Mobile Solar Power Plant

Arduino
Mobile Solar Power Plant
Tactical solar power is ideal for the zombie apocalypse, electrical grid failure and even camping!
Tactical solar power is ideal for the zombie apocalypse, electrical grid failure and even camping!

Doomsday preppers, hoarders, take note…

Electrical power can go down at any time due to natural disasters, overwhelmed power stations and, of course, various apocalypses. Still, in those times, some of the more thrifty individuals turn to gas powered generators to keep their frozen burritos cool and their favorite shows playing on TV. However, those generators pretty heavy, notoriously loud (tipping off zombies to your location) and generate plenty of exhaust, probably adding to that global warming issue – making your bunker stuffy.

VisualSchematicArduinoXparent

To get around those issues, Arduino fan Kurt (from Kurt’s Arduino Projects), designed his ‘Mobile Sun Tracking Solar Power Plant to keep civilization running smooth. To get the solar panel to track the sun, Kurt used a cheap (little more than $1) LED flashlight and replaced the LEDs with three LDR photo sensors (each with their own shade). The sensors then send information to an Arduino Uno, which processes the info and instructs an Adafruit Shield to drive both a servo and linear actuator for optimum panel placement. The energy is stored in two 12V Gel deep-cycle batteries that are wired in parallel for a total of 85Ah.

VisualSchematicSolarPowerPlantXparent

While not as heavy as gasoline-powered generator, it still weighs in at 58lbs, which doesn’t actually scream ‘mobile’ but you could probably rig wheels to it and drag it behind you while on the go. Head over to the blog for the complete project breakdown and download!

YouTube player

But Doomsday fanatics realize this… all the food you store, supplies you keep, and electricity you generate… you are just doing it all for me, when I come over and take it. See you within minutes of Zero-Hour. Thanks!

What will the next generation of Make: look like? We’re inviting you to shape the future by investing in Make:. By becoming an investor, you help decide what’s next. The future of Make: is in your hands. Learn More.

Tagged

The one-man ace engineering wrecking crew - If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find me, maybe you can hire... the Cabe-team

View more articles by Cabe Atwell
Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!

ADVERTISEMENT

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 16th iteration!

Prices Increase in....

Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
FEEDBACK