Portable Solar Power: The Basics

Flexible solar panel

Portable 12V solar panels are an efficient and environmentally-friendly way to harvest energy, and in recent years, advances in portable solar technology have also made them cost-effective and easy to use. They are an ideal way for campers, and caravan and 4WD travellers to power electronic equipment including laptops, mobiles, speakers, lights, and cooking appliances.

Portable solar is also silent, meaning you can add some comfort to your outdoor experience without shattering the peace and quiet with a noisy and unclean generator!

How Portable Solar Panels work

Put simply, solar panels work by converting sunlight into an electric current which can be used to charge batteries or converted using an inverter to safely power 240V appliances.

And for those who appreciate a more technical explanation, solar panels are made up of cells called photovoltaic (PV) cells, which contain semiconductors. When light hits the cell, the cell transfers the light to the semiconductor where it can be stored. The transferring of the light knocks some electrons loose, but instead of bouncing around aimlessly, solar panels have one or more electric fields that corral the electrons to flow in one direction, called a current. One can tap into that current by placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of a PV cell, then one can draw that current off for powering a TV, laptop, generator, and the like. Through this current, and the cell's voltage that comes from its electric fields, is how power is gathered from a solar panel.

Types of Portable Solar

There are three general types of portable solar panels. These types are divided by how they are opened, stored, and used. Some of these panels work better than others in certain environments, such as for caravans or camping.

Folding
Portable solar panels that are foldable are usually best used for personal items, such as charging laptops, cell phones, and other electronics. As its name suggests, this solar panel can be easily folded and stored away due to its thin, lightweight design, and is often roughly the size of a textbook.

Flexible
Many flexible panels are made to be used outdoors, and can often be found on boats. The user may be able to find a flexible solar panel that is weather resistant, meaning that not only could it be used on a boat, but it would be ideal for camping and other outdoor activities.

Fixed
Fixed solar panels are mounted on the roof of your 4WD, caravan, camper van, or boat to absorb sunlight while moving or when you are parked in the sunlight. The downside of fixed solar panels is in their positioning - because they will be laid flat atop your vehicle and you may not always park in direct sunlight, they lose around 20% of the power they could potentially produce in a day.