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Solar Camping Roundup – Products for Camping/Hiking

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If you’re an avid camper or hiker, I’m sure you’ve already seen some of your fellow outdoor lovers using portable solar to charge their electronics while on the trail or at the campsite. Gone are the days when using a heavy (and expensive!) generator, wasting your car battery, or, even worse, using traditional non-rechargeable batteries were the only ways to charge electronics or run lights at the campsite. Solar camping is the way of the future! 

The rapid proliferation of advancements in solar panel technology has led to some exciting new ideas in the world of portable solar panels. So if you enjoy hiking, camping, (or you do and your family can’t live without their phones!) have a look at some of the options which are available to people who want to use recharge with renewable energy when they’re out in the wild. 

Buy Camping Solar Products in Australia

There a number of retailers in Australia offering a huge range of great products, from portable solar panels, foldable solar panels, solar torches, power banks to store the energy in, and much more. Quality can vary quite considerably so make sure you do your due diligence before purchasing anything too expensive. 

Kathmandu have a small range of products for campers and hiker such as the Goal Zero range of panels and some Kathmandu branded Power Banks and Hand Torches. 

Solar Camping – Goal Zero Nomad 7 Plus Panel and GoalZero Solar Battery (source: kathmandu.com.au)
Solar Camping – Goal Zero Nomad 7 Plus Panel and GoalZero Solar Battery (source: kathmandu.com.au)

 

Tentworld offers a range of foldable and rollable solar panels from brands such as Goal Zero, PowerFilm, Engel, and OZtrail. 

Some other amazing products we’re interested in (let us know if you’d like us to do a full review on any of these so I have an excuse to buy them!)

  • Eton Scorpion – A radio with 3.5mm input, a solar panel, and a hand crank which powers the device and even external USB devices. Don’t expect massive power, but very hand to have in a pinch. 
  • Earl Tablet – A camping gadget with a GPS chipset, connects to a VHF and UHF transceiver, can connect to analog and digital frequencies, and can provide up to 20 hours of battery life after five hours of sunlight charging. 
  • Lumos Solar Backpack – A solar camping backpack with a 3 watt solar panel and a 2200 mAh battery built in. Very reasonably priced, too! 
  • Companion Deluxe Portable Solar Shower – A 20L bag you fill up and leave out in the sun during the day. Built in water temperature gauge. 
  • Energizer Solar 4LED Rechargeable Spotlight – A simple rechargeable solar flashlight. Runs for 3.5 hours after 5 hours of charge and is totally waterproof.
  • Rock Out 2 Solar Rechargeable Speaker – A waterproof solar powered Bluetooth speaker which provides 10 hours of surprisingly quality sound on an 8 hour charge. 
  • Solar Car Battery Charger – An inexpensive 1.5 watt panel which can help ensure your battery stays charged when you’re away from your vehicle. Clip it onto your battery or plug it into the cigarette lighter. 
  • Solarmonkey Charger – A lightweight, waterproof and shock resistant portable solar panel. Will charge in around 8 hours and has an internal lithium-ion battery which stores a respectable 3500mAh.

Solar Powered Tents

Cinch Pop Up Tents offer an addon called the Cinch! Solar Power Pack which connects to the top of their extensive range of tents. The power pack includes a flexible silicon panel and a power bank so you can use the energy generated at night. They even have LED tent pegs so you won’t lose your tent or knock into one in the dark! 

Have a look at their promotional video for the Cinch solar tents below:

Solar Camping Panel Product Reviews

Is there a product you’re interested in buying and would like a review on? Leave your request in the comments and we’ll take a look for you! 

Alternatively, have you tried one of the products mentioned here and have an opinion? What did you like and what don’t you like about it? Please let us know, we’d love to hear about how you went. 

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NAB Solar & Origin – Credit Card Rewards

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The National Australia Bank and Origin Energy have partnered up so homeowners will be able to save up to $2,250 on the cost of a new solar system. The NAB Solar credit card rewards scheme will include the option to purchase and install solar panels through Origin via purchasing vouchers with rewards points. 

Origin and NAB Solar Rewards

According to domain.com.au and NAB Consumer Lending executive general manager Angus Gilfillan, the scheme will be launched on November 28 and will max out at $2,250, for new NAB Home Loan and Banking Bundle customers who redeem 350,000 rewards points. 

NAB Solar Rewards Platinum Card
NAB Solar agreement with Origin – Buy a system with points accrued via their Rewards Platinum Card (site: nab.com.au)

According to Mr. Gilfillan, the high cost of entry of solar installations is something NAB are trying to mitigate with their new scheme, saying : 

“We know that cost is a significant factor for consumers when making a purchase, so we hope this initiative makes it easier and more affordable for Australians to make the switch to solar.”

Ryan Willemsen-Bell, the Origin Solar and Energy Solutions General Manager of Business, said that you don’t need to be an Origin customer to take advantage of their offer and they could save almost 60% on a new install in certain circumstances: 

“Using suppliers Fronius and Zeversolar for inverters and China-made panels from China Sunergy and Trina, the outlay for a 3.2-kilowatt solar system would be about $1500 under the new offer compared with a retail price of $3593,” he said.

According to Mr. Willemsen-Bell, the average solar+battery system costs around $13,000 and Origin are trying to find ways to make it more affordable for their customers – offering incentives for solar power users such as a two year interest free payment plan and a Solar Flex power purchase agreement for power from solar panels installed and owned by Origin (an offer which has been taken up by a lot of commercial solar customers, he said). 

We’re not sure how long it’d take to accrue 350,000 rewards points, but this seems like a great way to bring down the initial cost of installing a solar system – please let us know in the comments how you go if you take them up on this offer! 

 

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Smart Solar Windows – New Technology Advancements

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New findings from a team at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory mean we are one step closer to smart solar windows. This will help future buildings generate their own energy and move cities one step closer to being self-sustainable.

Smart Solar Windows – Solar Cells in Windows

Jacqui Cole, a materials scientist originally from the University of Cambridge and currently based at the Argonne National Laboratory, works with colleagues to determine the molecular structure of working solar cell electrodes. They placed them within a fully assembled device that works just like a window – these dye-sensitized solar cells are transparent and work well in conjunction with glass due to their flexibility and thin, see-through electronic circuits. 

Jacqui Cole - Working on Technology for Smart Solar Windows
Jacqui Cole – Working on Technology for Smart Solar Windows (source: anl.gov)

Although there have been improvements in transparent solar technology and smart windows, this is a significant technology increase as previously the interactions and unknown molecular mechanisms between the electrodes and electrolyte weren’t understood very well (i.e. how the dye interacts with the semiconductor). 

“Most previous studies have modeled the molecular function of these working electrodes without considering the electrolyte ingredients,” Cole was quoted on the ANL website. “Our work shows that these chemical ingredients can clearly influence the performance of solar cells, so we can now use this knowledge to tune the ions to increase photovoltaic efficiency.”

Research in Nanoscale earlier this year (which also came from Argonne National Laboratory) showed that certain chemical ingredients can influence the photovoltaic performance of solar cells – and a ‘modest boost’ in performance would be enough to make the cells competitive, according to Cole. She noted that manufacturing dye-sensitized solar cells is ‘very cheap’ in comparison to other solar cell tech. 

Although the organic dyes (such as the one used in this study, called MK-2) are still in lab trial stages, metal organic dyes are starting to become commercialised. For example, a building in Graz, Austria (the Science Tower) uses windows that generate renewable energy at the top sections of its tower. 

We’ll keep you updated with any news on solar windows and their real-world application. Some huge steps forward being made in this area recently! 

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Tesla Battery in South Australia completed.

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Elon Musk’s 100MW Tesla Battery in South Australia has been completed – well ahead of its December 1 operation deadline. The array of Tesla Powerpack batteries will be tested over the coming days and we can expect the system to be fully live by next Friday.

Tesla Battery in South Australia 

Tesla Battery in South Australia
Tesla Battery in South Australia (source: Tesla)

The Tesla South Australia battery partnership was first inked back in July when Musk partnered with Neoen and signed an agreement with the South Australian government to create the world’s largest lithium-ion battery. The battery farm is powered by Neoen’s 315MW Hornsdale wind farm and is located adjacent to it in Jamestown, about 200 kilometres north of Adelaide. 

The $50 million system is capable of outputting 129MWh and can be used as baseline power during summer peak loading periods, where it can provide enough energy to power 30,000 homes for eight hours, or 60,000 for four. While this might not seem like a lot and one wonders if another company could have done it for cheaper (91 groups bid for the project), it’s definitely been a great way to raise awareness of energy storage in Australia and its rapidly rising uptake (and rapidly decreasing cost). 

It’s important to note that the Tesla battery is far from a panacea for South Australia’s energy woes – as Tony Wood, the energy program director at the Grattan Institute, told the Sydney Morning Herald:

“Over time, storage can help put downward pressure on prices because it can flatten out peak demand,” Wood said.

“It’s a very useful step in the right direction … but it doesn’t solve South Australia’s problem, even at that scale.”

In the meantime, Tesla continues to burn through cash at the rate of $8,000 USD / minute as they struggle to get on top of the Model 3 rollout. What does this mean for the Powerwall 3? The next 12 months will be extremely interesting for Elon Musk and his ‘blue sky’ investors – we hope they’re able to get all their ducks in a row and Musk can start making Tesla more cashflow positive. 

In the meantime, let’s see how Tesla’s battery works over summer for South Australia! 

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Mackay Council Solar Tender – 20 Sites

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Mackay Council solar sites – the Mackay Regional Council has voted to invite tenders from 16 shortlisted respondents for the installation of solar systems at 20 council sites. 

Mackay Council Solar 

Mackay Council Solar Tender
Mackay Council Solar Tender (source: mackay.qld.gov.au)

An ordinary meeting held by the Mackay Regional Council yesterday voted to ask for tenders from shortlisted Expressions of Interest (EOI) respondents – a pool of 16.  They’re hoping to install solar systems at 20 sites around Mackay, according to the council website. These sites are:

  • Mackay Civic Precinct ArtSpace
  • Mackay Civic Precinct Administration Building
  • Mackay Civic Precinct Entertainment Centre and Convention Centre (MECC)
  • Wellington St Administration Building
  • The Dome – Dudley Denny City Library
  • Gordon White Library
  • Bluewater Lagoon
  • Paget Depot
  • Nebo Road Water Treatment Plant
  • Mt Bassett Sewer Pump Station
  • Mirani Depot Site
  • Paget Waste Transfer Station
  • Sarina Administration Centre including Bob Wood Hall and Library
  • Sarina Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Mackay South Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Mackay North Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Dumbleton Weir
  • Mirani Sewerage Treatment Plant
  • Pioneer Swim Centre
  • Sydney St SPS

According to the Daily Mercury, the council’s yearly electricity bill is around $7 million – with $3 million of that from street lights and $2 million to power the city centre. Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said that every $1 million the council saves could lead to a 1% reduction in rates bills. 

According to Mackay Regional Council CEO Craig Doyle they an assortment of options including a large-scale solar farm, waste-to-energy and a hydro turbine,  but ended up deciding on small-scale solar on specific sites instead: 

“We called for EOIs in September last year to investigate options around renewable energy and explored both site-specific and large-scale options,” Mr Doyle said. “It was decided that small-scale, site-specific solar systems would suit council’s needs best.”

Mr Doyle elaborated on the council’s ultimate aims: “This renewable energy program aligns with our Environmental Sustainability Strategy with one of the aims being to become a ‘low-carbon, resource-efficient and productive organisation’.

This news follows an encouraging trend of councils looking to minimise their ecological footprint – for example, Lismore City Council’s 100kw floating solar farm has recently been completed. This will help them reach the target of generating all required electricity via renewable sources by 2023 and we’d love to see other councils following suit.

 

 

 

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