I’ve seen at least one engineer wish that all engineering students would have to take a project class, where you have to build and compete a vehicle using only parts from a set box of things (that everyone gets), that included a solar panel. That way, he said, all such students would gain an appreciation for just how weak a power source they were, how long it takes to collect useful energy, and how difficult it is to win a competition when that’s what you have to depend upon.
“when that’s what you have to depend upon.”
I’ve learned this lesson. I used a 500 watt lithium power pack to run just a refrigerator while camping this summer. Yes, it works, but only if you have enough reserve juice to get through the cloudy days, and you remember to set out your panels... Every. Day.
The novelty of getting power from sunlight is technically fascinating, but it’s anything but fast.
Biggest lesson I learned was the awareness of all the little things we use electricity for. When your choices come down to watching TV or keeping the lights on, you quickly wake up to how good it is to have reliable and almost endless power.
A large fully charged cell phone stores about 1/4th of a penny's worth of electricity in its battery. Let's see some commitment from the city slickers to go 100% solar just for that tiny use. Many portable power banks now have solar panels built in (along with wall plug ins for real charging), so they can try that. The truth is, going 100% solar for even a very tiny power use is a major inconvenience and expense.