Running server off portable solar panels?

[peggleg1983]

As the title suggest

Is it possible to run a server off portable solar panels? Max draw around 200W
Interesting to hear what others recommend or do

Unfortunately in a rental house, so can install panels on the roof

 

[bwahaha]

Sure. It'll need to be low power, like a Pi or literpc. You'll also want a decent deep cycle battery for night operation.


also, assuming 200w is what the kit says, you're likely to rarely get all of that.

 

[cesmith9999]

also look into the PicoPSU so that you can draw DC to the server instead of DC -> AC -> DC conversion. that will save a lot of power in the conversion.

and the real question is how big is the server? something like my setup would take ~1000W for 24h utilization. something smaller (like TTM) could handle a lot less in power.

Chris

 

[T_Minus]

Don't use cheap folding\portable solar panels, just use smaller 12v panels that are $62 - $72 new\each on amazon for 100watt pannel.
You can put them in windows behind your blinds where the sun is, or make a simple stand for balcony\deck\etc.... You're going to need to buy an inverter, charge controller(s), maybe batteries if you want, etc... panels are the cheap part

 

[BoredSysadmin]

also, assuming 200w is what the kit says, you're likely to rarely get all of that.

To continue this thought for a second, 200w solar panels, actually says UP TO 200w, which roughly means NEAR 200w output in ideal case, such as brand new panels, located right at equator, on sunny and 100% clear day and panels pointed directly at the sun. Take away any of these stipulations and panel's output would be considerably smaller.

 

[PigLover]

Easiest way (def. not cheapest) would be to use a packaged solar "generator" and some 200w panels. Solar generator is really just a package with batteries, a charge controller and an inverter. Look at companies like EcoFlow and Jackery. They are expensive but show what can be done. You can pretty easily do this yourself as long as you understand and accept the risks - take a look at the youtube channel @jehugarcia for lots of video examples, battery tests, etc.

I have a Solar Generator from Ecoflow and four 350w panels that I use for power when camping in our tent trailer and it works great. When we are home (which is a lot more often than camping, sadly) I leave it plugged into and powering my server rack to reduce draw from the grid. Very happy.

I actually wish it had a good management interface that would allow me to disable taking power from the grid based on time and battery level - i.e., draw only from solar or battery between 3pm-11pm as long as the battery is at least 25% charged. This would let me avoid the usurious "peak" rates PG&E charges during summertime.

 

[peggleg1983]

Amazing, thanks all for your replies.
Dont understand how solar etc work, but woke up thinking about this this morning.

WIll look into a few companies like @PigLover suggested, but will need to find someone in the UK

 

[vudu]

Check out Wolfgang's channel for some good ideas on low power servers.

 

[unphased]

I know this is not a solar forum but I would have expected the hobby overlap to be more significant than this. The latest lineup of Ecoflow LFP (LiFePO4 chemistry) power stations/solar generators now have 10ms (ATX compliant) UPS switchover delay. Many slightly older designs have 20ms on this metric, which may suffice for many computer power supplies.

There should be no issue running e.g. a River 3 Plus unit with any computer up to 600 watts power draw, which will include a majority of servers.

You can of course directly connect a suitably sized solar array to such a unit and have a full off grid system. No need to be restricted to an underpowered raspberry pi for such an experiment. Power storage is the big problem with running something like a computer off solar. Now if you want the computer to survive the entire night and make it to the next day's solar power input, then on a small unit like a River 3, it will need to draw something like 20 watts or less, so you can size up the power station battery capacity accordingly until the needs are met.

 

[BoredSysadmin]

 

[unphased]

I think that Ecoflow is a much more established brand and not in the above comparison due to being higher priced.

I got one of the aforementioned Ecoflow River 3 Plus (new release) units for $159 after stacking a $50 off ecocredits coupon with the black friday flash sale the other day. So that brings it to the same or better price level of these 0.2-0.3 kWh units. Having 10ms switchover time UPS capability is key, and all the other benefits like one hour fast charging etc are bonuses.

 

[T_Minus]

lol do you work for them?

I've heard of numerous brands in the above video over the last 3 or so years, among what he tested are the most known brands such as Jackery... I've never heard of ecoflow, he tested units much more expensive than 150, so that's not a reason it wasn't included.

I'd personally value clean power as the #1 most important feature.

All of these devices are more expensive, but simpler than a DIY solution of equal power... so for a small backup system 150-300$ not bad, but anymore and I would do a basic DIY with a battery and inverter.


I did a basic DIY setup for my starlink mini, and can charge other devices too.