I am looking into buying a portable solar charger for my laptop, but can’t find any information on how long these products are supposed to last. I know thin film panels usually only have warranties for 5-10 years in normal solar panels (versus longer lifespans with the crystalline panels). I don’t know how to translate that information into making a purchase, though.
Does anyone know of a clearinghouse of information on portable solar chargers?
Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
More Pages:
- Solar Products: Can I Find Portable Solar Mobile Phones Or Chargers In Australia? (5/6/2011)
- Solar Products: Do Solar Panel Cell Phone Chargers Actually Work? (6/17/2011)
- Solar Products: What Does A Solar Charger Charge? (5/10/2011)
- Solar Panel: Solar Panel And Motor: Any Way To Regulate The Power Transmission? (5/11/2011)
- Solar Producer: Can You Help Me With These 2 Biology Questions Please? (6/13/2011)
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Portable chargers are usually pretty useless because they don’t have enough output to do anything. You can count on getting about 2/3 the power they claim to put out. You’ll nedd at least a 20 watt array to get even a slow charge.
As for the lifespan, solar cells tend to degrade from how long they spend in the sun, not how old they are. So, a charger that was only in the sun occasionaly would last for decades.
You also need to have one with a controller. A 12 volt array can get up to 19 volts in an unregulated setup when you’re not drawing current from it, and that could fry a 12 volt computer.