The Benefits of Having Portable Solar Energy for Emergency Preparedness
Posted: Monday, January 05, 2009
by Lisa Bell
Macell Incorporated
What is the value of using solar panels and battery chargers?
The benefits of solar panels and battery chargers are that you can charge your batteries, cell phone IPod, and computer when grid electricity is unavailable. This would be particularly useful in areas affected by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, snow storms, ice storms as well as when camping and at construction sites.
Even if you never go outdoors have you ever lost power for an extended period of time? New Hampshire just went through an ice storm that came on December 12 th , 2008, and some people in our state on December 24 th , 2008 still had no power. Hurricanes have been known to take out power from the grid for months. After all of these storms the sun still shines to power solar panels, and the clean up from the storms always requires power to accomplish the task.
Since the panels allow for laptop computers to be kept charged, insurance claims and other paperwork may be filed quicker.
A portable roll up solar panel is surprisingly light and easy to carry. It should be a part of all emergency kits.
What is the value of being able to get help when you need it? The sky is the limit.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Thanks, this is a great idea. I didn't know you can get something like this and will look into it. Any suggestions for a product?Hi Val!
Thank you for reading my article. If you look on my bio you will find my website. On one of the pages I have articles and information. We have a chart on that page that will give you a list of which panels will do what job and in how much time. For instance the person who wishes to charge a cell phone that is not in use has a different power requirement from the person who is actively using a laptop while charging. It is important that the correct items are used together. Using an item with the incorrect voltage/electrical requirements can sometimes damage electronics.
As far as the recommendations, my favorites are the foldable solar panels. They are incredibly light and they store compactly if you choose to do that.
Please write back if I can assist you further.
Living in Florida this is a key aspect people should be concerned about. As a "Disaster planner" I am always looking for products that help in all phases before, during and after.Hi Robert!
I know what you mean about having items available for the before during and after. We used to live in GA, along the coast and I always felt the hurricanes rolled at us like we were pins in a bowling alley. Earthquakes and Ice storms also pack a punch. There should be emergency preparedness drills and kits (or at least lists of what to put in kits that are regularly updated) in all areas, since no place is without emergencies!
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