The Portable Solar Charger for Small Devices
Before you choose a portable solar charger, there are a few things you should know about them, so as to ensure you get the right device for you electrical gadget or gadgets.
Essentially you can get two types of solar charger:
- A portable solar charger with built in batteries.
- A solar charger without built in batteries. (In which case we could also refer to it simply as a portable solar panel).
Both types of solar charger are available in several power ranges and sizes. The size is usually indicated in watts, or as "wattage. "
Whereas both types collect energy from the sun through their solar cells in the panels.
One type has "internal" rechargeable batteries. Examples of this type are the Solio Classic Solar Charger, Solio Hybrid Solar Chargers and also the recently released SunCell Solar Charger.
The internal batteries store the solar power which is collected when exposed to sunlight and allow you to plug-in your cell phone, MP3 Player Ipod or other small device whenever you want in order to recharge or run your electrical device. There are several brands available on the market, but currently Solio is the leading brand among this type of solar charger.
The other option available for small electronic devices is a "regular" portable solar panel. That is to say simply a sheet of solar cells with electrical connections. These are not bad either and do have their uses. But you will be limited as to when and where you can charge or power your electrical device.
Now, if you intend to spend the day at the beach and soak up the sun while listening to your radio, iPod,playing your portable game console, or you are out fishing and runing your fishfinder this works out fine. But if you run out off battery power on your cell phone in the middle of a thunderstorm or at night, you will not be able to get any power from your solar panel. A solar charger that is also able to keep the solar energy collected from the sun for later use would allow you to draw power under such circumstances.
The key here is really what's the intended use? That will determine what type of portable solar charger you want to get for your small devices.
A flexible solar panel such as the Solarol 14 or the Powerfilm Rolling Foldable Solar Charger is very easy to use, on either the beach, while camping or hiking, and as long as you use it to charge your items before hand or use it to power your item during the day it will work absolutely fine. There is nothing wrong with this type of solar charger.
Visit our solar power store to find the right portable solar charger for your needs, along with a large selection of solar powered equipment. |
Brunton Solaris 6-Watt Foldable Array - $ 189.99 Panel type: CIGS CIGS technology maximizes performance while optimizing portability.Solaris 6 |