How Do You Use Solar Panels On A Bicycle

One of the main problems you have when travelling on a bicycle is how to charge the batteries of the electronics you use like your mp3 player mobile phone head torch.

How do you use solar panels on a bicycle. Solar charging an electric bicycle isn t cheaper than grid power at first. If you don t have one of those or you built your own solar array use a multimeter to measure the wattage output of your solar panel when it s in the full sun. Your battery voltage is higher than your solar panel voltage. I use solar chargers but these are the most common models for.

Good for smaller usb powered devices for those on a budget. For instance a solar power designed for a 12v output might actually produce 17v of power. Products rated between 7 27 watts. Goal zero nomad probably the most popular solar units around for bicycle travellers because of their low cost and availability although customer service and longevity seems less than perfect.

There is no cheap boost mppt charger out there i e. Solar panels are designed to produce more power than the voltage they re rated for. Sometimes it s not easy to find a plug if you are cycling in remote areas. Laptop computers tablets smartphones drones gps devices flashlights or anything else than can be charged via usb or a standard 110 volt power outlet.

Of course range is all relative. Do you wonder how could you charge your electronics while travelling on a bicycle. However if you were like me found an awesome deal of low voltage solar panel on the web maybe second hand and want to charge your e bike battery directly using this solar panel then tough luck. Freeloader super cheap small 1 5w solar charger batteries with 800 1600mah built in batteries.

For those situations there are many systems available on the market. What chargers do you suggest for bicycle touring. Use the step by step instructions on this page to quickly easily and inexpensively mount solar panels to the roof of your vehicle and then use the power of the sun to generate electricity for your various electronic devices i e. The bigger the panel the faster your devices will charge and the large devices you will be able to charge.

If you bike two miles a day to the store and back most electric bikes are just fine. If you want to experience the sun trip but aren t quite ready to ride a solar powered electric bicycle half way around the world you may be in luck. With that in mind i set out some time ago to see if i could extend the range of my electric bike using a solar panel. Considering how big such panels look do you wonder if it s worth it.

Of course it s tempting to recharge the bike during the ride but to carry a rather large and also fragile panel that still can not fully charge the bike seems weird. But if you re already creating a system like richard s to provide backup power during an emergency or to take your.