With the explosion of portable electronics in recent years, many boaters and campers are looking for alternative ways to charge these devices when they are on the road and running low on power. Even though many of these devices can be charged directly from the batteries in the boat or vehicle, this can lead to severe battery drain and may leave you stranded if you’re not careful. Most boat and camper electrical systems are designed to provide a minimum of charging and can’t handle the extra power requirements of all this extra gear. An alternative power source is needed to help augment the original system and ensure you’ll have the power you need to operate your gear.

A recent solution to this problem involves a portable solar power system than can be mounted on the boat or vehicle. This solar power system will use the free power of the sun to either provide power directly, or charge the batteries in the boat or vehicle so this power can be used later. These portable solar power systems are very small and are designed to be easily installed. Some of them are built to be connected directly to the boat or vehicles batteries and others have a separate bank of batteries that are used exclusively with the system.

Several of these systems even allow you to charge the units batteries while at home and only take along the controller unit. This controller unit contains the charging unit, the batteries and the inverter used to convert the stored power into AC current. These units are small and can easily be brought along when needed and allow you to avoid permanently installing the solar panels on the vehicle.

Most of these systems are designed for smaller boats or vehicles, but they can also be scaled to very large applications as well. There is one system that is currently being used on larger commercial ships that embeds the solar panels into the surface of the sails. These solar panels help to charge the boats batteries and the sails are used to augment the diesel engines as the boat travels. The combination of the two technologies works well and helps these larger ships eliminate close to 20% of their fuel costs.

The savings for smaller users can be just as impressive. In the case of a camper, using one of these portable solar power systems means that you won’t have to plug into a campground’s power grid and pay for the electricity you use. It also means that you’ll have the power you need for your appliances and electronics when you are camping in remote areas where traditional power is scarce.

For boaters these systems provide the assurance that they will always have power when they need it for their radios and navigation equipment. On a good day this also means that you can enjoy other comforts like a TV or radio that you didn’t have the power for on previous trips. In an emergency, these systems can provide the extra power you need to contact someone for help, even if your boat batteries have failed.