Hello World! Welcome Friends! Isn’t it great to rely on a renewable source of energy? Solar energy is great. There are thousands of instances in the world where things work through solar power, harnessed carefully from the sun’s energy. For instance, there are numerous construction warning lights on highways. These lights brighten up the surrounding through solar power alone.
A portable solar panel system doesn’t just help you with your camping. When it comes to boats, sheds, on an RV and emergencies, this system acts as an important source of power.
Here is an easy guide for building a portable solar panel system, which suits a variety of purposes. A portable solar panel system doesn’t just help you on your camping. When it comes to boats, sheds, on an RV and emergencies, this system acts as an important source of power.
Here is an easy guide to build portable solar panels system, which suits a variety of purposes.
Which Parts Do You Need to Buy to Build a Portable Solar Panel Kit with Inverter?
Before starting to build one, it is important to buy all the parts. It isn’t wrong in any way to say that solar energy is renewable, convenient and thus, great. However, the components used to build the system are quite expensive. Solar panels, which build the foundation of this portable system cost a lot.
Here is an optimistic fact to cheer you up. The components of a portable solar panel system aren’t much delicate. Therefore, it is easy to set up the system.
To build the system described in this content, you need to spend about $700 to $1000. The amount you expend on this system depends on how you want to set up the system. Initially, you can start from a single solar panel with just one deep cycle battery. After getting the concept of this system, you can start the expansion process, if you wish to.
Determination of Power Usage
After looking into all the items you need to buy to build a portable solar panel system for camping, determine the power usage. For instance, if you need to use a radio and a light in your camping, just add up the watts these two units consume per hour. With this calculation, you can easily determine the number of solar panels you need to cater to your purposes.
Suppose, after summing up, the total usage of power comes to 50 watts. This implies you need four solar panels of 15 watts each. Moreover, if you are going to use all of them simultaneously, a 500 watts’ power inverter is required.
To ease your preliminary experience, you can start with a solar panel of 15 watts, a power inverter of 75 watts and a deep cycle battery. Later on, you can expand the system to a larger 100-watt solar panel kit with an inverter, as per your convenience and power usage.
What does the Procedure to Build a Portable Solar Panel System for Camping Include?
The following are the points you need to pay heed to build one.
1. Solar Panels, the Basic Requirement
With the above discussions, you have already come across the steps to calculate the number of solar panels required. After determining the number of solar panels of 15 watts each, purchase them.
To get the most power, you need to connect the solar panels in a particular configuration. A well-designed portable solar power system requires you to string the panels properly, it may be a series combination or parallel. Have a look at the ways in which you can connect the panels.
- To get an increased output voltage, the panels need to be connected in series.
- To get an increased output current, the panels need to be connected in parallel.
- At last, it is possible to string the solar panels in both the combinations. With the help of this combination, you can get a significantly higher amount of power. At any rate, this particular combination helps you get both higher output voltage as well as output current.
Just remember that it is not at all tedious to join panels in both series and parallel. A series combination gives you more voltage and a parallel combination gives you more current. With the panels properly strung together, you can power almost all the devices you wish to use in your camping.
2. A Suitable Deep Cycle Marine Battery
After connecting all the panels, you need to focus on the next item, deep cycle marine battery. When buying the battery or batteries, be sure to purchase the ones with the highest amount of Amp-hours.
Generally, these batteries are available in 125 to 160 Amps and lower as well. You can start with a single battery. Later on, you can expand to a greater number.
There is an important fact associated with these batteries. A deep cycle marine battery rarely gets overheated. The thicker plate construction of these batteries avoid them from overheating, as they can easily withstand high temperatures during the flow of heavy currents.
3. Charge the Batteries Full
Once you have collected the required number of deep cycle marine batteries, connect portable solar panel chargers to the batteries and charge them fully.
Batteries never come to you, fully charged. Do not use them without charging them, unless you want to waste your money.
4. A Container to Hold the Batteries
The size of the container you want to place your batteries into depends on you. You can use a container that has enough space to hold at least three batteries.
As a recommendation, you can buy either a 30-gallon cooler or a rubber maid tote. These help you a lot in your future expansions. At any rate, the container you choose to place your deep cycle batteries into must be portable, tough and watertight.
Moreover, to make parallel connections of batteries easier, you can place all the positives of the batteries in a line, and the negatives in another.
5. Connecting the Batteries in Parallel
For this step, copper mechanical lugs and a couple of 2AWG wires to make jumpers. These are required to connect the batteries in a parallel combination.
For instance, to connect 3 deep cycle marine batteries, you need 8 copper mechanical lugs, one black 2AWG wire and one red 2AWG wire. Remember, don’t connect the positives of the batteries to negatives.
For the connection, you need to connect the positive of 1st battery with the positive of 2nd. And then, the positive of the 3rd battery needs to be connected to the positive of 2nd. The same procedure needs to be followed for the negative terminals as well. With this connection, you can connect the deep cycle marine batteries in a parallel combination.
Copper mechanical lugs are available at Lowes, Automotive Stores and Home Depot. Moreover, the 2AWG cables are available at Automotive Stores and Radio Shack.
In accordance to the length between the terminals, you can cut the AWG wires. Install copper mechanical lugs onto both the ends of the cut AWG cables. This is how you make a jumper. You can refer to the picture to have a better idea on this procedure.
6. Connection of Charge Controller
With the positives connected by jumpers and the negatives too, the battery tank is prepared. This battery tank is placed inside the container.
It is necessary to prevent the batteries from getting overcharged. For this purpose, you just need to connect the charge controller to one side of the deep cycle marine batteries and then, to the panels. This arrangement is considered as the ‘Power IN’ part of the portable solar panel system.
For the ‘Power OUT’ part, you need to connect the other side of the batteries with the power inverter.
After the completion of all the above six steps, you just need to set up the solar panel outside. Be sure to switch on the power inverter. You must test the system to find the number of hours you can get by running it.
Few Miscellaneous Considerations for a Portable Solar Panel System for Camping
Apart from the above steps to build the system, it is necessary to look at the following aspects you must pay heed to.
1. Determination of Amount of Unobstructed Sunlight
The term ‘unobstructed’ refers to the absence of shadows. For instance, if you receive 12 hours of sunlight. However, for 2 hours in the morning, the sun doesn’t lie within the fence. At noon, if the sun hides behind a tree for 2 hours and during sunset, if it gets shadowed by a barn for 2 hours, then you get just 6 hours of unobstructed sunlight in a day.
It is important to note here that if you want to set up the system in winter, you need to consider your winter hours. Because winters have shorter days.
2. On a broader basis, there are 3 types of solar panels.
- Amorphous Silicon Panels
They are comparatively inexpensive. Moreover, small shadows hardly affect them. However, in comparison to the other two, it shows lesser efficiency in terms of space. In other words, it is larger as well as heavier, for the same power rating.
- Polycrystalline Panels
In comparison to monocrystalline panels, these panels are cheaper. However, they are less efficient in comparison to the monocrystalline ones.
- Monocrystalline Solar Panels
Though these particular panels are efficient, they cost the most too.
3. B-Grade Panels are a Good Deal
Several people wish their solar panels to last for over 25 years. At any rate, the reality is a bit different these days. The cost of panels is reducing day-by-day. Therefore, it is better to augment or replace your panels in every 5 to 10 years than buying an expensive one at the beginning itself to have long-lasting panels.
4. Charge Controllers Are Important
The price of these devices ranges from a mere $10 to a whopping $100. However, you need to use a charge controller for this portable system.
When you connect your panels directly to the batteries, the batteries will continue to get charged for a while. However, soon enough, they may get ruined. Your charge controllers support the amount of current the set up solar panels generate.
In most of the cases, charge controllers are rated in Amps. Therefore, you need to divide your panels’ watt rating by 12V. The rating of your charge controller must be higher than your estimate, theoretically.
Applications of Portable Solar Panel System
This system isn’t just for camping. There are several interesting applications of this system. Have a look at them.
- They are a boon for the ones frequently travelling.
- This system helps you power certain basic appliances in a small home.
- Not to mention, they can be used to charge laptops.
- It becomes quite convenient to heat water with this portable system in remote areas.
- Moreover, this portable system helps you charge the battery of your car.
- In case of a small 45-watt system, it is easy to charge your music player, cell phones and other devices you may be carrying on your travel.
- 120-watt system, a small fridge can easily be operated at your home.
- 320-watt system, with the help of an inverter and battery, heating water and operating multiple appliances in remote areas becomes a task so easy.
- 160-watt system, it is convenient to operate appliances inside your RV.
Final Thoughts
The best part of this portable system is that it is expandable. To store a larger amount of battery, you can add more number of batteries to create a bigger tank. Moreover, to cater to an increase in power usage, you can expand the array of solar panels. After all, this system can be designed in accordance to your requirements.
For any queries or related discussions, you can go through the comment section to connect with us. We hope this article has helped you with the topic and has brought a tinge of excitement to build your own portable solar panel kits. Why not check out this Beginner’s Guide to Camping.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
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