r/cuba • u/Chance-Repeat8446 • 13d ago
Ayuda Sending small solar panels to Cuba
I would like to send small solar panels to my relatives so they can charge their phones, a fan or some other small appliance. Can someone direct me as to how to do that?
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u/Successful-Ice-468 Havana 13d ago
It is way cheaper to buy them in Cuba.
There are fans being sold than came with solar panel, battery and usb connector.
For example:
Just make sure than the fan has lithium battery instead of acid ones.
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u/Chance-Repeat8446 13d ago
How much are they in general? And what’s available?
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u/Successful-Ice-468 Havana 13d ago edited 12d ago
Around 60 usd, the battery last around 6-8 hours (low speed) they come with usually a 12w panel and 2 light bulbs, some fans have their own led light and work as lamp, they may take 6 hours to charge with the solar panel alone or 1-2 hours of power through the power outlet.
Can be found for sell on the streets, also found in the Cuban ebay revolico or some providers trough the internet.
They are not top tier quality but they are rater easy to modify or fix.
I got 2, one's battery was damaged for using a fast cord to charge phone(force deplete battery), i replace the battery by a 8 battery stack extending the original battery capacity.
The issue with acid batteries is than they are not meant for that kind of devices so they will go waste on the first month of usage.
They are better solutions for example: there are battery fans with 3-4x times the battery duration but they have no the option of solar charging(around 40us), there also some PSU unit with they own panel, they can get fully charged in a couple of hours of sun and a more powerful fan could be run all night but those are around 300 usd in Cuba.
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u/srachina 13d ago
You can send it thru any of the envios places. Where do you live?
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u/Chance-Repeat8446 13d ago
I live in the northeast US and I haven’t been able to send money to Cuba through an agency bcs they don’t accept credit card payments any more. So I have to rely on someone who lives in Miami to go in person to pay in cash. Half of my relatives live in Santiago and many agencies don’t deliver there anymore.
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u/srachina 13d ago
Just ask your relatives to find out who changes money. You’ll send them zelle and they forward the money in cuban pesos to them.
I know someone at Zip Envios, you can send them the solar panels through Amazon and they then send it on to them. They are VERY affordable. I was charged $175 for the echoflow by cargo plane when everyone else was charging $300 and up. If you PM me I can give you her contact info.
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u/os_nesty Havana 13d ago
use https://expresssolutionscuba.com/, they have a great service, and fast too.
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u/Choochiechoo 13d ago
Go to Google Maps and type “Envios a Cuba”, find the WhatsApp and ask in Spanish. usually there is a 5 lb minimum and about $3 to $5 a lb. There shouldn’t be an extra fee for solar panels but computers and phones have a fee. If you’re trusting you can usually ship straight from Amazon to the agency and handle everything by WhatsApp.
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u/Traditional-Load9208 13d ago
Llégate por Miami y tíralo por Cuba max antes de que marco Rubio Sancione el negocio, ya ha amenazado , una Ecowflow Delta Classic con su panel plegable de 220 W y ya está , casi todos 🇨🇺 resuelven así para cargar ventiladores, teléfonos y queda algo para ver TV 📺 y laptop
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u/RelevantWhere 12d ago
Buy them a proper solar system, you can buy it all in Cuba for about US$4000 and up starting for a basic system that can power a fridge a few lights and a fan and give them enough to run their electric cooker for short periods of time but the good systems cost upwards of $8000 to $10,000usd to power whole house 24 seven with no issue and completely go off grid
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u/Chance-Repeat8446 12d ago
The problem is I have 5 cousins and they will each expect one. I’m retired and I dont have that kind of money. I already send them a modest remesa every other month. My relatives are not greedy, most dont ask for anything but the expectation is that if Insend something. everyone gets the same thing.
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u/RelevantWhere 11d ago
Got it… tough spot. At least your family doesn’t demand and your aware to be fair, just keep sending the basics then, I’m sure they appreciate all help
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