Why You Should Camp With a Solar Panel

With summer shortly approaching, your mind is automatically planning trips you want to take with family and friends. Perhaps you want to get back to the simplicity of nature by going camping, but you don’t want to completely go off of the grid. In that case, bringing a solar panel camping will allow you to enjoy electricity at any time without doing any damage to Mother Nature.

Are you worried about running out of battery on your next camping trip? No need to panic. You’ll still be able to run your refrigerator, mobile device and camping lights if you use solar power. You won’t have to detract from the peace and quiet you went outdoors to find, like generators tend to do. Instead, you can use solar power, a clean form of energy that’s natural, renewable and free.

What you’ll need

A compact and portable solar panel, a solar regulator, a deep-cycle auxiliary battery and an inverter (if you’re planning to charge large appliances such as a television or laptop.)

How it works

A solar panel gathers power from the sun, which then flows into the battery through the solar regulator. Solar regulators are important because they prevent damage to your battery from fluctuating charge or overcharging. How much power your panels gather depends on their size, how they’re used and the amount of sunlight hours in a day. Keep in mind that not all sunlight is created equal. Factors such as geographic location, surrounding temperature and the time year all have an influence over how much power your solar panels are able to gather.

How to calculate your solar power requirements

Knowing how to calculate your equipment’s power usage is key to creating a solar power system that’s tailored to you. If you don’t have a basic understanding of how much power your appliances are using, you could end up buying the wrong-sized solar panel or incorrect battery.  To calculate your usage, look at your devices and see if they have a power draw on the label, then figure out how long per day you will operate the equipment to calculate its overall power draw. To figure out how to calculate your solar power requirements in depth, check out iTechWorld.

How to set up your solar panel

In order to optimize its best performance, position and align your solar panel perpendicular to the sun, it will capture the maximum amount of solar energy. When possible, try to align your panels according to the sun’s position in the sky and clear off any dust that gathers on the panel with a microfiber cloth.

Now that you’re thinking about solar panels, call GR Solar Solutions, one of the most experienced solar power companies in Texas and New Mexico, at 915-581-0461 for more information.