Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using A 12v Solar Charger
Now you may be considering owning a solar battery charger for a car for yourself. That would be the right choice. Now to help you make up your mind, here are some of the advantages that a 12-volt solar charger has to offer.
Eco-friendly
Lets start with the fact that a 12v solar battery charger is the best way of maintaining your battery is an eco-friendly way. This portable device utilizes energy from the sun to top-up your batteries.
Now, not only is this good for the environment but ultimately advantageous for you, especially when you are on a trip or outdoors with no other electrical source. You can now do away with your worries of dealing with a dead battery on your trip.
Portable and compact for easy transport
As mentioned, you never have to worry about a dead battery on a trip. Solar chargers usually have a compact and lightweight design allowing you to easily carry and bring along this charger every time you go on trips or camps.
Easy to use and install
What makes a 12v solar battery charger more appealing is its simplicity in operation and installation. Conveniently portable, this charger can be installed on your windshield or dashboard. Usually, they also come with suction cups for easy mounting.
The plug and play design of solar battery chargers also make life generally easier. Everything is simple and easy to figure out. You just connect the charger, and then with enough sunlight, your battery will now charge.
Reverse charging protection
Extends battery life
Moolsun 12 Volt 12v Solar Battery Charger
- Solar efficiency of 23.5%
- No light or display indicators
- Not 100% waterproof
Simple and safe to use, the Moolsun solar battery charger has a high-efficiency conversion rate of 23.5%. It has a built-in diode that is very beneficial when it comes to anti-reverse charging and in extending the rechargeable lifetime of your battery. Highly portable and easy to use, you will see yourself bringing this slim battery charger along with your anywhere. It is made of high-quality materials.
It is PET laminated coupled with PVC fabric making it very light and easy to take along. Aside from that, it allows you to maximize the use of free natural resources like the sun to power your batteries. Note though that the voltage would be variable because this will be entirely based on the exposure to the sun, time of the day, and the angle you set it to.
What sets this apart, and what makes users happy with this product is its waterproof advantage. It has a scratchproof surface and is also designed to have anti-discharge capabilities.
You have two ways to use this solar car battery charger. You can connect it via the regular alligator clips and power your battery, or you can directly transfer the power to your battery via the cigarette lighter adapter so you can move. Either way, you can maintain the acceptable voltage to ensure that you dont waste your battery and let it just die a slow death to wherever youve left it.
Solar Charger Comparison Table
Solar chargers come in a wide range of sizes, prices and types. Small differences like the material and the efficiency of the solar panels can have great impact and result in benefits or disadvantages.
Your usage, terrain and charging needs will also influence your decision. In the following, well explain key factors to help you pick the best portable solar charger for you.
Keep in mind these solar chargers are for small electronics only, if you require more power see our reviews on portable power stations.
Don’t Miss: Should I Go Solar In Arizona
A Smaller Solar Panel For Charging Phones
Sometimes you need to charge your devices when the sun isnât out, which is why are a great addition to any solar panel. This smaller one is great for taking with you on car trips, since it weighs less than 5 pounds and can hold enough power to recharge your phone 16 times or recharge a light for 10 hours of use. It has a 167-watt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, and it can be recharged with a SolarSaga 60 in just 4.5 hours. Or, you can pre-charge it at home with the DC port, then use the two USB ports and one USB-C port to charge your devices.
One fan raved: âAfter reading a number of reviews I had buyers remorse. I wanted to find something wrong with it and couldnât. Mine came 38% charged so it took a few hours to fully recharge. Then I charged my iPhone and my Bluetooth headset. It was at 95%. The next day I charged my iPad and a portable DVD player. It was 87%. The next day I charged my iPhone, iPad, and an android phone. Then I charged another iPhone using the AC output and another device using the 12V output and a car charger. I finally ran it down to 20% before recharging it. Itâs a work horse. Iâm looking forward to using it camping and car trips.â
Pwm Solar Charge Controllers
PWM solar charge controllers have a direct connection from the solar array to the battery and use a basic rapid switch to modulate or control the battery charging. The switch is open until the battery reaches the absorption charge voltage. Then the switch starts to open and close rapidly to reduce the current and maintain a constant battery voltage.This in turn pulls the panel voltage away from its optimum operating voltage and reduces power and efficiency.
PWM solar charge controllers are a great low-cost option for small 12V systems where one or two solar panels are used, such as simple applications like solar lighting, camping and basic things like USB/phone chargers.
Don’t Miss: What Can You Run Off A 100 Watt Solar Panel
Take & Donate Chargers For A Project
|
Moolsun 12v Solar Battery Charger
- 5% solar panel conversion rate
- Prevents reverse charging
- 18-month warranty
- Not fully waterproof
For a 12-volt solar battery charger, you can never go wrong with the MOOLSUN 12V solar battery charger. This charger is made for all kinds of battery maintenance. You can use this to charge your motorbike, tractors, or snowmobiles.
The MOOLSUN 12V solar battery charger is one of the best out of all the others in the market because of its high conversion rate. This battery charger uses only high-efficiency solar cells with a conversion rate of 23.5%. This charger works well even under gloomy weather conditions.
I also prefer the MOOLSUN solar 12 volt battery charger because of its anti-reverse charging feature. This charger has a built-in blocking diode to ensure that your battery will not discharge.
The slim and lightweight design of the MOOLSUN solar battery charger is another feature that I find helpful and convenient. It is light enough to make transport easy. You can bring this charger anytime you go on a trip to use anytime you need it.
The MOOLSUN solar battery charger is also easy to use and install. This device is also a plug-and-play type that does not need any complicated steps in setting up.
You can easily plug and then play this charger. It even includes suction cups for secure mount. It also allows you to use an SAE connector, cigarette lighter, or the alligator clip adapter. All these great accessories are included in the package.
You May Like: How Do You Put A Solar Cover On A Pool
Hiluckey Solar Charger Power Bank 25000mah
- This power bank has four foldable solar panels to absorb more of the sun’s energy. Generally speaking, this can charge under the sun more easily and faster than power banks with one panel. Although this may be true, it is still a slow and inefficient way to charge the power bank. But, the additional panels will keep it charged in the sun a lot better than the one-panel power banks. That said, it is always better to charge any power bank fully at home with a wall outlet charger.
- 25000mAh high capacity to charge all your devices.
- Also, this device auto detects the current of the dual output ports to provide optimal charging. Thus, protecting your devices from overheating, overcurrent, overvoltage, short circuit, etc.
- Dual USB ports offer 2.1A high speed charging and will allow two devices charging at the same time. Compatible with all phone models.
- Rugged design and is waterproof, shockproof, and dustproof.
- Equipped with a 9 LED flashlight with three modes . Therefore, perfect for night walking or emergency.
Protecting A Solar Charger
Many solar chargers were made initially for the business travel market. While these are robust enough to survive airports, hotel and office use, they are not normally intended for backpacking and other outdoor pursuits. Fortunately, there are now many chargers with far more rugged designs that are geared specifically towards this outdoors market, and even more robust normal use by construction workers, students, and others with these requirements.
Recommended Reading: How Far Can Solar Panels Be From House
Charge Completely And Often
Youve probably heard at least once, if not a million times, that you shouldnt charge your rechargeable batteries until they are completely dead. Where this was true about old school rechargeables, it is actually the opposite of what you should do for lithium-ion batteries, like those on our list. These batteries will in fact degrade faster the more often you let them run completely dead. It is much better to recharge them more often before they completely discharge.
Key Specs For Portable Battery Packs
Storage capacity: This tells you how much charge the battery pack can store for use later to recharge your devices, before it in turn needs recharging.
Tip: Transferring energy from one battery to another is not 100% electrically efficient. Thus, a power pack rated at 2000 mAh will not fully recharge a 1000 mAh electronics battery twice.
To recharge or top off your electronic device, you need a battery pack with enough storage capacity and enough output voltage to move energy into your device.
How much is enough? Find out the storage capacity of the battery in your device. For electronics with built-in batteries, check the technical specs to find the battery capacity. If your device uses only replaceable AA batteries, this is not an issue. Choose a battery pack that features these.
Power output: The output of the charger must be equal to the input battery voltage requirement of your electronic device. If its lower, you may drain your devices battery instead of charging it up. Oops!
Most portable battery packs will charge small personal electronics like cell phones and mp3 players, but relatively few can recharge a laptop battery.
Small electronic devices that can be charged with a USB cable need a 5V output rating. Larger electronic devices that require a DC power input may need a 12V 24V output rating. This is available from the largest portable battery packs.
Output connectors and adapter tips:
Read Also: Is Solar Worth It In Southern California
Gather And Store Solar Energy
Products from Element5 Solar will assist you in gathering Energy out of sunlight and storing this energy for later use.
You can then use this energy to power electronic devices, light up rooms through LED technology
or just keep it as backup energy for emergencies.
The Solar Module on your solar bag will transform sunlight to energy when exposed to the sun. This happens through a so-called photovoltaic process.
Energy is best harvested in bright sunlight, but the technology in our solar panels also allows for charging under cloudy circumstances and occasional shade that the module may be in.
A battery, specially designed for solar purposes, will store your generated sunlight as electricity within your bag or next to your solar kit.
It is essential to store your transformed sunlight in a special battery before you use it for your phone or tablet, as it is safer for your device
and more fun for you to use.
The battery will filter any energy peaks or lows coming from the solar panel in changing conditions. Also, it will act as a buffer for energy, making sure your devices get all the energy they need in one single charge and at exactly the voltage they need. Some of our batteries even count your energy production and will give you a feedback on your yield.
Suaoki Solar Battery Charger
- 5% conversion rate
- 18-month warranty
- Some users ended up using the warranty
If you are looking for a 12-volt solar battery charger, one of the highly recommend is the SUAOKI solar battery charger. This charge is designed for the maintenance of your car battery and other smaller vehicles.
One of the reasons why I think this is an excellent option for a solar battery charger is because of its high conversion rate. This battery charger has a premium quality solar panel with high solar efficiency of up to 22.5%. It effectively converts sunlight into electric energy for the maintenance and charging of your battery.
I also like the broad application of the SUAOKI solar battery charger. You can use this battery charger, not only for your car but also for maintaining the batteries of your motorcycle or tractors.
Of course, for more efficient charging, the SUAOKI solar battery charger also has a built-in blocking diode. This feature prevents your battery from discharging. It is always nice to have that assurance that your battery will not go discharged, especially at night, when the chargers voltage is lower.
I find the compact and lightweight design of the SUAOKI solar battery charger convenient. This charger is light enough to bring along to your ventures.
Don’t Miss: Is Leasing Solar Panels A Good Idea
Solar Power Banks Vs Solar Chargers
When looking at solar power banks, youve probably seen a lot of names and buzzwords thrown around, like solar power banks, power packs, and solar chargers. Manufacturers sometimes use muddled lingo, making it hard to figure out exactly what youre looking at. Lets set the record straight on what these terms mean.
Solar power banks, also called solar power packs, include a solar panel integrated into a portable battery. This can be a single solar panel or multiple panels that fold out, but its always a single unit. The type of solar power banks featured on our list are small and designed to charge your smartphone, tablets, and other small devices. As weve seen above, the solar panels are typically too small to fully charge the battery and are instead used as a backup charging option. Its generally best practice to charge your solar power bank at home before you leave.
Solar chargers are also designed to charge your phones and tablets, but only include the solar panel, not a backup battery. The solar panels are typically larger than those on solar power banks, 5 to 25 watts compared to power banks 5 watts or less. With the large solar panel, solar chargers can keep your smartphone and tablet fully charged indefinitely, but only during the day when the sun is out. Solar chargers are the perfect option for long trips when outlets arent available backpacking trips, weeks spent camping, etc as theyre lightweight yet powerful .
Dont Expect To Charge Exclusively With Small Solar Panels
This might be a bit of a shock to you, but most of the solar power banks above cant really be charged by their solar panels. Yes, its a bit sad and confusing, but its true. The solar panels are simply too small to fully charge the batteries in a reasonable amount of time. Most manufacturers say itll take about 40 hours to fully charge the battery via the solar panel. Yikes!
Instead, consider the solar panels as auxiliary or emergency charging. They can keep your battery pack topped up when youre on the trail or running around town, but thats about it. All the solar power banks above can be charged via a wall outlet in just a few hours with the included USB or micro USB input, so youll want to fully charge the power bank at home before leaving for any adventures.
If you want to keep your smartphone or tablet charged completely via solar energy, you have two options. You can use a larger solar charger instead of a solar power bank, but remember, this will only allow you to charge during the day. If you want to have a battery backup and use exclusive solar power, you will want to invest in a battery pack that can be connected to a larger solar panel.
Recommended Reading: How Does The Solar Credit Work
What Is A 12v Solar Battery Charger And Who This Is For At Least
With the advancement in technology also comes all great inventions that ultimately make our lives easier. One of these fantastic innovations is the solar battery chargers. It has gained momentum and popularity among consumers these past years because not only does it help reduce carbon footprint, but it is also more economical for the buyers.
A 12v solar battery charger is manufactured to charge and maintain your batteries. It works for various kinds of vehicles such as cars, tractors, and snowmobiles. Generally, this solves your worries of drained batteries, especially when you go on a trip.
Generally, a 12 volt solar battery charger kit works with just the energy from the sun so you can charge your batteries whenever needed. It is a handy device to have whenever you decide to go on the road or camping trips. Imagine having to deal with a dead battery while you are traveling on a trip. It ruins all the fun for you and your companions.
It does not only that a 12v solar battery charger can maintain your battery, but also extend the life of your vehicles battery. Battery life is shortened if you do not keep your batteries charged. It is important to stress however, this type of charger works only to top-up a working battery that was drained not to power up a battery that has completely discharge.