A goal for 2026 is to camp more. I bought a National Parks Pass in December with the idea of extended stays in mind. I'm equipped for week-long trips, but I've only been employed by my organization for a year, so I don't have much PTO available. I do have the luxury of working remotely, and to that end, I've been gearing up for longer trips where I can work and enjoy the outdoors.
The first thing I need is to power a laptop and an Internet satellite service. I want to stay in remote places without cellular service. I purchased a first-generation Anker Solix C1000 power station with a capacity of 1024 watt-hours and a 400-watt Renogy solar blanket to charge it. I chose the C1000 because it was on sale and I've had a good experience with Anker products. I also chose the Renogy solar blanket because it was the least expensive portable 400-watt solar panel. My truck is suited for a permanent solar panel installation, making a portable solution a must.
Charging the power station
My first experiment was to test how long it took to fully charge the Solix. I ran a 1500-watt heater using the Solix to deplete the power station from 100% to a 15% charge. I placed the solar blanket on the ground in full sun. Here's the weather for Albuquerque on January 14th:
WEATHER ITEM OBSERVED TIME RECORD YEAR NORMAL DEPARTURE LAST
VALUE (LST) VALUE VALUE FROM YEAR
NORMAL
...................................................................
TEMPERATURE (F)
YESTERDAY
MAXIMUM 58 MM 62 1980 48 10 36
MINIMUM 29 MM -5 1963 26 3 26
AVERAGE 44
SKY COVER
POSSIBLE SUNSHINE MM
AVERAGE SKY COVER 0.3
SUNRISE AND SUNSET
JANUARY 14 2026.......SUNRISE 714 AM MST SUNSET 517 PM MST
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I started the test at 10:56 AM, and the solar blanket averaged 200 watts.
I checked the power station at 2:58 and saw that a tree could cast a shadow, so I moved the solar blanket to keep it in full sun. Even with moving it, the power output had decreased to half.
By 4:02, the solar blanket output was 36 watts. With sunset an hour away, I stopped the experiment.
In a 5-hour period, the Renogy solar blanket recharged the Solix at the rate of 0.14 kWh.
Measuring MacBook Pro power usage
The following day, I ran an M4 MacBook Pro from Solix. The MacBook was also connected to a 32" monitor and a web camera. Usage was typical with a mix of coding, Internet browsing, and conference calls. I ran the experiment for eight hours starting at 9:39 AM.
At 1:41 PM, I checked power usage.
Eight hours later, at 6:13 PM, the Solix was down to 67%, consuming 0.02 kWh.
The MacBook Pro's power consumption is negligible, factoring in that I won't have an external monitor. Adding StarLink, with an estimated daily consumption of 0.2 kWh for an eight-hour day, the Solix, combined with the Renogy solar blanket, should be sufficient for at least a week. My main concern is recharging the power station. It's likely that I'll be in places without full sun, and the solar blanket output would be 100 watts or less. I'm considering getting a 1000-watt gas generator that can charge the Solix power station in an hour. While not the best option for peace and quiet, it's probably the most pragmatic choice for long-term camping.
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