricity available for a fee (sometimes as high as $75) engine powered generators are almost never permitted.
People have for many years been rolling their own solutions. Mainly deep discharge marine batteries and an inverter of some sort. Those work fine but marine batteries are not light and you need a way to haul them back to where they can be charged and you need a charger.
These days there are quite a few companies that sell an all in one solution. One unit with a charger built in and usually several different output ports. Most have the option for charging from your vehicle, AC or solar panels. I think they all have bundles with solar panels available. These companies seem to targeting off grid campers and off grid life folks but most are scaling up and offering home power back up solutions as well.
I mostly need to power about 50-60 watts of LEDs for 8-10 hour per day for 2 days. If I'm doing a night time show portion, it ups to 150-200 watts for about an extra 3 or 4 hours.
I have a friend that has been using an Ecoflow unit and likes it, so that is what I chose.https://www.ecoflow.com/us
https://www.bluettipower.com/ is another player as ishttps://www.jackery.com/ andhttps://goalzero.com/
Most of the stuff is also available through Amazon.
This is what I am using:
https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-pro-portable-power-station?variant=40563653378121
768Wh capacity and 800W output surges to 1600 It has a bunch of power output ports, AC, USB , 12 volt etc Recharges in about an hour on AC
It's a compromise for me. It will do probably 75% of what I need without having to recharge every day but only weighs in at 17.2 pounds so not to bad to carry back to the room and charge. I paid around $430, there was a sale but those seem to happen frequently.
I was at a show last year and the photographer next to me had 4500Wh of Goalzero units. Seemed like a bit of overkill [eek] but he had a double booth and a lot of lights.
The main advantage I see to these products is the one stop and all-in-one nature of their solutions. You figure out your power requirements (every company has a power need estimator) add in some cushion and go. Want to solar recharge there's a bundle for that. Easy peasy.
Hopefully others will post with what they are doing.
Ron
As some of you know I do a few art fairs annually to sell the lamps I make. Having electricity is usually an important option for me and most artists at these shows. A lot of folks use display systems that make a artist canopy sort of cave like even in the daytime. So having some form of lighting is essential.
The shows themselves have various options for electricity availability. Ranging from NO electricity available to free electricity for everyone to electricity available for a fee (sometimes as high as $75) engine powered generators are almost never permitted.
People have for many years been rolling their own solutions. Mainly deep discharge marine batteries and an inverter of some sort. Those work fine but marine batteries are not light and you need a way to haul them back to where they can be charged and you need a charger.
These days there are quite a few companies that sell an all in one solution. One unit with a charger built in and usually several different output ports. Most have the option for charging from your vehicle, AC or solar panels. I think they all have bundles with solar panels available. These companies seem to targeting off grid campers and off grid life folks but most are scaling up and offering home power back up solutions as well.
I mostly need to power about 50-60 watts of LEDs for 8-10 hour per day for 2 days. If I'm doing a night time show portion, it ups to 150-200 watts for about an extra 3 or 4 hours.
I have a friend that has been using an Ecoflow unit and likes it, so that is what I chose.https://www.ecoflow.com/us
https://www.bluettipower.com/ is another player as ishttps://www.jackery.com/ andhttps://goalzero.com/
Most of the stuff is also available through Amazon.
This is what I am using:
https://us.ecoflow.com/products/river-2-pro-portable-power-station?variant=40563653378121
768Wh capacity and 800W output surges to 1600 It has a bunch of power output ports, AC, USB , 12 volt etc Recharges in about an hour on AC
It's a compromise for me. It will do probably 75% of what I need without having to recharge every day but only weighs in at 17.2 pounds so not to bad to carry back to the room and charge. I paid around $430, there was a sale but those seem to happen frequently.
I was at a show last year and the photographer next to me had 4500Wh of Goalzero units. Seemed like a bit of overkill [eek] but he had a double booth and a lot of lights.
The main advantage I see to these products is the one stop and all-in-one nature of their solutions. You figure out your power requirements (every company has a power need estimator) add in some cushion and go. Want to solar recharge there's a bundle for that. Easy peasy.
Hopefully others will post with what they are doing.
Ron
