Solar Chargers For 12 Volt Batteries – Best Solar Car Charger Reviews – Reliable 12 Volt Auto Solar Battery Charger Rating
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Solar Chargers For 12 Volt Batteries
Ever get that sick feeling when you get in your car to start the engine and it feels like it’s missing power? Especially when you’re somewhere far from home and it’s late at night?
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Over the past few months, I’ve discovered the value of keeping the best solar car battery charger around just for those times when I notice the battery is getting low.
They don’t cost much up front and save money – and the environment – in the long run, as well as being safer and more convenient to use than standard chargers.
A solar panel to charge a car battery works on a simple concept, although the details are obviously more complex. Basically, a solar panel is designed with car battery charging in mind and has the right connectors to use for that purpose.
The solar panel itself uses photovoltaic cells – solar cells – to collect sunlight and convert it into direct current, or electricity, that your car battery can use to charge. They are used most effectively in direct sunlight, although low light and cloudy conditions will still produce some charge.
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Solar car chargers have solar panels on the face, which allows you to simply place the panel next to a window or on the dashboard to attract sunlight during the day.
Some chargers connect directly to the battery, while others are powered through the cigarette lighter or car outlet.
Aside from the obvious difference in power source, the main difference between a solar car battery charger and a regular charger is that standard chargers are most commonly used to fully charge a dead battery.
The other main difference is that a solar charger is much less likely to overcharge your battery and cause damage, although with solar chargers this is also possible.
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As long as you use a solar car charger for its intended use, yes, they do work.
Solar battery chargers typically do not have multiple amperage settings, which means they only supply a small amount of current to the battery.
This means that the solar charger is more useful for keeping your car battery charged than for fully charging a battery.
The average for medium to high power panels is between 6 and 8 hours of charging in direct or mostly bright light.
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During winter, cloudy weather or other low light conditions, the charging time will be closer to the 12 or even 14 hour range.
Solar car battery chargers are spot chargers, meaning they charge at a rate equal to their self-discharge rate. This allows the batteries to remain fully charged at the correct level. However, the battery should not be in use while charging, as lazy charging cannot keep the battery charged when it is “in use”.
There may be some models specifically designed to fully recharge a car battery, but these are less common and will use another form of charging known as float charging.
Each battery has six cells with a voltage of 2.1. When the battery is fully charged, this is equal to 12.6 volts of battery charge.
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If the voltage on a car battery drops even from 0.6 to 12.0, there is a 75% change in power. Power drops from 100% to 25%.
At 12.4 volts the car battery is 75% charged, and 12.2 means the voltage is at 50% charged. This means you can consider your battery charged if it is 12.4 volts or higher, but discharged and in need of charging again if it is 12.39 volts or lower.
13.5 to 14.5 volts or more should register while charging with the car at idle. If it does not produce this, the alternator may be defective and should be tested at an auto parts store.
There are many reasons to use a solar car battery charger instead of a standard wall outlet charger. They save money, the environment and even extend the life of your car battery.
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The first thing I would like to note about using a solar powered battery charger instead of the standard electric model is that solar power is environmentally friendly.
They use the energy harnessed from the sun’s rays and are converted by solar cells into electricity that can charge your car’s battery.
Solar power is an often overlooked renewable energy source, but these chargers can help anyone do a little better.
Solar battery chargers provide a steady stream of charging power, even if they don’t provide the same amount as some of the standard electric chargers.
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They are slightly less likely to overcharge your battery, which means they will actually extend the life of your car battery.
A solar car charger is extremely easy to use, which makes it a winner in my book. An elderly person, teenager or parent with three children at their heels can pick up a 12 volt car battery charger and get it going much more easily than a standard electric charger.
You don’t need to understand amperage and voltage like you do with wall chargers. Instead, just use the charger wherever you are and carry on.
Also, since solar chargers don’t have as much power as a wall charger, they are much safer for beginners.
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One of the most important things, in my opinion, about a solar car battery charger is that it allows you to charge your car battery no matter where you are. Forgot to turn off the lights at home? Turn off the charger. Discover the battle of batteries in a forest camp? Again, just pull it out and load it. You can’t do this anywhere with a standard charger.
Lastly, a solar car battery charger may start out as a more expensive charger than standard models, but once you pay that upfront cost, you’re done.
They don’t require any electricity bill to use them, which means you save electricity time and time again over the years.
It might seem simple enough, but finding the right automatic solar battery charger can be a bit tricky if you’re not sure what to look for. However, if you keep these things in mind, you should be ready to enter this new territory.
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For the most effective solar battery charger, you should find one that has an efficiency rating of at least 20%. This efficiency rating means two things.
First, you don’t need to keep these chargers in direct sunlight all the time to get enough power to charge your car battery.
Second, you can know you’ll be able to charge your car in months of low sunlight – think winter and spring – or on cloudy days.
Make sure the charger you get is a reasonable size and weight for your situation. They tend to be wide and long, which is difficult to store and use in certain car models.
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You’ll usually keep the charger in your car in a place where it will charge in sunlight during the day, so you’ll need a model that’s small enough to fit comfortably in your car.
Or, if you’re just hoping to charge the battery at home, you can opt for a larger model as size won’t be a concern.
When I first saw this term, I was confused. I may know a lot about solar energy, but I’m not that familiar with cars. But as I looked at this, this feature immediately became a valuable option that I realized was important.
Reverse charge blocking diodes allow the charger to store all the energy it collects during the day from sunlight. It then prevents it from draining that energy at night when it’s not in use.
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This feature is present on most solar battery chargers, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. Just make a note to mention the feature or not, as most manufacturers will include this in the description.
Most solar battery chargers range from 2 to 18 volts. The lower the voltage obviously the less power.
Unfortunately, many of them don’t come with surge protection, so going with something higher can be a risky choice.
You want to make sure you get a charger that has more than one 12 volt connector. This provides several connection options.
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The length of the power cord will also determine your flexibility with charging, limiting the distance you have to charge if it’s too short.
Before making this list, I did a lot of research on car batteries, chargers, solar power and how it all works together. I didn’t know much about car batteries in particular, but I learned that knowledge is a powerful tool in keeping my family safe.
So, I applied that research and newfound knowledge to discover the best solar car battery charger options on the market.
I started by creating one
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