Written By Marina Dawson

As more and more people become conscious of how their energy use impacts on the environment, there has been an increased focus on solar energy and how it can be used to replace fossil fuels.  Solar energy technology has come a long way in recent years, and you might be surprised at the number of products available with solar power – it’s not just limited to your high school calculator!  One very promising and convenient use of solar energy is in charging batteries.  Most homes, cottages, or RVs that consider themselves “off the grid”, or more specifically that generate their own power through renewable energy, find that batteries are essential to have on hand.  Renewable energy is not always 100% reliable, and therefore having energy stored in a battery for times when the energy is low is a very good idea.

But solar powered battery chargers aren’t just for people living off the grid.  There are some excellent 12-volt, solar powered battery chargers that are suitable for anyone who uses one of these batteries to power their toys.  In fact, considering that many people use these batteries when they are away from possible power stations, such as when they are camping or boating, it actually makes a lot of sense to have a charger on hand that can use the sun’s rays to charge up a dead battery.  Additionally, solar power is free to collect, so once the investment is made in the energy converter (in this case the solar panel or cell), then charging your battery puts no extra strain on your monthly energy bill.

Many people assume that solar power can only be collected when it is bright and sunny.  This is not true, as solar power simply refers to collecting energy from any form of light – even indoor light can be collected.  Solar energy collectors will continue to work when the weather is overcast and the sun is not shining brightly, however the amount of energy collected will of course be greater on a sunny day when the sun is shining directly onto the panels.  This is why it is absolutely vital to ensure that if you are using solar power to charge your batteries that you correctly mount the solar panels in a place where they will gather the most energy.

It is also important to keep in mind that, generally speaking, solar powered battery chargers do not provide a quick charge, and can in fact take days to charge the battery fully.  Additionally, it is not a good idea to hook devices directly up to the solar panels that are collecting the energy for the charger.  Since there is a lot of variability in the energy flowing out of the panel, it can damage some equipment.  In this way, the battery actually can act as a filter, sending a constant flow of energy to the device while collecting a variable amount of energy.

Other things to keep in mind are that not all solar panels are weather proof, so you may have to remove them in inclement weather conditions.  A charger with built-a built in charge controller is a good idea, as this will prevent battery discharge during periods of low light.

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