PurpleAir using solar

[bfna (Katherine Perry Prevost)]

I would like to use purpleair with solar. Do anyone know what size i would need? Can I use the solar panel with a 5w rating?

[Amanda_Hawkins]

Hello Katherine,

Here is our FAQ on using a solar pannel:

Q: Can I use alternative power (solar and battery) to run a sensor remotely?

A: We have heard of a number of individuals running their sensors with solar power. However, we personally have not tested PurpleAir sensors using solar power in-house. That said, it seems reasonable that solar panels between 10W and 15W should be adequate to charge a battery pack to run a PurpleAir sensor. How quickly that battery pack recharges is situationally dependent and might take some experimenting on your part to fit the seasonal sun conditions. We expect that a 20AH (20,000mah) batter…

And you might find this thread helpful from other using solar pannels.

Solar power pole mount

[solar_mount1] I’ve been working on some solar powered sensor installations which include the purple air along with some other sensors running off of a raspberry pi. My guess is that a 20 watt solar panel and 20 amp hour battery and solar controller should be sufficient to run the purple air unit by itself continuously(assuming decent sunlight), but need to test out. This bookmark details some basic parts used to setup the solar mount, battery(a smaller 10 watt and 10 amp hour setup, would nee…