Need a Charge? Solar-Powered Station Helps Out Arts Festival Visitors

If you’re visiting the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts this weekend and find your cell phone battery running low, a local solar company is ready to help.

State College-based Sun Directed, which specializes in solar energy systems, has a mobile power station set up for the weekend at the Allen Street Lot (next to Cozy Thai and between South Allen Street and Sidney Friedman Park).

“This mobile power station is a great teaching tool that we use to support community events,’ said Sun Directed co-owner Heather Shadow. ‘Although charging cell phones is the most popular request, it powers much more. When spring storms knocked out power to 20,000 homes in Centre County, we used the trailer for three days keep our well and appliances running. It is quiet and clean, much easier than a generator”

Seven solar panels on the company’s trailer power computers, monitors and mobile devices, as well as air conditioning. Even on overcast and rainy days, which Arts Fest saw on Friday morning, the solar panels still generate power.

“This is a great way to see solar panels working”, said co-owner Michael Shadow. “We have 2.3 kilowatts of solar panels on the roof. The inverter is rated at 4-kilowatt peak output, and it has a 9.6kwh battery bank. Don’t worry if that sounds confusing, education is part of our mission.”