How to run your server on SunPower?

Since January my Homepage runs off grid on solar. I spend approximately 400 € on two 50 W panels, a 20 Ah lithium batterie and an old Dell Tablet PC. Prevent GmbH in Karlsruhe offered a charge controller for free. Thanks a lot.

Now I have unlimited GB Webspace and the only cost are 2,99 for the domain.

Can I save money running my server off grid?

Due to the fact that Webspace is kind of expensive this project is economically interesting. If you consider a non-rechargeable batterie for the worst sun conditions in the year you can increase the breakeven point to about 2-4 Years. All you need is a Zener diode and an alarm if the non-rechargeable’s are almost empty.

min 185 max 730 W/(m²*d) Sum 134 kWh/(m²*a)

How many Photovoltaic Panels do I need to run a server?

To run the 10-Watt Dell Tablet as a Server 24 hours, you need 240 Wh. One Photovoltaic Panel has approximately a surface of 0,37 square meters. Two PV-Panels have 0,74 m².

How much capacity should the Battery for a Solar Server have?

The Graph above shows the harvest of a one m² PV with an efficiency of 15 % from Global Ray income. The red area is showing that in winter for this region the sun won’t give enough electricity to power the server and charge the battery. If I want 100 % independence off grid you would need a 60 Ah 12 V Battery. Then you are 100 % sure. I went for 20 Ah. If your website serves local customers, they the website won’t be too busy, and the consumption is less.

This winter the battery kept my server running. But I must admit it was from January on.

Can I reduce CO2 emissions myself at home?

If every little business would run their server on solar an enormous amount of energy could be saved. Massive Servers need lots of cooling energy which won’t be necessary if the server is locally on your balcony or facade.

The only downside is the loading time of the site. Feel free to check it and comment your experience, please.

This old icebox contains all the needed components.

Monocrystalline PV panel 2*50-Watt peak in parallel