Scott- thanks for the informative reply. I've long been an enormous PV fan- you couldn't really ask for a better technology- and have become even more so with global energy hikes, & the arrival of CIS/CIGS PVs. Low voltage,long life & rugged ultrabright white LEDs are now threatening to make CFLs obsolete too. Your "20 years of electricity" comment needs qualifying, as with just ~10 years of storage battery life means at least one battery bank replacement in that time = $$$$ extra.
I favour both centralised AND personal solar power, as it's all too easy in many communities to get "off side" with the guys controlling resources.You know how these things can go no doubt, especially when tribal issues arise. A supply fuse my inconveniently "blow" just when you want a top up... Additionally XO use surely means colossal inconvenience having to walk into the village (with all it's distractions) & wait 3 hours just to charge the battery. At weekends especially kids could be helping at home & have a simpler & slower (maybe loaned) personal solar charger. I'd be very focused on a SLA battery being initially PV charged too, as having to leave an XO itself out in the sun may mean theft, accidental damage or even ruination by rain/wind. Personal chargers are achievable right now & proof of concept tweakable, while larger centralised ones require much planning & huge finance. Long range WiFi? I modestly point to my celebrated => www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz which outlines field work & cost effective enhancements. Almost ANYTHING in the LOS path of 2.4GHz signals will attenuate them. Are you factoring this in? To conclude- lets not forget laptop power needs are falling drastically! Intel Atom powered "netbook" offerings are increasingly thick on the ground,& many run for 6-8 hours per charge. Laptop charging energy may decrease at much the same rate as have cell phone power needs over the last 15 years. My first calculator in 1973 ran for 3 hours per charge, yet most modern offerings (infinatly more powerful) run for months/years on a few AA cells. Stan --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stan. SWAN - Educator/writer/consultant (ICT-Electronics-Sustainable Energy) EMAIL: => [EMAIL PROTECTED] & (Work) => [EMAIL PROTECTED] CELL: (64)-021-672-958 HOME: (64)-(4)-562-7494 GST Reg: 36-921-021 POSTAL: 24 Tuatoru St, Eastbourne-L.H., Wellington 5013, NEW ZEALAND. _______________________________________________ Devel mailing list [email protected] http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
