Comments on: Now available via Kickstarter: An off-grid battery & solar kit

By: Tyrell Track Master

Tyrell Track Master — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 21:21:53 +0000

Love it! But good luck “blogging in the park” … I’ve found that even with an infinite battery using a laptop in the sun is a non-starter.

By: GigaLoam

GigaLoam — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:54:24 +0000

How silly.

Of course it’s not a “real” solar solution. It’s not real in the same sense that average person can’t or doesn’t want to maintain a real work shop or real garden in order to save money by fixing their own car or growing soybeans.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things, but all cost something in the way of time and expertise and are highly depedent on the location and what is or isn’t possible/allowed there.

This is a simple, versatile, nicely packaged, portable kit that can be used just about anywhere and should be able to keep my phone charged for a quite a while in the event of another power outage. Even at the suggested retail price it stacks up nicely to similar devices in terms of price versus capacity and functionality.

Also, the developers seem to be in full support of openness in the design/specification as well as some admirable causes.

By: IndyEE

IndyEE — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 19:31:44 +0000

I think this is somewhat unfairly comparing apple and oranges. The ReadySet is not a grid-tie solar system and is in no way intended to provide whole home backup. As an electrical engineer I can assure you that household air conditioners and refrigerators typically use kilowatts of power. I sincerely doubt a bargain basement Chinese $350 grid-tie system would even come close to being able to operate these types of devices. Just for reference, I would also point out that pure grid-tie solar systems do not function as backups during power outages. They store no energy locally and expect the grid to be present to supply any power required beyond what the panels can provide. Unfortunately high quality and reliable solar solutions are still somewhat costly and the ReadySet pricing is really pretty much in line with other similar products currently on the market.

By: Drew

Drew — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:38:43 +0000

No, its not a toy, we just arent the target market for it. We have many different solutions that are accessable. Its pointed at the third world and their lack of…well…anything.

By: nurlip

nurlip — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:00:32 +0000

sorry but this is way overpriced. The portability thing is nice but really? the $30 power inverter i have charges my devices just fine when i plug it into my car battery. Aside from that, you can buy a solar kit with battery back up to power your house and tie back into the grid to reduce your electric bills on amazon for $350. Doing that also gets you a 30% federal subsidy so for $245 you get to power your air conditioning and your fridge if nothing else. So this product is good but if you’re like me and the commenter below me and lost power for a while recently, this is not the solution you’re looking for. This product is essentially a toy compared to a real solar solution.

By: GigaLoam

GigaLoam — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 17:30:56 +0000

Perfect timing. I just signed up.

I went looking to order one of these when I read about them (here?) not that long ago. The desire to own one increased about 100x when I, along with several hundred thousand others in the DC area lost power for several days a few weeks back.