AirGradient Forum

Advice needed: Powering Outdoor Monitor with solar panel & powerbank on a balcony

#1

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to install an AirGradient Outdoor monitor on my balcony, but unfortunately, I don’t have an electrical outlet out there.

I would like to power it using a mini USB solar panel, but I know that plugging it directly into the monitor won’t work well (due to voltage drops when a cloud passes, and of course, it wouldn’t run at night). I know the monitor requires a stable 5V / >2A power supply to run the ESP32 and the sensors reliably.

I’m thinking about using a setup with a solar panel connected to a powerbank, which then powers the monitor.

Has anyone here successfully built a similar off-grid setup for their outdoor monitor? If so, I’d love to get your recommendations:

  1. Powerbank: Do you have any recommendations for a reliable, outdoor-safe powerbank that supports true “pass-through” charging (charging from the solar panel while simultaneously outputting stable 5V/2A to the monitor)?
  2. Solar Panel & Capacity: What wattage for the solar panel and what capacity (mAh) for the battery would you recommend to ensure it survives the nights and a few cloudy days in a row?
  3. Weatherproofing: Any tips on how to keep the battery and USB connections safe from the rain/humidity?

Thanks in advance for your help and ideas!

#2

Hi @Xoib, welcome to our community!

While I have never modified my AirGradient Open Air to use with a solar panel. I think these resources could be helpful for you.

There’s an interesting and very detailed post by @Tyler_Bennet who built a great DIY solar power system to use with his AirGradient Open Air here: Air Gradient Solar Powered

And for a smaller footprint setup with two 21700 Lithium batteries, I find this interesting: https://youtu.be/MFmNXZSFz5o?si=Kysbf2f2t5Ge3rHd&t=622

According to what Magi mentioned in his video (the second link), for the solar panel, 20W could be optimal.

Additionally, for some information about the power consumption, you might want to see my post here: AirGradient Open Air (O-1PST) - Power Consumption & 3rd-party USB Charger Compatibility

A good alternative to the AirGradient Open Air in this use case is the AirGradient Open Air Max that comes with batteries and a solar panel.

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#3

Thank you for all those resources, it seems that all the information I am looking for are there.
I’ll definitely dig deeper into it during my free time!

I went ahead just to look for the price but I didn’t find it, neither on shop part of the website ; Is there as well a kit version of this product?

1 Like
#4

@Xoib I’m glad that they are helpful for you! Please feel free to let me know if you need any helps.

For the AirGradient Open Air Max, we only have fully assembled versions (O-M-1PPST-CE and O-M-1PPSTON-CE), as the devices are quite a lot more complicated than our iconic AirGradient ONE and Open Air, which can be assembled in a few minutes. (The Open Air Max has significantly more components, wires, and multiple PCBs (e.g., cellular module board, board for additional electrochemical sensors (O-M-1PPSTON-CE variant).

However, the openness of the hardware and firmware remains fully open-source like our other products, so you don’t have to worry about proprietary lock-in stuff.

Please feel free to contact us via https://www.airgradient.com/support . @Altair_AirGradient will surely give you more information about it!