What is the lifespan of a portable solar charger?
March 14th, 2010 | by admin |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.
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.
2 Responses to “What is the lifespan of a portable solar charger?”
By Nomadd on Mar 14, 2010 | Reply
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.
References :
By roderick_young on Mar 14, 2010 | Reply
I would expect the output of an amorphous panel to drop significantly in the first few months, then go to maybe 50% over a few years. But as any product, I would only count on it to last as long as the warranty. A solar charger is kind of a gimmicky item right now, there isn’t serious competition for performance and reliability.
I would expect the cells in a crystalline panel to last longer than you would own a laptop.
Be sure that you really need such a device. I saw one that looked good at a flea market, but it was so large that it would be impractical for travel. And a small one would take forever to charge the laptop.
References :