Portable solar panels take the power of the sun and shrink it down into a little package you can take anywhere.
As the price of solar panels falls and their efficiency continues to rise, solar power can fit in a smaller area for a cheaper price.
This makes it more portable and lets you put the power of the sun to work in more ways than ever.
Need a trickle charger for your boat or a battery charger you can take to the beach?
Camping for a week but can’t go without your cell phone?
Need a car battery charger you can use anywhere?
With portable solar power all your problems are solved.
Portable solar panels come in three main varieties:
A small solar panel doesn’t fold or roll up like the other varieties but it is usually made with thin-film technology that makes it lighter and smaller than a traditional solar panel.
These panels are great for trickle charging the battery of a car, boat, or RV. They are easy to position toward the sun and some even come with suction cups for multiple mounting possibilities.
Sunsei offers a good line of small solar panels including the SE 170 (2.6 Watts), the SE 500 (7.75 Watts), and the SE 1500 (23.3 Watts).
A flexible solar panel is also made with thin-film technology but it is able to roll up like a poster so it’s even more portable.
A flexible panel is great for camping since you can just unroll it in a sunny spot or throw it over your tent to keep your gadgets charged.
Boaters can unroll the panel on the deck or even wrap it around a mast to keep a marine battery charged or a cell phone powered up.
The power of these rollable panels ranges from 4.5 watts to 28 watts. The smaller ones are great for ipods and cell phones while the larger units can power your laptop or keep your marine battery charged.
Flexible panel brands to check out are:
- SolarRoll
- PowerFilm
- Sunsei Flex
A folding solar panel is like the flexible variety but instead of rolling it up you just fold it up like a blanket on laundry day.
Smaller folding panels include the 6 oz. PowerFilm F15-300 with 5 Watts of pocket-size power. It charges cell phones, MP3 players, PDA’s, and other small devices.
The upper end of foldable panels offer more power than a flexible panel. The P3 62 Watt folding solar panel by Global Solar weighs only 3.1 pounds and can power a laptop, communication equipment and mobile electronics.
Folding panels to check out include:
- The PowerFilm F15 Series
- Sunlinq and P3 by Global Power
- SunForce
- Solaris by Brunton
With solar panel prices falling and new efficiency records being set all the time, it’s a great time for going portable with the power of the sun. There are more options than ever for harnessing the sun’s rays on the go so check out how you can take advantage of portable solar power.