Solar Box

The Concept

Create an off-the-shelf, mass-produced renewable electricity generation system that you can buy at the store, bring home, and plug in. The components of the system are simple, cheap, and modular.

The Hub

A 200 Watt hub with one outlet and one solar panel.
Perfect for powering a desktop computer.
The hub is the base of the system. You plug the hub into a normal wall outlet and then you connect a load (appliance, computer, lights)  into the hub. Both connections use normal household 3-prong plugs. You also connect the solar panel(s) into a special jack on the hub. When the sun is shining, the hub converts the DC energy coming from the solar panel into AC energy that your stuff can use. When the sun is not making enough power for your load (because it is cloudy or nighttime), the hub seamlessly supplies the extra power from your house mains so you always get continuous power.
The hub above has a display that shows the amount of power the load is using and the amount of power that is being supplied by the solar panels.

A 1000 Watt hub with 6 outlets and connections for 4 solar panels.
This could support a small air conditioner or several appliances.
Hubs come in many different sizes from 200 Watts to 2,000 Watts.  Bigger hubs have multiple energy source jacks, so you can buy extra panels and plug them in at anytime to expand the system.
The hub is in constant digital communication with the connected power sources. The communication link runs over the same wires that carry the power. Because the hub is able to read information from the connected solar panels, it can make adjustments based on what size and type of panel is attached and run at maximum efficiency. If the communication link is ever broken because the wires are damaged or disconnected, the power source instantly stops sending power down the lines. This makes the system fail-safe.

Power Sources 

A Solar-In-A-Box solar panel is just a standard solar panel with the addition of an inexpensive module that makes it compatible with the system. This module is responsible for maintaining the communication link with the attached hub. When a panel is first connected, the module tells the hub some information that the hub needs to operate the panel at its maximum efficiency. Then the hub sends a signal to module telling it to start sending power down the connection. The module only sends power down the wire when it is connected to a functioning hub. 
But as a consumer, you do not need to know about any of these details. You'd just buy any compatible power source and plug it in to any hub.
These modules could also easily be incorporated into any power source cable of supplying DC power, making that source able to plug directly into a hub.  This would include a variety of different sizes and types of solar panels and also windmills, small hydroelectric turbines, even a stationary bike with a generator. (Check out my solid-state windmill design with NO moving parts- look ma, no rotor!).


A prototype solar panel mount I built. It is cheap,
very stable and durable, UPS ground shippable, can be assembled in about 5 minutes.
You adjust the azimuth (the height of the sun in the sky) along the rear support leg.
You adjust the direction by picking it up and turning it.