Solar panels and the 4x4 industry

The use of solar panels for charging up auxiliary batteries is not a new phenomenon for the 4x4 industry.

For those not wishing to run their vehicle engines for hours on end, trying to get something back into the depleted auxiliary batteries after a couple of days of use; there is solar power – still free energy from the sun and not taxed – yet!

The sizing of the panel will be determined by several factors:

• How long you intend staying in one location without running the vehicle
• The size and operational parameters around the fridge/freezer you are intending to employ
• The amount of auxiliary batteries you carry with you
• The locations where you spend your time (the further North, the more charging hours you will get from your panel).

For those who wish to cater for the total consumption of their fridges, the equation is quite simple: Add up your watt hours of usage and divide it by the solar charging hours for the area in which you will be located. Chances are, you might not know one, or either of these factors – so we have attached a link at the base of this page to make life a little easier for you!

As far as your reserve capacity with auxiliaries is concerned, how long you stay in one spot is obviously quite critical in calculating your required panel wattage.

For example:

You have 2 x 105AH auxiliary batteries which can give you some 1300WH of available power from each battery. However, as you probably know, one shouldn’t employ a battery discharge rate in excess of 70% for casual applications such as this – so work on 900 WH per deep cycle battery. Thus the 2 batteries should give you some 1800WH of usable reserve power. If your fridge consumes, let us say. 700WH per day, you would have enough reserve for around 2 ½ days before you start exceeding the benchmark that will negatively affect the life expectancy of your battery.

Now let us say that you purchase an 80W panel which will give you around 450W of power on a sunny day – depending upon where you are located (refer solar charging hours). You are thus consuming 700WH per day and replacing it with 450WH per day – a daily ‘deficit’ of some 250WH. Your total available reserve is some 1800WH, divide this by your daily deficit and you get enough reserve power for……..just over 7 days before you have to start thinking about starting the vehicle, using a genset, or looking for Mains power.

In order for your panel to give of its best, you will need to orientate and angle your panel correctly – or you will waste a lot of the available power.

Visit our informative page about solar panels and mobile fridges

Remember to have your panel in the sun and the vehicle in the shade, if possible. Make sure your panel is securely fastened to prevent it blowing over onto a rock or other sharp object (Buffalo horn?!).

At PMP we have designed a simple, yet effective, panel prop which had to meet the following criteria:

• Must be integrated within the panel frame
• It must be easy and quick to assemble
• Must not extend beyond the panel frame - so that it can be packed without obstructing
• It must be made of aluminium to stop electrolysis between varying metals
• It must be able to be secured against (reasonable!) wind
• It must offer various angle settings to cater for locations and seasons.
• It must be reasonably priced

See photos of our custom designed solar panel prop

A quick summary of tips for optimising your solar charger are also included.

LINKS: Panel angles– Panel wattages– Solar charging hours – Fridges & Wattages– Tips on optimizing your solar charger – Panel Range

Key Words to this page :

Dual battery systems, dual battery management systems, battery splitter, battery isolator, battery monitor, 4x4 accessories, accessories 4x4, 4x4 equipment, 4WD equipment, 4WD power systems, Power Inverters, Dual battery isolator,