I’m only half kidding. I’m a bit of a prepper and I have lots of powerbanks and devices that charge from USB but besides idling my truck I really had no other way to charge any of them in case of a long-term power outage which seemed a bit of an oversight on my part.
Not like this solves the issue. 30 watts (under ideal conditions) isn’t much but it’s a start.
30w can charge a battery bank like a Jackery, and those can put out 1000w continously. It would take ages to charge, but it’s more than nothing.
It might be better than nothing for some things, but providing enough power to run heaters as needed when it’s -20F outside over the next week ain’t going to happen. And while it would work for an LP furnace for a while, that tank WILL go empty, and then where do you get more fuel?
Burning wood seems like the obvious solution to keeping warm in the winter. There’s much better uses for the little solar power there is available then.
Burning wood comes with its own extra work and costs. Plus the danger of burning your house down. I live in a forest, and wood heat is not uncommon here. There were 4 wood heat fires that destroyed homes this past winter, it was a cold and long winter this year. And I did grow up with wood heat as a kid, so I’m very familiar with it. I do remember a couple of chimney fires quite well.