Mobile Solar Generators: Saving the Earth, One SolMan at a Time
February 24, 2011 at 4:23 am 4 comments
By: Amanda Artz
Mobile generators are necessary for countless applications, from powering shelters during a natural disaster to providing energy to heat a rural cabin in the woods. But what are the environmental implications of this technology? Although it would seem that generators are much less harmful than the traditional grid power of a home or business, they carry just as many, if not more negative environmental effects.
Typical mobile generators run on gas. Any fossil fuel burning device emits greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and ozone into the atmosphere, causing health issues. The process of burning fossil fuels is also the driving force behind global climate change. Additionally, mobile generators produce large amounts of noise pollution. Noise pollution harbors many negative effects for wildlife, causing them stress, decreasing the usability of their habitat, and disrupting the naturalness of ecosystems. Noise pollution also creates just as many negative effects on humans.
Exhaust from gas generators can also produce poisonous carbon monoxide gases that can kill if concentrated in high enough levels in poorly ventilated areas. It is also extremely dangerous to operate mobile generators in moist areas. On top of this, they can be very heavy and difficult to transport, making them inconvenient for the very purposes they are needed for most.
With all of these negative aspects, the need for an alternative mobile generating solution is great. Luckily, there is a solar solution. Solar-powered mobile generators are emission free, lightweight, and use energy from a completely renewable, free energy source. Also, advances in solar cell technology have made solar panels a much more affordable energy option.
SolMan mobile solar energy generator.
One such mobile solar generator solution is the SolMan, made by a northern California company called SolSolutions. This all-in-one integrated unit can deliver up to 1200 watts of AC power and 12 volts of DC power. The design includes a 135 watt photovoltaic panel, three 100 amp/hour deep cycle sealed batteries, a solar charge controller, a watt Meter, a 1500 watt inverter/charger, and external AC/DC plugs, all contained in a light, easily transportable two-wheel cart. It’s an extremely affordable model made locally out of long-lasting and environmentally friendly aluminum, not plastic.
Mobile solar generators are not the technology of the future—they are the technology of today, and should be used as commonly as hybrid vehicles and reusable shopping bags. Join other sustainability advocates and support this revolutionary technology, and together, along with the sun, we can rid our earth’s atmosphere of pollution, one SolMan at a time.
For more information about the SolMan, visit SolSolutions’ website.
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1.
Christopher Smith | February 24, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Hello Amanda – great article! Have you also seen http://www.PurePowerD.com – we design and build commercial-grade mobile solar power systems, and hybrid systems, too. We’ve had a lot of success with our products, and wanted to share the information with you.
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pcallen | February 26, 2011 at 5:32 am
I want one! Need to run my electric chain saw when there is no $ for gas.
3.
Joel Preston Smith | March 10, 2011 at 2:32 am
This looks like a brilliant solution to the portability problem. I ran across your post while researching the “ecology” of cougar hunts (I’m a journalist working on a story about proposed changes to Oregon law–potentially allowing hunters to use hounds to track cougar). But I’m also working with Peace Village on solar development in Oregon and Tanzania. Are you actively involved in predation studies in the southwest?
4.
amandaartz | March 10, 2011 at 6:21 pm
Hi Joel,
I’ve never heard of Peace Village but that sounds wonderful, could you pass along more information to me? In regards to your question about predation studies, I’m currently conducting a mountain lion population survey of a preserve in Sonoma County. In this study I place remote sensor wildlife cameras strategically throughout the preserve to catch video footage of mountain lions and their prey. With this data I intend to create GIS-based habitat maps and whatever else I see fit, but so far, the mountain lions of the area are doing what they do best: being elusive and very, very camera shy. Good luck with your story, I’ve heard all about the proposed changes to that law and am not very happy about it. Send it my way once it’s done and I’d love to read it and post it on my various social media sites. Thanks for your comment!
-Amanda