SOLAR ENGINEER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

SOLAR ENGINEER ANSWERS YOUR QUESTIONS

questions. Walker Ford knows the product like the back of his hand. As head engineer, Walker was excited to see the types of questions that were being asked and has answered them for you here! This week we will cover all the new product questions and idea box submissions.

ARE THERE PLANS TO SCALE UP AND BEGIN TO OFFER WHOLE HOUSE POWER/BACK UP POWER SOLUTIONS?" * BRET CHUMLEY

  • Definitely! This is one of our next big product releases. Large scale power for whole home use will come in two flavors; lead acid and lithium-ion- phosphate batteries. It will initially be emergency back up power, and not grid-tie power. this is in development.

ARE THE NEW ROCK OUT SPEAKERS GOING TO BE BLUETOOTH ENABLED? * MIKE MARONEY

- The new Rock Out will be visually updated and as well as improved audio electronics. We have big plans for the Rock Out Speaker coming down the pipeline.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE A WATERPROOF VERSION OF YOUR SOLAR PANEL/ BATTERY PACK COMBO? - DANIEL KRAMLICH

  • Totally! We all want this as well. It is being seriously discussed and we have some exciting ideas in the work for the future.

THE ESTRELLA LIGHT ONLY USES 3 WATTS OF POWER. CAN YOU MAKE A USB VERSION OF THE ESTRELLA? * HUNTER GOEBEL

  • Done! We have a new product called the Firefly, that does exactly that.

COULD GOAL ZERO MAKE A SHERPA 50 WITH EITHER A REMOTE OR A CLAPPER? MY CAMPSITE LIGHTING WOULD BE COMPLETE! * JASON SHAMY

  • We REALLY want to create a system with remote or sensor control. This could include control by timer, smartphone app, ambient light, or by motion. It would be great to get customer feedback on something like this. If we can show that people really want it, we can raise it on our priority level!

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Can Goal Zero team up with Nikon, Sony, or Cannon to make a system that will charge camera batteries directly. There are too many cords and parts currently, making it hard and useless sometimes. Eric Oneric Legros*

  • This is another product we really want to make. We are piloting a product right now by another company called Pixo. It allows you to charge any battery from USB. Again, if we have enough interest, we can raise the priority on this future product.

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Can Goal Zero pair up with Apple or other cell phone manufactures to make a phone with Goal Zero Solar Panels built into the back? then we never have to charge them! We can just turn them over in the sun!- Helen Abey Mountjoy-Venning**

  • This would be wonderful, in theory. Apple already has patents for doing just this. However, there are a few problems 1) there is not enough surface area behind a typical cell phone to efficiently charge it. Consider the size of the Nomad 7 Solar Panel, which is optimal size for charging a phone. 2) Solar Panels get very hot, and batteries don't like the heat. This is the main reason our solar panels and battery packs are separate.And another reason not to buy integrated Solar products. Do you have any ideas for us, or any questions about upcoming products? Tune in next week for more technical Q & A

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