Comments on: What is the lifespan of a portable solar charger? http://www.zjucnc.org/solar/what-is-the-lifespan-of-a-portable-solar-charger The application of solar power and how to build your own solar panels. Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:38:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: roderick_young http://www.zjucnc.org/solar/what-is-the-lifespan-of-a-portable-solar-charger/comment-page-1#comment-2565 roderick_young Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:22:59 +0000 http://www.zjucnc.org/solar/what-is-the-lifespan-of-a-portable-solar-charger#comment-2565 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.<br><b>References : </b><br> 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 :

]]> By: Nomadd http://www.zjucnc.org/solar/what-is-the-lifespan-of-a-portable-solar-charger/comment-page-1#comment-2564 Nomadd Sun, 14 Mar 2010 23:52:59 +0000 http://www.zjucnc.org/solar/what-is-the-lifespan-of-a-portable-solar-charger#comment-2564 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.<br><b>References : </b><br> 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 :

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