Solar Panels

[BasementJacks]

Does anyone have these for camping? We're thinking of investing. Do the batteries charge well? Could you run a fridge off them? Thanks!

You would need a very large panel to run a fridge, but look at the Goal Zero systems for ideas. There's a chap called Kevin at The Solar Shed who's very knowledgeable about this sort of thing.

We've only gone as far as solar for lighting, and an Anker panel for recharging USB power banks for phones and cameras - and that's marginal. We still need to makes sure to get a charge whenever we're out in the car.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll search out Kevin.

I had a flat battery earlier. I'm camping and recharged a lot of stuff. I'm looking at usb solar chargers now too!

USB solar chargers. I'm overexcited at the thought of these!

Tbh, for a similar outlay you could buy a couple of additional very large capacity power banks and precharge before traveling. The panels need several hours of light and efficiency suffers if they're behind glass, eg a windscreen. Most aren't weatherproof so couldn't be left out if rain was likely. Panel plus powerbank could add up to £100 or so, would you leave it anywhere?

Hum... interesting point on security. Back to the drawing board I think.