How Useful is Solar in the Field and Which to Buy

[rathvona]

I've seen a few people use those foldable Solar Panels to charge their car batteries (I think) but do they really work that well. I'm planning on living out of my car for a few months, driving around the country and I feel like it'd be a good idea to have another power source. Anyway what solar panels do you guys use and what can you recommend to a person that has never tried to use it before.

I'm assuming they are 12v but I really don't have a clue.

And what are the charging capabilities of a panel based on the surface area?

Thanks,
Austin

 

[bbauer]

As with everything... It depends. I have a Powerfilm FM16-5400 90 Watt which allows me to run an ARB 65qt fridge off an auxiliary battery without ever having to turn on my truck. Recently did a 5 day camp in partly sunny/overcast conditions without an issue.

Before I had the fridge I never really had the need for solar though but I don't use a lot of gadgetry when camping. I could see a small Goal Zero rig or similar if I was wanting to charge phones, cameras, tablets, etc.

Even with solar during the day, be careful if you want to do substantial charging overnight off a single car battery without backup. Most car batteries are for Starting (quick burst) versus Deep Cycling (slow draw over a long period). If you draw down a starting battery more than halfway it may not start or be able to ever be charged again!




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[con kso]

Just got back from three week Baja trip ran my large ARB freezer around -5 C the whole time powered off my single 31 series Sears battery (same one that starts the truck). I plug in a 120 watt Zamp solar portable panel anytime we're stopped for the day. If it was cloudy or we were driving most of the day, I didn't use solar. Fridge ran fine the whole time, beer was really cold, hamburger patties frozen solid. Truck started every time.

I only run the fridge off the battery. For reading lights etc, we use headlamps or rechargeables that charge with USB off truck battery. I keep it simple.

Have had zero problems with this system for two years which have included two, three week Baja trips and four or five other week long trips along with many weekend trips. Zero problems.

My conclusion: If you're just going to run an ARB buy a 31 series battery with 100 amp/hour capacity along with as much solar panel as you can (the Zamp system is sweet) and you'll be fine. No need to spend a lot of time and money setting up anything fancy.

 

[geo.greg]

You need to tell us more about what you are going to be running (electrical requirements), current setup and how often you are moving from place to place. For example moving every day, standard electronics and stock system a solar system won't help. On the other hand, base camp for a few days and hiking the surrounding area could be useful.

 

[rathvona]

I'm planning on parking it and then hike around and it would only charge mainly electronics. I'm not sure how solar works when you would want to chargr your car battery.

 

[4x4junkie]

A basic solar setup consists of nothing more than a solar panel to collect the sun's power, and a charge controller module (regulator) that regulates the power coming in from the panel so that it does not overcharge your battery.

For a simple portable setup like I use, all you do is attach the charge controller straight to your battery using battery clamps, then run the cable from the panel and plug it into the charge controller. The controller should then immediately begin charging the battery provided sunlight is hitting the panel.

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Others here have panels mounted to the roof of their vehicle and the controller hardwired into their electrical system. While this is better from the standpoint that the panels are less conspicuous (less tempting for thieves), IMO it tends to limit their practicality, as it requires you park the vehicle itself in the (often hot) sun, and makes it much more difficult to aim the panels directly at the sun for maximum energy harvest. With portable panels you just set them out in the sun wherever you need to, and plug in the wire.

As for charging capability, For roughly every 18 watts the panel(s) are rated at, you will get 1 amp of charge current to your battery when the panel is directly facing the sun. So if you think you need about 6 amps of current (available ~5 hours per day), you will want approximately a 100 watt panel (or two 50 watt panels for a bi-foldable setup). This assumes you are using a "PWM" (pulse-width-modulated) type charge controller (the most common type). If you were to get a "MPPT" (max power point tracking) type controller, this can gain you about a 15-20% increase in charge current in full sun, and probably a 30% or more advantage on cloudy days vs with a PWM controller. MPPT controllers are about 2-3× the price though, so unless you have a space and/or weight constraint for your panels, it generally is cheaper to upsize the panels a bit than purchase a MPPT controller.

 

[Bbasso]

Might consider a dual battery setup with a blueseas ACR...?

 

[lchavez]

I've been very happy with the renogy 60 watt folding panel set. Comes with charge controller, carry case and very well built folding stand. Keeps up with my arb 50. You can get them on Amazon for about 200.00 bucks.

 

[1Louder]

Read through the other threads on here but with that said. Yes, Solar is totally worth it as long as you have at least a 60 watt panel. I think anything less can't do the job. Like others have said what are you powering? What kind of battery does your vehicle have? Buy from a quality manufacturer and not the cheapest panel that is X watts you can find. My 60 watt panel can recharge my Group 31 battery in 3-4 hours with good sun. I have an ARB 37 qt fridge that is always kept at 32f or less.

 

[coop74]

I have a 100Watt pannel that keeps my trailer battery charged. It is likely a bit of an overkill as my fridge is propane based unit. On a good sunny day normally after about 2-3 hours of sun I have completely charged my trailer battery which runs lights and fans in the trailer. After that i use what i call my project box to charge other things. The last camp out I attended i charged 5 Iphones, 3 Android phones and 2 tablets, my rechargeable lantern and a go pro.

The moral of my story is with an additional battery and 100Watt pannel you likely would have no issues with going till you ran out of food...

I have a Reneogy 100W pannel which is a bit more pricey than some but has like a 20 year warranty and the cost was reasonable.

If you want to remote camp, I think that solar is most definitely the way to go.

My two cents anyway.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Start here https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=how+solar+works

 

[Pilat]

I'm thinking of buying one of these (Solbian XP All-In-One):

http://www.solbian.eu/index.php?opt...tegory&task=category&id=28&Itemid=408&lang=en

I'm a bit in doubt about the wattage I want, as it also has to be luggable in a rowing boat (think kayak with oars, that's how it looks).

The solbians can detect if it's a lead-acid or a lithium/LifePo4. Which ought to be good for varied "service".

 

[coop74]

My advice go over what you think you need. There will always be folks who want to borrow a spare cup of that free power

Big Coop

 

[robgendreau]

I'm thinking of buying one of these (Solbian XP All-In-One):

http://www.solbian.eu/index.php?opt...tegory&task=category&id=28&Itemid=408&lang=en

I'm a bit in doubt about the wattage I want, as it also has to be luggable in a rowing boat (think kayak with oars, that's how it looks).

The solbians can detect if it's a lead-acid or a lithium/LifePo4. Which ought to be good for varied "service".

I assume it's the controller that has battery sensing; panels just crank out dumb power.

Most solar power for camping starts with a 12v battery, although these days more and more stuff can run on 5v USB type power. But say camera batteries are usually 7.4 for DSLRs and such, so 5v won't cut it. And a 12v battery is incapable of charging most laptops without additonal equipment and inefficiencies. So it all depends on what you're using and when. So impossible to recommend anything without knowing more.

 

[Pilat]

I assume it's the controller that has battery sensing; panels just crank out dumb power.

Yes, yes, it IS the controller. But they are "all-in-one", so the controller is on the panel.

Most solar power for camping starts with a 12v battery, although these days more and more stuff can run on 5v USB type power. But say camera batteries are usually 7.4 for DSLRs and such, so 5v won't cut it. And a 12v battery is incapable of charging most laptops without additonal equipment and inefficiencies. So it all depends on what you're using and when. So impossible to recommend anything without knowing more.

12V (or better: 24V) has less loss over long wire runs over a measly 5V usb power cable. There's a reason USB cables suck at any distance and that you use very high voltage for power cable runs (i.e. the ones out in the landscape).