Some batteries require maintenance. If they are not cared for, their chemical properties can be affected. This leads to premature failure. Other batteries do not require maintenance, but may not be suitable for solar applications. Before buying batteries, you have to consider each model’s characteristics and see if it fits your intended use.

Let’s consider 3 types of rechargeable batteries we commonly see in the market: Lead-Acid batteries, Alkaline Batteries and Sealed Gel-Cell Batteries.

There are pros and cons to each type of battery, so let’s look deeper.

Flooded Lead-Acid Battery

This type of battery was used since homeowners began to install solar panels on their roofs. They have the longest proven track record. (Thus you can consider them to be pretty reliable.)

In fact, most off-grid solar power systems use this type of battery. This is because they have the longest lifespan and are the cheapest among different types of batteries (in terms of cost per amp-hour).

However these batteries require regular maintenance. You have to water it regularly, equalize the charge and clean the terminals frequently.

Flooded lead-acid batteries commonly used for photovoltaic systems include 6V golf cart batteries, 6V L-16 batteries and 2V industrial cells.

Absorbed Glass Mat Sealed Lead Acid Battery (AGM)

Sealed lead acid batteries gained popularity as their price came down. Unlike flooded lead-acid batteries, they do not require as much maintenance. They are ideal for grid-tied PV systems that use rechargeable batteries as backup.

AGMs are completely sealed. Therefore there is no danger of spilling and they do not need frequent watering or charge equalizing. It is designed such that no corrosive fumes are emitted. Its electrolyte also does not stratify.

During storage (or transportation), an AGM’s self-discharge rate is less than 2%. Thus they are popular with any setups that do not require frequent battery use.

AGMs are highly resistant to any forms of vibration, thus they are ideally suited for mobile solar power systems installed on vehicles and boats.

These batteries used to be very expensive. As such, they were only installed on commercial systems where maintenance was impractical or near impossible.

Today, AGMs are only slightly more expensive than other battery types. Thus many homeowners are willing to sacrifice some money for the sake of convenience.

Gelled Electrolyte Sealed Lead Acid

Gelled lead acid batteries are quite similar to AGMs in terms of its advantages. There is one important distinction, though. Gelled electrolyte is very viscous. Therefore recombination of gases generated while charging takes place at a very slow pace.

This means you can only charge them slowly…much slower than AGMs and flooded lead acid cells. If they are charged quickly, gas bubbles form on the metal plates. This reduces electrolyte contact. As a result, the battery’s capacity is temporarily limited until the bubbles find its way to the top of the electrolyte.

For off-grid solar power systems, this characteristic is not helpful. During the day when solar panels generate electricity, you have to store as much power as possible. If the charging rate is low, a lot of power is wasted. Therefore such batteries are more suited for grid-tied systems where the majority of electrical current is channeled back to the grid.

Deep Cycle or Shallow Cycle?

The battery is an important component of your solar power system. Thus its performance and longevity is of utmost importance.

For solar applications deep cycle batteries are used. Compared to shallow cycle batteries, deep cycle batteries can be repeatedly discharged to 80% of its depth of discharge (DOD) and can be recharged from this state without damage.

Commonly batteries used in automotives and lighting belongs to the shallow cycle type. These are not suitable for a PV system. The lead plates in these batteries are thin and have a large surface area. Even though it can provide a high current in a short time, these batteries cannot be discharged deeply without damage. At least deep discharge cycles can shorten their lifespan quickly.

Deep cycle batteries have thicker lead plates and less surface area in contact with the electrolyte. As such, these batteries produce less current than a shallow cycle battery. However deep cycle batteries can sustain its current over a long period of time (unlike shallow cycle batteries), which is ideal for solar power applications.

Deep cycling puts a toll on your battery’s lifespan. This applies to deep cycle batteries too. Therefore if you want batteries to last longer, use deep cycle batteries and shallow cycle them (as much as possible).

Storing Your Batteries

Place your battery bank indoor where it is warm. Batteries work best when they are about 25 degree Celsius. If batteries are cold, chemical reactions slow down. Therefore less current flows out of the batteries. You may have experienced trouble starting your car in cold weather. But when the battery warms up, its performance improves dramatically.

On the other hand, batteries cannot be exposed to high temperatures too. At 43 degree Celsius, rechargeable batteries can be damaged and their lifespan shortened drastically.

When buying batteries, you must remember there is no perfect system. Energy is lost to heat (or other forms) as it flows from one component to another. When electricity flows into your batteries, some of it is lost.

Therefore you have to factor this into your decision and get more batteries to compensate for power loss. As a rule of thumb, you should have 10 to 15% more power storage (batteries) than what you need.

Maintenance

Batteries need maintenance. Make sure you keep the electrolyte at full level, as much as possible. If not, you must at least keep it above the minimum level. Otherwise the plates may get exposed to air. When refilling, use distilled water.

Water is lost as gassing occurs. This is a process of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. It occurs during charging when the chemical reaction cannot keep up with the energy input.

In flooded lead acid cells, some gassing is useful. It introduce movements in the electrolyte and prevents stratification. Denser acid tends to stay at the bottom and they are stirred as gassing occurs.

As a result of gassing, an acid mist is formed and this is highly corrosive. Therefore you have to check the metallic connectors for signs of corrosion or damage from time to time. Clean the top of your batteries regularly with baking soda and water. Baking soda, being alkaline, will neutralize the acid on the battery and connector surface.

Other than refilling and wiping your batteries, you must also equalize them every 2 to 3 months. (This should be done in a well-ventilated place.) During this process, increased gassing occurs and this cause the water level to drop.

To equalize your battery, simply overcharge it under a controlled voltage for a period of time. While doing so, your battery must be closely monitored. You must keep measuring the specific gravity values of the electrolyte. It increases as you equalize the battery. When there is no change in specific gravity reading for 30 minutes, the equalization process is completed.

Used Or New?

When buying batteries, it is tempting to spend less money by purchasing pre-owned stock. This is understandable. After all batteries are not cheap. And expensive batteries don’t mean they are good or suitable.

The issue with used batteries is you won’t immediately know how they were used and maintained. If you send them for load testing, you can find out their remaining lifespan. Otherwise they can turn out to be the most expensive batteries in the market.

When you find out facts and use simple logic to your decision making process, you will find batteries that can last for ages without failing.

Continue Reading:

1. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3
2. Solar Energy Storage – Where To Keep Excess Energy Generated By Your Solar Heaters Or Photovoltaic (PV) Panels
3. How Do You Know If Solar Panels Are Suitable For Your Property?

This is the third and final part of the “Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels” series. Have you done some calculations for your future solar power system yet? If you have been doing those mini exercises, you’ll most likely find a suitable solar panel for your home by now.

The next step requires us to find an appropriate-sized battery bank, inverter and charge controller. Let’s look at each of these:

1. The Inverter

The inverter you choose has to be sized according to the demands of the alternating current (AC) side of the circuit. Therefore you will choose a specification according to the loads in your house (with a little buffer in case you increase your loads over time). Pretty straightforward.

2. The Charge Controller

You’ll at least need a basic charge controller to begin with. Until you get fussy about how advanced you want this component to be, more affordable models will do just fine. You’ll need to get a specification that fits the output current (Amps) of your solar panel arrays. If you intend to scale up your solar power generator, you’ll do better with a larger charge controller with room to accommodate more solar panels than with two smaller-sized ones.

3. The Battery Bank

The size of your battery bank depends on how you want to use your solar panels. You can size your battery banks such that it can get you through thick clouds that pass by, or you can size them so you can get through three solid days of solar eclipse and a power outage at the same time. It really depends on you. But take note that over-sizing isn’t always realistic. You have to take into consideration the space they occupy and the how much they’ll cost you.

If your home is grid-tied, provided there aren’t frequent power outages, the size of your battery bank isn’t critical. Just size it to take care of cloudy days will do. You can still maintain your lifestyle by drawing power from the grid.

When you design your battery bank, you’ll have less power loss (through wires) if the voltage is higher. If you are able to design a 48-volt system, you can conserve more power than when you use a 24-volt or 12-volt system.

Continue Reading:

1. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 1
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

Solar Panel Battery

A solar panel battery is different from a normal battery. A normal battery converts chemical energy into electrical energy while a solar panel converts sunlight into electrical energy. While a normal battery has the capacity to store energy, a solar panel depends on external resources to do that.

A semiconductor is the medium through which electron movement takes place. As photons hits the surface of the material, electrons are displaced, creating a potential difference. This phenomenon was accidentally discovered when scientists observed that silicon doped with some impurities became very sensitive to light. Very soon, mankind began researching into various materials to make photovoltaic cells.

The first solar cells are large pieces of single-junction semiconductors made of silicon. The productions of such cells are very energy intensive and expensive. Later, other materials with semiconductor properties were experimented with success. Some of these were Cadmium Telluride (CdTe), Copper Indium Gallium Selenide, Amorphous Silicon And Micromorphous Silicon.

Engineers also discovered that such semiconductors could be deposited on thin pieces of glass or ceramic. This reduces the mass of solar cells. While such materials coupled with better production techniques do not promise higher energy conversion, but certainly enabled lower production costs

The efficiency of present day photovoltaic cell comes close to 20%. Further research gives us hope that someday we can reach efficiencies as high as 60%. This can probably be achieved by harnessing more of the solar radiation, tapping into the ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths.

Solar panel batteries are commonly installed in homes, office buildings and even on streets. Their size varies according to the application involved. Recently manufacturers have also designed another type of solar panel (known as Solar Shingles) meant to fit aesthetically into various architectural designs. These look like the roof tiles we commonly see, but they are coated with a layer of photovoltaic material.

Applications of a solar panel battery

While all solar panels look pretty much the same – dark, reflective-surfaced panels – their application varies widely.

Small solar panels can be used at your backyard or garden to power small electronics like your garden sprinkler, automatic gate opener or pond filters and aerators. Larger systems can also be installed at your home to replace all or part of your household energy needs.

Solar cells are also seen on many types of small gadgets and electronics like calculators, music players, mobile phones and LED torch. On the opposite end of the scale, large groups of solar panels can be used to produce massive amounts of energy to supply an entire city’s energy consumption.

Many large projects were designed and discussed. But the huge investment and seemingly long payback period has discouraged organizations from adopting solar power generators on any scale. Fortunately there are corporations like Google who are willing to trail-blaze the way for others to follow.

In both large and small solar power systems, some means of energy storage is necessary. This will retain excess power that’s generated during the day so it can be dispensed during the night. The most common form of energy storage is rechargeable battery. This is almost always the case, even for an off-grid solar power system. All it needs is a larger set of batteries.

For grid energy storage, possibilities (that are still not widely applied) include pumped-water storage, compressed air, thermal storage, frictionless flywheel, super-conducting magnetic storage and compressed hydrogen.

Scientists and engineers are hopeful that technology may advance to the point where implementation costs falls significantly – so that an average family may afford solar panels easily.

By then, more and more homes will make use of solar power to supplement their energy needs. Many other homes will go off-grid. Large corporations and governments can also install numerous solar electric power plants to sell cheap renewable energy to consumers living in areas without abundant sunlight. By then, most parts of our country (and even the world) may be ready to usher in a new solar panel battery era without fossil fuel.

Continue Reading:

1. Build Amazing Home Solar Power Systems Used by Families Who Don’t Want to Pay For Their Utilities
2. Solar Shingles — What Are These?
3. Do-It-Yourself Solar Panels – Electricity Conversion From Sunlight

There are many energy storage methods commonly used. You’ll see a few here:

1. Thermal mass systems.

This storage method stores solar energy in the form of heat. (This is more applicable for solar heating systems.) Popular mediums include water, earth and stone. These are materials with high specific heat capacities. Well-designed systems allow you to lower peak energy demand and reduce your average heating (or cooling) requirement.

2. Batteries.

Rechargeable batteries are commonly used to store excess electricity generated by solar panels. This is especially important for off-grid power systems. The main issue with this method is with efficiency. Much electrical energy is lost during the charging or discharging cycle.

Electrical charges (in rechargeable batteries) are also dissipated through time. Thus efficiency drops drastically if energy is not consumed within a reasonable amount of time.

3. The power grid.

For grid-tied systems, excess energy is simply sent to the transmission. You are credited for your contribution and this offsets the electricity provided by the grid. Essentially, using the grid can be a simple way to store excess energy produced by PV panels, especially if you are living in urban areas where space is a limitation.

4. Pumped water storage.

This method is best implemented on large-scale solar generators. Excess energy is used to pump water from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation one. Energy is recovered by releasing the water through a hydroelectric power generator.

Inefficiencies, however, occur when pumping water and generating electricity. If the higher elevation storage reservoir is not covered, evaporation also contributes to the inefficiency.

Some methods are more suitable than others for your home or office. Thus it is advisable for you to consider how you want to implement each (or all) of them by looking at your solar generator system and energy consumption pattern as a whole.

Continue Reading:

1. Home Solar Power – Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Photovoltaic Generators to Power Your Home
2. Home Solar Power — Different Ways of Harnessing Energy From The Sun To Reduce Energy Bills
3. What Are Solar Heaters, How They Work And What They Are Used For

Heating and Cooling Accounts for 44% of Your Household Energy Consumption

There are 2 important reasons why you must create an energy efficient house.

First, you can reduce your energy bills. With energy rates rising, it becomes more important to keep your monthly utility bills in check. You can save as much as 30% of your bill when you improve your home energy efficiency.

Second, you can reduce your carbon footprint. Simply by improving your insulation, heating system and being more energy efficient, the average household in the United States can reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.5 tonnes.

Energy saving and efficiency should be achieved without sacrificing your comfort. There are many things you can do to plug energy leaks and improve equipment efficiency. Many enhancements can either be low or no cost while achieving its long-term energy savings objective.

For New Houses…

If you are designing and building a new house, there are building materials and construction techniques that can help. Your builder can integrate energy-efficient features to the structure of your home and its interior. This is done without sacrificing its aesthetics.

The home builder you engage may be able to provide you with cutting-edge ideas. However you have to keep in mind that alternatives exist. At times you may feel that a particular solution costs too much. Remember that it’s your prerogative as a customer to ask for a solution that makes more sense financially.

Technological improvement over the past few years gives birth to different ways to make new homes energy efficient. These ideas are based on a few fundamentals such as thermal insulation (having a good thermal envelope), proper ventilation and installation of energy-efficient doors and windows.

A thermal envelope isolates the living spaces from cold and heat. This refers to the walls, flooring and roof assembly. It also includes proper sealing for windows and doors.

It is important for houses to have a high insulation R-value. Many energy efficient homes have much higher R-values than the requirement set by local building codes.

The R-value is an indication of a material’s ability to resist heat transfer (conduction). Lower R-values encourage faster heat loss.

A well-designed house has a typical insulation level that ranges from R-20 to R-30 in the walls and R-50 to R-70 at the ceiling. Also, appliances that give out heat (such as dryers, heaters and washers) are usually located at the basement. With proper insulation, these electrical equipment can help to warm up the house.

Window designs are also important. The average house loses more than a quarter of its heat through windows. As a rule of thumb, windows insulate less than a wall. This is true even for modern, high insulating windows.

Since you are living in the northern hemisphere (most of us are), you have to design your house with fewer openings on the northern, western and eastern side. South-facing windows allow sunlight to warm up the house. So they’re encouraged.

These south-facing windows should have an overhanging roof or an awning over it. This prevents overheating in summer.

When choosing doors and windows, look out for those marked with an Energy Star label. These products insulate much better than those without.

Outside the house, strategically located vegetation helps to reduce heating and cooling costs.

In general, energy-efficient homes require smaller heating and cooling systems. For example, if your house is properly designed, you may require a heating system less than 50,000 BTU/Hour for very cold climates.

Small-capacity heaters and air-conditioners are cheaper. This savings help you defray the additional cost required to buy good insulation material for your house.

For Existing Homes…

There are several things you can do to improve the energy-efficiency of your current home. Most of these revolve around insulation since heating and cooling consumes more than half of your energy resources.

Plugging up air leaks.

Cold air leaking into your home cost you an additional 5 to 30 percent in heating cost. This is surprising but true. Thus you have to eliminate them as soon as you’re free.

You have a high chance of locating a leak in these places:

- Cracks in the wall
- The chimney
- Ceiling and wall lights
- Wall openings for pipes and electrical cables to run through
- Doors and windows
- Places where two different construction materials join

You can simply fix these leaks using clear silicon caulk or expandable-type insulation.

Check your insulation.

Sometimes insulation can be pushed aside as you (or your handyman) are fixing stuff like light fixtures. As a result, voids are created in the insulation.

This lowers the R-value of your ceiling or walls. A quick fix for this problem is to use expandable foam insulation to fill the voids.

If you need to improve the insulation of your house, start with your ceiling where most heat is lost. Then, if resources allows, move on to insulate the walls of your family room, then the bedrooms.

Sometimes, you wish to give your facade a makeover. Consider getting new siding for your house that also has good thermal properties. As you spruce up the look of your home, you can also double up the insulation of your walls.

Check your doors and windows.

Since doors and windows are the weakest links in the insulation chain, it pays to give them proper attention. If you are still using single-pane windows, consider changing them to double pane or storm windows.

Again, if budget is an issue, you can always start with the family room or your master bedroom.

Other improvements that make a difference

If you have an attic, a lot of heat can get trapped there in summer. A proper vent system can get the heat out. This helps to keep your house cool.

Sometimes your HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system can get clogged up with dust or grease. This makes the fan work much harder to push air through. As a result, energy is wasted.

You have to change your filters regularly. It’s usually better to use cheap filters that frequent cleaning or changing often rather expensive ones that get clogged.

Using energy-efficient household appliances (and lights) also help you reduce your energy consumption. If you’re thinking of new ones, get those with energy saving features. They do not cost a lot more, yet they can help to reduce energy consumption by a big factor.

Finally, installing timers and motion sensors for your fans and lights help you reduce energy waste. (This is especially useful if you have children.)

These tips above, when implemented, makes your home energy efficient. When you cut down on power consumption, your monthly energy bills become cheaper. And this is good…

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Survey Your Household Energy Usage Before Installing Solar Panels
3. Before You Install Solar Panels, Plug All Your Air Leakages

Once you’re hooked, your mind keeps thinking about what else you can use solar energy for. Some hobbyists attach solar panels to their homemade cars and race in it. Others build more practical stuff like solar powered trickle chargers for their boat and car batteries.

The possibilities are limitless. Here are 10 small-project ideas to get you on the road to addiction:

1. Garage lights with light-dependant diode (LDR) sensor.

As you drive into your garage, the lights turn on automatically. This lighting system doesn’t need maintenance and draws no power from the mains.

During the day, a 12-volt solar panel charges the batteries. At night, as the device senses your car’s headlight, it powers up the super-bright LEDs and maintains it for another 5 minutes.

2. Solar powered reading lamp

Reading lamps do not need a lot of power. A row of white LEDS will do a good job of providing you with ample illumination for your reading pleasure.

You can place the reading lamp near your window during the day. At night, when you want to use it, the batteries are fully charged, ready to be used.

LEDs take up very little power. Therefore two AA rechargeable batteries rated at 1.5 volts each are sufficient to power them.

3. Solar ventilator

Solar Ventilator

There will surely be places in your living space that lacks ventilation. Why not install a small ventilator fan and attach a solar panel to it?

The air draft, though slow, can help prevent mildew and mould.

4. Solar powered gate opener

Many electric gate openers run on 12-volt supply. This is perfect for a small solar power project.

When you house the batteries and circuit, remember to keep it in a weatherproof container. Otherwise dew and precipitation may destroy them.

5. Attic Vent Fan

Attic Vent

During summer, your attic can trap a lot of hot air. It can get stuffy and uncomfortable if you need to be there, even for a while.

Installing an attic vent fan is a good idea. Running it using solar energy makes it an ingenious one.

6. Solar hot tub

Solar Hot Tub

Nothing can be more rejuvenating than soaking yourself in a hot tub (also known as Jacuzzi) during winter after a hard day’s work.

You can cycle water through solar collectors and heat it up to your desired temperature.

Even though there may be less sunlight during winter, you have the whole day to get the water heated up. To retain the heat, you can insulate your hot tub and use a wooden cover.

7. Solar cooker

Solar Cooking

Want to have a barbecue? Solar energy can help you cook your favorite food without using charcoal, butane or propane.

A concave reflector can help you concentrate sunlight onto a particular spot (like a magnifying glass). There, you can get anything cooking.

8. A greenhouse

This is common, isn’t it? Yet nobody takes the effort to do it. With a greenhouse, you can have a warm environment for your plants to flourish in and for you to enjoy a cup of coffee every morning before you go to work.

9. Solar pool covers

Solar pool covers help to heat up your pool using solar energy. They are pretty affordable, so you can always buy them. Or you can roll up your sleeves and put on your thinking cap to make one of your own.

10. Solar cup warmer

This project requires 2 metallic surfaces – one as solar collector and the other as cup warmer. You can use a heat pipe to transfer the energy from the solar collector to the heating plate.

That’s all for now. Let’s get busy designing our next pet project.

Continue Reading:

1. 7 Different Ways of Using Solar Energy At Home and In Your Office
2. Before You Install Solar Panels, Plug All Your Air Leakages
3. Creating An Energy Efficient House – A Primer On Why You Should Do It and How

Many appliances for RVs, boats and camping use 12VDC supply. When you are outdoors having fun, these appliances provide you with all the convenience and comfort. Here’s a list of such 12VDC appliances:

• Hair Dryer
• Heated Travel Cup
• Heavy Duty Metal Fan
• Wet Dry Vacuum with Gallon Canister
• “All Season” Heater/Fan with Swivel Base
• Crock Pot Slow Cooker
• Flexible Map Light
• Frying Pan
• Heated Fleece Blanket
• Portable Stove
• Rechargeable Flashlight with Adjustable Head
• SnackMaster Deluxe 12-Volt Family-Size Cooler/Warmer
• Digital/Electric Compass with Ice Alert
• et cetera…

I’m sure you’re familiar with these…

However there are times when the accumulators run empty just when you need to draw power from them. Thus a 12VDC solar panel will be ideal to ensure these appliances work at all times. With such nifty devices, these inconvenient moments will only be  memories.

During the day, solar panels will bring the accumulators to full charge. At night, power is drawn exclusively from the batteries. If you’re running some appliances only during the day, you may not need batteries… you can plug straight into the solar panels to power these appliances.

Many appliances do not really care if the power is clean, so you can also power most systems that require 120VAC using an inverter. Although you loose efficiency, it may be worth a try.

Continue Reading:

1. Recreational Vehicle (RV) Solar Panels
2. Solar Energy Panels For Big “Toys”
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

After you know where most of your household energy goes to, you are now ready to plan for your system size. For grid-tied system (without batteries and charge controllers), you only need to make sure the inverter you use is large enough to handle the power generated by the solar panels.

If you are thinking of scaling up your system in the future, you can get a bigger inverter so there’s room to handle more power. You can also get an inverter that fits the power output of your current solar panel, and then add another inverter when you bring in more solar panels. Between these two options, it’ll be more cost effective to have a larger specification if you know your plans beforehand.

For solar power generators with batteries, you’ll need a little more planning…

For a start, we’ll look at how to determine the size of your solar array. Here are the steps to do it:

1. Compute the average Watt-Hours (usage) per day

2. Find out the Average Daily Solar Radiation figure for your location

3. Calculate the number of watts you have to generate per hour of solar exposure (divide #1 by #2)

4. With the solar module you have in mind, multiply its power rating by a factor of 0.7. If you are using a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller, you’ll multiply it by a factor of 0.8 instead.

5. Finally, you get the number of modules needed when you divide #3 (energy you need) by #4 (energy generated by your solar panels)

After you arrive at the number of solar modules you need, you’ll also know how much space is needed on your roof. If there isn’t enough space, choose a more efficient photovoltaic module and do the calculations again. Going over this a few times, you will be able to find the solar module that’s most suitable for you and at the right price.

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Energy Panels For Big “Toys”
2. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 1
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 3

Solar energy panels can be used in the smallest ways to improve our lives. There will always be those inconvenient problems that can be solved by using a solar panel in a creative way.

Do you have a boat, recreational vehicle (RV) or truck that you do not use often? If you have problems starting them from time to time, a solar charger is a cheap and effective solution.

With about $30, you can get a small solar charger to plug into your vehicle’s cigarette lighter jack. As you lay the photovoltaic panel on your dashboard, it trickle charges your battery. When you need to start your vehicle (or boat) the next time, it won’t fail you.

The beauty about solar chargers is they won’t overcharge your batteries. Therefore you won’t need extra components like a charge controller that adds to its cost. You can even let the solar charger remain plugged in while you’re driving. As a bonus, solar chargers tend to extend the lifespan of your battery by about 50%. So for a mere $30, you can squeeze $50 out of an accumulator that costs you $100. How’s that for good investment?

More than just dollars and cents, the peace of mind you have every time you need to start your old truck or seldom-used boat is worth its weight in gold!

Here’s an example of what I’m talking about…the Sunforce 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer:

“Sunforce 1.8-Watt Solar Battery Maintainer Twin Pack is comprised of two solar battery maintainers ideal for cars, SUVs, boats, ATVs and PWC batteries. The units are completely maintenance free and easy to install. The amorphous solar panels charge in all weather conditions, even on cloudy days. The panels plugs directly into your cigarette lighter. Complete kit for each unit includes 1.8-watt solar battery maintainer, 7.5 feet wire, 12V DC plug, suction cups for easy mounting and battery clamps. Temperature range from -40 to 176 degrees F.”

Continue Reading:

1. Recreational Vehicle (RV) Solar Panels — Run Your Appliances With A 12VDC Panel
2. DIY Solar Panels — Charge Controller Basics
3. Sizing Your Solar Energy Panels – Part 2

The article below shows how practical solar panels are in a disaster scene. Currently Haiti is facing one of the most severe natural calamity in recent history. In such a time as this, electricity is most needed. However most of the electricity supply is cut off and there isn’t enough mobile generators at the scene.

People are screaming for help while thousands are waiting for more medication. People who desperately need surgery are not receiving it because electricity is needed to power the equipment.

Thankfully Sol, Inc. has chipped in their effort with photovoltaic panels. Hooray! This is what Rick Schuett, CEO of Sol, Inc. said:

“We know that once our solar lighting systems are installed, we will effectively double the amount of available relief effort time by allowing aid workers and rescuers to work around the clock when previously operations had to cease at dusk. In addition, our lighting systems will provide safety and security as well as being a hallmark that civility is being restored to the area.”

Read more at:
Haiti Relief Efforts Double with Installed Solar Lights (techburgh.com)

Continue Reading:

1. Solar Panel Efficiency — How Does Dirt on Your Solar Panels Affect The Amount Of Electricity Produced?
2. How You Can Benefit from Feed-in Tariffs (FiTs) with Electricity Generated by Your Solar Panels
3. Residential Solar Panels — Reducing Your Carbon Footprint