The battery capacity would determine how many batteries you can charge using the 100 Watt solar panel. You have 12V battery power and a 100-watt solar panel charge, so it may take around 6 to 10 hours to charge the single battery fully.
How many 12v batteries can a 100w solar panel charge?
Calculating the 100 Watt solar panel capacity would give you a rough estimation of the solar system’s electric production. The 100w solar panel rated as 12v power output would produce 5.55 amps of energy when kept under full sunlight.
At this rate, when we consider the standard deep cycle batteries rated at 20 AH would be fully charged in 4 hours.
However, getting full sunlight throughout the day would not be possible in many regions. Therefore, charging a full 20 AH batteries in a day may not be feasible.
Charging single 50 AH batteries or the two 25 AH batteries or 10 AH batteries would give your adequate charge during the 9 hours of daily sunlight.
The user who wants to save time and is willing to charge the battery pack can fully get the 100 AH batteries, which would serve the purpose.
You can follow this calculation to choose the right type of battery according to your need.
Remember that the very hot temperature may lead to solar panel performance degradation.
When charging a 100w battery in the hot region, you may require a 360W solar panel with 20A, 18V power. There are two ways to reduce the loss of power.
Either avoid charging the solar panel under hot temperatures or use a charge controller to optimize the energy transfer.
The controller decreases the watt requirement. Hence, instead of having a 360W panel, you can get away with a 300-320W solar panel.
Here are the things that affect the solar panel while generating electricity.
1) Location:
The location of the solar panel makes a big difference. People who use portable solar panels could find a better place to lay their solar panels under the sun.
The compact design allows the users to move the panel quickly and get a nice place to generate solar energy.
In a country where most of the rainy or cloudy sessions, it would be difficult for users who use solar panels to light their houses.
Cloud blocks most solar rays from the sun, which directly affects the solar production process.
Also, direct sunlight is the primary source of electricity production. If your solar panel is not receiving direct sunlight, the solar panel will not run at its maximum capacity.
The optimum use of solar panels for electricity generation can be achieved using proper management and equipment.
2) Quality of the Solar Panel:
People generally avoid the crucial aspect of solar panels, which is the quality of the product. Every solar panel is different.
Therefore, the solar panel’s production capacity would change according to the type of solar panel. The quality is determined based on the final production output of each solar panel.
If the solar panel cannot generate the standard output that another solar panel of the same voltage can produce, it will not run at its full capacity.
There might be several reasons why your solar panel is not performing well. In most cases, the material used in solar panel manufacturing could be the reason for the low production.
3) Maintenance:
The maintenance of the solar panel is vital for keeping it in good condition. The solar panel should reduce its electricity production capacity over time.
You may have to replace some of the panels burned under the sun due to excessive heat.
Also, the connection between the two panels decays, which causes energy loss.
Identifying the problem in the solar panel and fixing them in time would improve your solar panel performance.
Additionally, the glass on the solar panel gets dirty. You may also experience a scratch on the glass while handling it.
Or sometimes, due to the weather condition or the bird’s impact, the glass becomes weak. It may direct the sunlight in another direction, which causes the problem of power generation.
It has been observed that low-quality glass produces less energy than the new solar panel with a clean glass surface.
4) Direct Sunlight:
It is essential to keep your solar panel under direct sunlight. Sunlight is the only source to power the solar panel.
If your solar panel setup is not receiving direct sunlight or is tilted at an angle, the sun’s rays will bounce back into the atmosphere.
You will never achieve the desired charge capacity in such a condition.
Arrange the solar panel set up to automatically change the direction with the sensors or use the manual solar panel support system, which is easy to move when the sun changes its position.
Note the sun’s direction and change the angle to point the Solar panel directly at the sun.
The manual adjustment could be challenging as you may not want to spend your whole day managing your solar panel system.
The best advice is to capture the maximum sunlight till noon when the sun is brighter in the sky.
As it starts setting down, you may put in the maximum exposure and do not need to manage the afternoon. The day sunlight would be sufficient enough to charge your battery.
5) Distance from the Solar panel to the batteries:
Remember that solar energy is consumed while transporting it from the solar panel to the batteries.
The energy is emitted as heat in the atmosphere. Whenever you have a portable solar panel with you, keep the batteries nearby so the cables used in the energy transportation would be short.
The battery pack’s nearby location would reduce energy loss, and more energy will be stored in the batteries for later use.
The solar panel installed far from the battery would experience less electricity supply during the charging.
The voltage would have a small amount of drop compared to the batteries kept near the solar panel.
You will increase your energy production capacity using solar panels when you follow these guidelines.
Use it wisely to maintain the steady flow of the current and save maximum electricity to the batteries with smart decisions.
How fast can a 100w solar panel charge a battery?
The 100-watt solar panel could generate an average of 30 amp-hours per day when used on a sunny day. You would need around three 100-watt solar panels to fully charge your battery or the 300-watt solar panel to get the desired output.
In the above calculation, we have not considered unexpected events such as rain, snow, or cloudy day.
The measurement is calculated assuming the location would provide you maximum exposure to the solar panel to generate the electricity.
The final energy supply unit through the 100-watt solar panel could be different if the condition is not appropriate.
Also, the solar panel never reaches their maximum capacity for several reasons.
Consider 75% of the maximum capacity to get a rough estimate of the solar panel energy whenever you calculate the energy output.
What are the benefits of using a portable solar panel?
The portable solar panels are gaining popularity among traveler and people who campaign in remote locations. When you are at a remote location with no connectivity to the main city, the electricity supply could be the challenging part of your journey.
We power our gadgets and essential equipment using electricity. It is essential to have sufficient electricity storage to spend your night in unknown territory.
The portable solar panel provides the solution to your electricity need. Your solar panel would be a live saver in an unknown place.
Also, the solar panel generates the required energy during the day, and it is stored in the backup battery pack, which powers the entire RV at night.
Moreover, the portable solar panel is easy to carry. You can place the panel anywhere on the ground and start charging your electric equipment.
You do not need a large setup to use the portable solar panel. Compared to the large solar panel setup, the portable solar panel is easy to replace.
You can have the portable solar panel installed on your rooftop.
During the day, the solar panel will generate electricity and store it in the battery, which you can use at night.
The power generation is expandable as you add more solar panels to the system. You can easily improve the solar panel’s efficiency and get the desired out with the solar panel’s maximum capacity.
Portable solar panels are useful equipment every home must have to generate clean solar energy.
Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as a Solar Electrical Engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.
