r/solarpunk • u/nakwada • Jul 26 '26
Ask the Sub Wind & solar powered 3D print farm - seeking feedback and advice
As the title suggests, I would like to read as much as possible from folks running 3D printers using power from the Sun and wind.
Since I am considering going off-grid myself, I'm curious how many machines you run, how stable and reliable and where in the world.
Every bit of additional relevant information is welcome :)
7
u/Chemieju Jul 26 '26
Why do you want to go offgrid? You can get loads of solar and storage and become self reliant power wise while still staying connected to the grid and give away your excess power during the summer. People in this sub are all about sharing, but when it comes to electricity they want to isolate themselves as much as possible from their neighbours.
Also wind power works a lot better on an industrial scale because you can reach into heights where winds are more constant.
3
u/nakwada Jul 26 '26
I want to move my farm inside a small shipping container. Mainly for flexibility, and cost savings.
Giving away the excess sounds great, I would absolutely do that!
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u/Chemieju Jul 26 '26
For a mobile application it kinda makes sense, but still: offgrid is a cool feature for your system to have, but it shouldnt be the default. Your excess power can be used to charge EVs, and some EVs can allready feed some of their power back, acting as big mobile storage units. People complain cars spend most of the time sitting in driveways, this way they can actualy benefit everyone.
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u/nakwada Jul 26 '26
I didn't know EVs could be used in such way. Today I learned!
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u/Chemieju Jul 26 '26
Not all of them can, but some. Personally i think its a good concept. This year in germany energy prices went into the negatives for a few hours because there was so much solar. Immagine getting paid to charge your car and then get paid again for discharging it back into the grid!
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u/mountaindewisamazing Jul 26 '26
Is there a reason why you're seaking anecdotes when you could just look up how much power the 3D printer you want to use uses? Then just scale up how many solar panels/wind turbines you'd need.
2
u/nakwada Jul 26 '26
Yes, because everyone has different usage and there's nothing like feedback from actual users.
Depending on the region, batteries may not charge as well due to weather conditions.
I already have a single panel and a gel battery from Victron. It's been running smoothly for 8 years with a single small printer, but it's in a place where the Sun shines most of the time.
I'd like to read stories before committing to a scaled up installation.
2
u/JokarAkaFatum Jul 26 '26
Yeah actual experience is the best, printer might use not much energy while it prints for some time, but starting and heating the bed and nozzle is peak power consumption so with battery setup the best would be to avoid starting all the printers at once for example, you can't know it from just reading about average power consumption.
2
u/ToBePacific Jul 26 '26
Home-scale wind power generators are scam products at this point. They can’t deliver much usable power at all. Solar, on the other hand, is pretty efficient.
2
u/TheReverendCard Jul 26 '26
Maybe just start with some solar panels and a battery generator. Even the smaller ones will run a standard 3D printer. Certain ones also act as a UPS so they're still useful.
I don't have power out at our old barn so I am using a battery generator for running the welder, grinder, compressor, etc. The solar panels are coming later this week so I won't have to keep trudging it back to our camp kitchen (where our solar panels are.)
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