[Commotion-discuss] powering ubiquiti devices with solar power

[Ben West]

I had also done proof-of-concept research for cobbling together relatively
inexpensive 24V solar rigs for UBNT nodes.  Danny Illand is definitely the
guy to inquire with as well!

Below is my own cost breakdown for just a single outdoor, rooftop-mounted
mesh radio with 12V solar panel and battery.  Please be advised none of
this has actually been built and tested, so I don't know yet if these parts
could be used together!  This was just a quick pass to see what a ~$500
budget could support (i.e. detail sufficient for a grant application).

Do note that Tycon Power Systems makes self-contained 24V solar/battery
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1EA0P18851> solutions
for WiFi APs, but they're much more expensive.

Ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M2 (runs on 24VDC / 0.167mA) - $50
http://shop.bizsyscon.com/ubiquiti-nanostation-loco-m2-outdoor-mimo-2x2-802-11g-n/
60W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Panel - $100
http://www.amazon.com/ALEKO%C2%AE-60W-60-Watt-Monocrystalline-Solar/dp/B007YT9222/
12V 12Ah sealed lead acid golf cart battery - $28
http://www.batterymart.com/p-12v-12ah-sealed-lead-acid-battery.html
12/24V 5Amp PWM charge controller - $19
http://www.renogy-store.com/5-amp-charge-controller-p/ctrl-pwm5.htm
11-15VDC to 24VDC DC/DC converter 3amp $24.50
http://www.current-logic.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=9
DIY mounts made from cinderblocks, treated lumber, conduit, misc parts - $30
http://goo.gl/62jYJ
http://goo.gl/eU53G
Tycon passive POE injector - $4.50
http://shop.bizsyscon.com/tycon-poe-inj-s-passive-poe-injector/
Misc parts, mounting brackets, shielded CAT5 cable, cable fittings - $50


*Total: $306*

This assumes a fully autonomous rooftop rig, running only on solar/battery
power, i.e. to conserve costs by forgoing any 120VAC inverter.  Also, it
depends on a step-up DC/DC converter to convert the 12V from the battery to
24V for the radio.  The benefit to this approach is that it means the
rooftop rig can be assembled as a single piece ahead of time, and then
quickly dropped into place (by chopper? lol) on a roof w/o needing to crimp
any cable.

In ideal operation, the solar panel has to be powerful enough to charge the
battery and power the radio simultaneously, and do so on the day of the
year with least sunlight.  The battery capacity should be enough to power
the radio (at absolute bare minimum) for 16hours or so of darkness/twilight
every day, ideally with additional capacity to last through 1/2/3 day
stretches where there is inadequate sunlight.

Furthermore, the sealed lead acid battery shouldn't be discharged below 50%
of its capacity.  The 12Ah battery above should (in theory) give at least 1.5
days of continuous power before dropping below 50%.

Hanging additional gear (e.g. weather station, 5.8GHz backhaul radio) off
the solar arrays would require a larger battery, e.g. like the 35Ah one
below:
http://www.batterymart.com/p-12v-35ah-sealed-lead-acid-battery-group-u1.html?Category_Code=04-12-volt-sealed-lead-acid-batteries



On Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 4:36 PM, Georgia Bullen <
georgia at opentechinstitute.org> wrote:

> Also - Danny Illand at UCSB (http://cs.ucsb.edu/~iland/projects.html) did
> a presentation at the International Summit for Community Wireless networks
> in Berlin on a solar power battery he was working on.
>
> -Georgia
>
> On Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 5:14 PM, Adam Longwill <adam.longwill at metamesh.org>
> wrote:
>
>> Meta Mesh has done a proof-of-concept for solar powered ubnt nodes. We
>> powered a ubnt Rocket overnight using a solar cell and battery. I don't
>> have the details of exactly what we used BUT I do know that the lowest
>> voltage recommened by Ubiquiti is 15v but we had ours working off a battery
>> at 12v. We recommend using 2 12v batteries or a 24v battery. Someone with
>> better electrical knowledge can correct me, please, or fill in details.
>>
>> We DID find this really cool setup which is an all-in-one solution to
>> powering and storing the batteries. Check it out!
>>
>> http://tyconpower.com/products/files/RemotePro_Spec_Sheet.pdf
>>
>> We are hoping we can get one in the next grant we apply for for a local
>> baseball field with no Internet/Electricity access but is within range of
>> other nodes.
>>
>> Hope that Helps.
>>
>> Sign up for our mailing list for details. We'll be announcing some cool
>> stuff this month!
>>
>> http://www.metamesh.org/contact.htmlhttp://www.metamesh.org/contact.html
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 5, 2015 at 3:15 PM, Marina Brown <catskillmarina at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>> Hash: SHA1
>>>
>>> Hi:
>>>
>>> Does anyone have experience powering ubiquiti devices with solar
>>> energy. I will be placing a couple nodes where there is no/little
>>> grid power.
>>>
>>> Any advice on this ? Do they work ok with 12 volts or do i need
>>> higher voltage.
>>>
>>> - --- Marina Brown
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>
>
> --
> Georgia Bullen
> Senior Data Analyst
> Open Technology Institute <http://newamerica.org/oti/> @ New America
> <http://newamerica.org>
> @georgiamoon <http://twitter.com/georgiamoon>
>
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-- 
Ben West
http://gowasabi.net
ben at gowasabi.net
314-246-9434
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