Ingenious DIY setup powers home for 8 years with over 1,000 repurposed laptop batteries
WTF?! Far less than a quarter of e-waste generated globally is properly collected, treated, and recycled, according to the UN. That’s why repurposing and extending the lifespan of discarded electronics is so crucial. One person has done just that, with a remarkable home charging system created by repurposing over a thousand used laptop batteries.
This remarkable feat has been running successfully for an astonishing eight years without a single battery replacement, as detailed by the creator, Glubux, on the online forum Second Life Storage.
The setup is housed in a somewhat unassuming shed 50 meters (164 feet) away from the individual’s residence, but its purpose is anything but ordinary. It combines old laptop batteries with solar panels to create an off-grid power supply, essentially turning a pile of e-waste into a sustainable energy solution.
Despite the unconventional nature of this system, there have been no reports of fire hazards or swollen battery issues throughout its nearly decade-long operation. In fact, Glubux claims he can power his entire house from it, including the washing machine.
The project’s origins can be traced back to November 2016, when the creator shared his initial plans on the forum. At the time, he had already begun producing part of his electricity needs with a modest 1.4kW solar panel array, an old 24V 460Ah forklift battery, charge controllers, and a 3kVA inverter.
However, Glubux aimed to expand his setup by constructing a dedicated shed to house additional batteries and charge controllers/inverters. He had already amassed around 650 laptop batteries and had started sorting and assembling them into packs, each designed to hold approximately 100Ah by carefully matching the number of cells and using copper wiring for efficient connections.
While some initial hiccups arose, such as uneven discharge rates among packs with different cell counts, the creator quickly adapted by rebalancing the packs and adding cells where needed. Eventually, he ended up using over a thousand laptop batteries.
If you’re wondering why the batteries in the photos don’t resemble your typical laptop power pack, that’s because laptop batteries have historically been multiple battery cells housed within a single casing. However, in this ingenious setup, Glubux took those individual cells and assembled them into their own customized racks – a process that likely required a fair bit of elbow grease and technical know-how, but one that has ultimately paid off in spades.
Fast-forward to the present day, and a recent update from Sunday revealed that the setup has been running without a hitch for eight years, with not a single laptop battery cell requiring replacement. Glubux has also upgraded his solar panel array to 24 units rated at 440W peak each, providing ample power generation capacity, especially during the winter months.
