How do I compare

System

I am looking for a great portable solar panel for traveling and charging electronics. Any suggestions or recommends would be much appreciated. I found these two panels at the link below. Any Comments?

Panels I Looked at

BB.

Re: How do I compare

The search came back with Amorphous and Flexible solar panels...

In general, Amorphous can loose 20% of their output in just 6 months of sun exposure. And Flexible solar panels can develop moisture/water leaks where the leads join the panel--and may only last a few years at best (just my humble opinion after reading complaints about flex panels used on sail boats).

However, if they meet your needs and the price does not scare you off--They are better than not having any portable power.

It has been recommended that you purchase your solar panels made from mono- or poly-crystalline solar cells as these will last better than 20 years of direct sunlight with 20% or less degradation...

One thing to look at is how much power they really supply and will one (or several) of these panels really fulfill your needs.

Small panels do not supply much power and need full sun for many hours to even charge small batteries (for example, a single 2,500 mAH * 1.2 volt NiMH battery will require an hour with a 10 watt panel charge system to recharge (lots of variables here--charger type can make these times much worst)...

For 4 AA NiMH batteries can you leave the charger in a safe, sunny location during the middle of the day for 4 hours? Will you need to guard it against theft? Will you have 5+ hour of sun when you need the power?

You can compare to small wattage good quality panels at our host's store...

In the end, conservation, lithium primary cells, and a flexible recharger (perhaps one that can take AC, DC, and an external solar panel, may be the best mix...

If solar does work for you (long term camping/base camp type site), then you really need to identify the charger/batteries you want to charge, then work backwards towards a panel that will meet your requirements...

Picking a panel and not knowing the loads is, at best, usually a waste of money and power (poorly matched panel output to charger input requirements).

-Bill

mike95490

Re: How do I compare

RollDice wrote: »

I am looking for a great portable solar panel for traveling and charging electronics. Any suggestions or recommends would be much appreciated.

I like my home built Monolith, it only takes up half the volume of my truck bed ! It's based on a 64W Unisolar Amorphous flexible plastic panel, a full sheet of plywood, and lots of hardware
http://www.mike-burgess.org/images/Mono_2005_CS_056.JPG
Now linked to my facebook page, which is open access to this album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2074858&id=1196643274&l=7e66e96c3c

Weighs a ton, but it works. Knockoffs just tye-wrap a glass panel to a hand truck, and a marine battery box for a group 24 deep cycle battery.