Search Results for: solar

Q&A: Can I replace the rechargeable batteries in my solar lights with better ones?

Posted on September 6, 2021

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Question from Sue: I have 16 solar deck lights around the railing of my deck.

These lights are a little over a year old and their cheap AA rechargeable batteries now only last about an hour or so after the sun goes down.

I really like these particular lights so I’d prefer to replace the batteries instead of the lights themselves.

Can I safely replace the old rechargeable batteries in these lights with something like Energizers? [Read more…]

Review: Anker 14W Solar Panel Foldable Dual-port Solar Charger for USB-charged Devices

Posted on April 18, 2015

anker-14w-foldable-solar-charger Hiking, camping, and just enjoying the great outdoors are wonderful ways to get back to nature for a while, but if you need to keep your mobile phone, tablet or GPS charged up while you’re out there, good luck!

But now our friends at Amazon have an awesome new device that makes it easy to keep your mobile devices charged up while you’re out someplace in the boonies.

The Anker 14W Solar Panel Foldable Dual-port Solar Charger provides up to 5v at 2 amps to your USB charged mobile devices. This is plenty of power to keep your batteries “hot” and ready for use whenever you need them. [Read more…]

Keep your mobile devices charged during extended power outages with a solar powered USB charger

Posted on February 17, 2015

If you live in an area plagued by frequent power outages, keeping your cell phone and other mobile devices charged can be a real challenge.

I wrote a post a while back explaining how a spare battery backup unit is a great tool for keeping your devices charged up.

But if you’d rather not have to deal with keeping another battery backup charged and at the ready, there is a great alternative available: a solar powered USB charger. (#ad)

One major advantage of solar chargers is the obvious: As long as the sun shines you can keep a charge on your devices’ batteries. Of course that’s also the main disadvantage – no sun, no charging. But most models have a built-in backup battery for charging your devices during times of darkness or heavy cloud cover. [Read more…]

Q&A: How can I extend an Internet connection to a distant building?

Posted on November 14, 2025

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Question from Travis: I’m building a cabin on the back side of my parents’ ranch that my wife and I will be staying in several times a year when we visit them.

We’ll be staying several days on each trip so I’ll need to be able to work from the cabin. And it looks like that might be a problem. [Read more…]

Q&A: Can you use a portable power station as a UPS for your computer?

Posted on October 23, 2025

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Question from Roland: I’m hoping you can answer some questions for me about portable power stations.

The power went off on my street and stayed off for over 7 hours. My almost new 1,000 watt UPS only kept my computer and monitor running for about an hour.

My cousin (who is also my neighbor) has a 500 watt Jackery portable power station and he said it kept his computer running for over 5 hours, and his computer has a bigger monitor.

Like I said before, I have three questions: [Read more…]