Portable solar panels are great equipment to generate energy from a renewable source. We live in an era where renewable energy production is consistently growing.
People are now conscious of the damage that we are doing to natural resources, which may affect us in the future.
The good thing is that manufacturers focus on portable devices made for generating solar energy using a small size solar panel.
You can carry the movable solar panel with you, charge your equipment, install on the rooftop, or use it while camping.
I have researched and listed down the most unique 10 uses that use portable solar panels. Hope you’ll enjoy them.
1) Use it in Emergencies as a Power Source for Home Use
We live in a world where anything can happen to you anytime. You should always be prepared with the right equipment, and the energy source is one of the factors that may have a big difference when you are in trouble.
Carrying a portable solar panel while travelling in a remote area would give you the advantage of an immediate power source. Even it will be a nice alternative power source for home use too.
You can charge your phone; use it to light up the area with the small bulb, set the emergency kit, etc.
In places where an earthquake, hurricanes, and tornadoes are common, using the portable solar panel in such a location would give you instant support and connectivity to the communication service.
2) Solar Powered Car
The solar-powered car already exists in the real world. Many car manufacturing companies are trying to build a sustainable car model that gets solar energy power.
A car such as Tesla, which runs on batteries, can use a portable solar panel to charge your vehicle. It will be a great use of the solar panel.
3) Security System for Home
Everyone wants their family to say safe. The security system offers you desire the safety of your home and love once.
The security system requires power support. You can use the portable solar system to charge the backup battery pack during the day.
The stored power will power the security system the entire day without needing the additional power source to run the system.
You get a 24 x 7 active security system that protects your home from an unexpected events.
4) Solar Trees as Interior item while Producing Power
We all love greenery around home. It looks beautiful and provides fresh air with shade on sunny days. You feel peaceful when you are close to nature.
The invention of solar trees is becoming a discussion topic because of its usability and practical solution.
Few companies are working on an innovative solution to produce artificial trees that would have solar panels on the leaves and would generate solar power throughout the day.
The design of the solar tree would look real when it is placed near the home.
Solar trees would charge batteries throughout the day, and you can use them at night when there is a high power demand. It will help you reduce your dependency on the local power grid and save money.
5) Solar Paint Hydrogen
Can you imagine your home, which looks beautiful from the outside, as well as it is capable of generating energy from the applied paint to your home?
Yes, this may sound scene from a sci-fi movie, but it is already tested by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) team, who is working on this project.
Solar paint is capable of generating energy using water vapor. It does this by absorbing moisture from the air and using solar energy to break the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.
You can apply the paint on the outdoor surface and get your whole house transformed into a solar-producing system.
Once the final product is released and commercialize, it will change the way we decorate our surroundings.
6) Solar Clothing
Solar-powered fabric is another topic which various communities are talking about. The regular clothing would be change to the naturally produces solar power generation cloths.
Every person wearing solar power clothes would be able to energy electricity during the day.
This will help the user charge the small equipment they carry along with them during the travelling.
This concept is widely discussed all around the world. Many universities are working on the concept module to produce sustainable fabrics that will become an alternative to solar energy production equipment.
The would-be perfect for the jogger and people who spend most of the time working under the sun.
7) Floating Solar Panel
We generally talk about the ground-based solar power station, but we usually forget that our earth’s oceans have big unutilized space.
You can use any water body to generate solar energy using the floating solar panel.
These panels are designed with the floating mechanism, and it is directly connected to the backup battery pack where all the produced energy is stored.
Many countries have already started building large size solar panel systems to produce renewable energy.
You can use your portable solar panel water body around your home or while campaigning near the river or lake.
8) Solar-Powered Tunnel
Well, this is not a thing you can do by yourself. But it’s interesting to know solar panels’ capabilities.
Let’s get your head around Belgium’s mega project, where they have to build the tunnel covered with the solar panel.
The power generated from the single tunnel can power 4000 trains annually. It may not be a new invention, but we can say it is the smart utilization of the available space.
Also, the biggest problem with solar energy generation is the transportation of energy from one place to another.
The majority of energy gets wasted when you transport energy. This problem is solved with the tunnel-based solar power system.
The train grid is now directly connected to the nearby solar energy production and immediately generates power. Many communities appreciate the project.
9) Solar Glass
The portable solar panel applied to the glass window would give you much-needed exposure the renewable energy.
Solar glass is an innovative solution to cover the entire building or simply the glass panel’s home windows to keep generating solar power for basic needs.
The building covered with solar panel glass would sufficiently charge the batteries throughout the day, powering the entire building without connecting to the local power grid. Solar glass is not a new concept.
It is introduced in the late nineties. However commercial products didn’t launch until recently. SolarWindow is one such company that offered this kind of futuristic product in the US.
10) Solar panel travel kit
People who like to go on safari or do campaigning. The portable solar panel device would help you generate energy during your holiday.
Put the portable solar panel system in the back of your car and use it in the open place during the vacation.
The portable solar panels are lightweight. You can easily install them on the ground with the stand.
If you have the RV with you, then assemble the solar panel on your RV top. Charge your battery pack in the day sunlight and use the stored power at night.
What are the benefits of using portable solar panels?
There are several reasons why the portable solar panel has become the first choice of people who want to begin their journey to renewable energy source.
The fundamental reason why people shift to portable solar panels is safety. These panels are safe to use in all kinds of environments.
Compared to the large solar panel, which can produce a high voltage current. Handling those big solar panels would be life-threatening.
You would not like anyone touching those high-voltage panels or the connection in your home. The portable solar panels are known for low voltage current.
However, they are also dangerous to handle, but most of them are very safe and built with the material covering most of the panel to carry the panel with you comfortably.
Here are some of the benefits people enjoy using portable solar panels to generate renewable energy.
1) Compact design
The portable solar panels are compact. You can easily carry the panels with you anywhere and start generating the current for your electronic equipment. You can find portable solar panels from small sizes to large panels in the market.
Some manufacturers are building a small-sized backpack kit that comes with a portable solar panel and a battery pack to store the solar panel’s energy.
The complete kit is already assembled. You have to put your solar panel out under the sun and connect the cables.
2) Travel to a remote place
The solar panel makes travelling to remote places comfortable. The solar panel will generate sufficient energy to charge your smartphone and the essential equipment when you have your power production kit.
People who carry their RV may move a little further from the crowd and enjoy their alone space with their family. You do not need to stay close to crowded RV parks.
Travel anywhere without worrying about the energy source. You can even mount the solar panel on the rooftop of your RV to increase your energy production.
3) Maintenance is easy
Due to the small size of the portable solar panel, they are easy to maintain. You can easily disassemble the whole system in a minute.
The system requires a few cable connections, which are easy to remove. Overall the maintenance is quite easy, and you can do it while spending time with your family.
Conclusion:
I hope the article has helped you to learn something new today. Portable solar panels are the future. You can do many things with solar panels.
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- How to Keep Portable Solar Panels From Being Stolen?
- How to Clean Portable Solar Panels?
- 5 Best Portable Solar Panels For Renters: Take It With You
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”.