Was looking at 0w solar panel kit. Does this mean, all I can use is something like a 0W CFL light bulb and nothing else?
Graham is on the right track. However, you need to factor in a 80% DC to AC conversion loss. But yes a 0W CFL is about the size of it... Harbor Freight sells a system consisting of panels, battery, inverter, and TWO CFL's for $250. (You can power 2 CFL's off the grid for a very long time for $250)
No. The way to set it up is to store the power generated by the solar panel in a battery, then use the battery to power your lights, radio, etc, when you need the power. A standard deep-cycle marine battery is typical for panels of this size (WalMart for approx $90). A 0W panel will generate between 30 50 Watt-Hours of power over the course of a day (May-Aug weather-dependent), so this would equate to running a laptop for -2 hours, or a 0W CFL light for 3-5 hours, or a 20W stereo for .5-3 hours, etc. I find it is much easier to speak in terms of watts. Divide the watt-hours by the watts of the appliance to get the number of hours it can run. Hope that helps!
