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What Are the Benefits of Portable Solar Modules?

Portable solar modules are designed for easy transportation, quick deployment, and an environmentally friendly source of energy. They weigh as little as 2 kg, deploy in under 2 minutes, and can generate up to 1,000 Wh daily. A 200 W panel can power a fridge for 15 hours, saving up to $600/year in electricity costs.

Easy to Transport

Traditional fixed solar panels usually weigh around 18-25 kg with a length and width of 1.6 m by 1 m, respectively, while portable solar panels weigh in the range of 3-8 kg, with some flexible panels weighing as low as 2 kg. Most portable modules, when folded, are only 40 cm by 30 cm.

Traditional fixed solar systems usually take 3-5 days for installation, while the deployment of portable solar panels takes less than 2 minutes. When hiking in the wilderness, portable modules can be set up and connected with a mobile power source in just 1 minute during each break.

All of them are IP65 certified, waterproof, and dustproof, operating within the temperature range from -20°C to 60°C. In 2022, a team of the Antarctic expedition carried portable solar devices and used them in sub-zero conditions at -30°C continuously for 45 days without any damage to the equipment.

In 2024, the portable solar market is projected to increase by 28.5%, with the market size likely to surpass $4 billion. A 200 W portable solar panel combined with a 1,000 Wh mobile power station can give power supply for a laptop for 20 hours or a small refrigerator for 15 hours under 8 hours of direct sunlight.

A portable 100 W solar panel is just about $150 and is meant to last for 20-25 years. Depending upon usage, one can generate the cost of the equipment through saving fuel-powered electricity in a short duration of time, around 1-3 years.

Easy Installation Anywhere

The installation of a traditional solar system may take 3-5 days or more, while portable solar panels require only a few minutes, or in some cases, less than 1 minute to set up. 78% of portable solar users believe that quick setup is one of the main reasons they choose these products.

Most of the foldable portable solar panels on the market are folded in structure. The most common example is the 120 W foldable portable panel, which is 1.2 m x 0.6 m when deployed and folds to just about the size of a briefcase, 45 cm x 35 cm x 5 cm in size, weighing only 4 kg.

In 2023, in the U.S., a photographer used a 200 W portable solar panel with a 1,500 Wh power station. He has said the setup and teardown time on average was less than 2 minutes. From an economic perspective, speedier deployment also directly brings down labor costs. The quick setup features of portable solar modules save 30%-50% in labor for companies.

Some residents reported using portable solar modules and storage power stations for continuous power to light, communicate, and even power medical equipment during the 2020 wildfires in California. Traditional generators have long setup periods, taking several hours or days, while their portable counterparts can be ready in minutes, which may mean the difference between life and death in an emergency.

A family user said that he always has one 100 W portable solar panel and one 500 Wh power station in his house. So, every time there is an unexpected power outage or a peak in using electricity, they are able to assemble and connect to a solar panel in less than 5 minutes.


Off Grid Power Solution

Until now, there are 770 million people in the world without a stable power supply, and portable solar modules are a good method to solve the problem in those areas. In a Kenya project, a nonprofit organization fitted 5,000 households with 120 W portable solar panels and storage devices; this changed the living conditions for those families and helped them bid farewell to the "no power" dilemma, satisfying their basic lighting and phone charging needs.

Traditional RV power systems tend to use an onboard generator, which can be noisy and expensive to fuel, as well as emitting 2.5 kg of CO₂ per hour. Portable solar panels can provide a cleaner and more budget-friendly alternative to these. In sufficient sunlight conditions, a 200 W portable solar panel generates around 1,000 Wh per day, good for over 10 hours in an RV with a refrigerator at 60 W, LED lights at 10 W, and a laptop at 50 W.

In most normal circumstances, the price is about $800-$1,000 for a 100 W portable solar panel and a 500 Wh storage power station system. Working 2 hours every day, these systems have a mean lifetime of 10-15 years and hence an annual electricity cost below $60. By comparison, annual fuel and maintenance costs are typically in the range of $200-$300 when using a diesel generator, and the payback period for portable solar systems is typically 3-5 years, which is much shorter than other off-grid power devices.

The average photovoltaic conversion efficiency of mainstream portable modules has reached 20%-23%. For some high-end products, even over 25% can be achieved, which is much higher compared with traditional fixed solar panels. So far, in the year 2022, the nation encountered upwards of over 150 million hours of blacked-out situations in power service. A family user shared an experience where, in a hurricane-2023 occurrence in the state where the family is staying, it received 72-hour power outages but, due to advanced preparation and using its prepared facility with 1,000 Wh power stations, was able to facilitate basic livabilities.

A rescue team, in 2020, applied portable solar panels to an international rescue operation—powering up medical equipment, communication systems, and water-purifying machinery within the Haiti earthquake disaster zone. Because of it, hundreds of injured people were rescued.

Friendly to Environment

Diesel generators conventionally produce, on average, 2.5-3 kg of CO₂ in an hour. Small home-based generators can emit over 1 ton of CO₂ yearly. On the other hand, portable solar modules emit no carbon dioxide. This alone eliminates about 300 kg of carbon emissions. Should 10% of global users go for portable solar power, that could cut carbon emissions by more than 50 million tons per year, which equals the carbon absorption of 6.2 million hectares of forests.

Traditional generators create 60-90 decibels of noise during operation, while portable solar panels are totally silent, creating almost no noise in the process of power generation.

Traditional fuel generators waste up to 40%-50% of energy, while portable solar panels have a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 20%-25%, achieving almost zero energy loss under optimal sunlight conditions.

The local government in Kenya has powered patrol stations and monitoring systems in the Maasai Mara National Reserve with portable solar devices. Fuel consumption stood at over 2,000 liters a year, spewing huge volumes of carbon emissions and causing massive noise pollution. After using portable solar panels, this number drastically reduced to nearly zero, sparing local wildlife habitats and lessening the safety risk of transporting fuels.

In 2021, a rare winter power outage in Texas left more than 4 million residents in the dark for days in extreme cold. Those who had prepared portable solar panels avoided fuel shortages and used clean energy to power their homes during the blackout.

Recently, thin-film flexible solar panels have hit the market. These new panels are lighter and more transportable while sustaining high power generation efficiency even at low light incidents, hence further reducing energy waste. Recyclable materials have become a material of choice in the manufacture of many portable devices today to minimize environmental impacts at product end-of-life. In fact, recycling of portable modules should exceed the rate of more than 85% by 2030, thereby actively minimizing electronic waste. In contrast, a family using portable solar panels instead of fuel generators saves around €250-€300 in fuel costs annually while reducing CO₂ emissions by approximately 1.2 tons. In the future, the annual growth rate of the portable solar market will be more than 30% and will become an important part of the energy transition worldwide bit by bit.

Reduces Electricity Costs

The average cost of electricity in California is about $0.27/kWh. With this, a family can save approximately $40-$50 a month with the help of portable solar panels generating 5 kWh of power every day, thus translating to over $600 annually. This means that a portable solar system normally costing $1,000 pays for itself in 2 years.

For commercial users, the average electricity cost ranges at $0.14/kWh, but fuel costs may be $0.25-$0.40/kWh. Diesel generators create power at a much greater cost compared to portable solar systems, the latter being just about zero dollars. One such outdoor activity company saved approximately $12,000 a year on fuel and maintenance after switching over to portable solar systems.

Traditional users rely on onboard generators for electricity supply; onboard devices consume about 1 liter of fuel per hour. On the other hand, a portable solar panel, 200 W, produces about 1,000 Wh per day, which can be used to light up the RV, run the refrigerators, chargers, and other devices, and thus replaces all reliance on the generator. It is estimated that a 5 kW diesel generator would normally cost between $1,500-$2,000, with the annual fuel and maintenance costs reaching $500-$800. A portable solar panel + mobile power station system costs a little bit more in initial investment—$2,000-$3,000—but has almost zero daily operating cost since it consumes no fuel. Solar systems have an overall spending of more than 30% on systems when compared to traditional generators and are even safer and more environmentally friendly during power outages.

The power generation efficiency of modern portable solar panels has reached 20%-25%, which is nearly 40% higher than that of 10 years ago. The unit generation cost of portable solar panels has dropped to $0.05-$0.08/kWh, far lower than the cost of traditional fossil fuel power generation.

For example, in Europe, several countries have legislation to grant a purchase subsidy of up to 30% for portable solar equipment, while a few states in the United States offer similar tax credits. The global portable solar devices market is set to reach a value of $8.5 billion by 2030, growing at an over 10% CAGR annually.

Diverse Applications

In case of an emergency, if the family uses a 100 W solar panel, even in case of power outages, it can guarantee the basic lighting, phone charging, and operation of small appliances like refrigerators. It can be equipped with different specifications of solar panels and storage batteries according to household needs.

A portable solar panel, for example, 200 W, is sufficient in an off-grid camping site to provide sufficient power to charge phones, tablets, and lighting devices and drive small electric tools, fans, or refrigerators. In 2017, following Hurricane Harvey in the United States, solar-powered systems electrified over 20,000 homes in power-outage-prone areas.

Within the outdoor activity industry, portable solar systems are fast becoming a common sight. For instance, in the U.S., organizers of the 2019 Coachella music festival employed portable solar power systems to provide electricity for tens of thousands of participants. These devices not only reduced fuel consumption by a large margin but also saved about 30% in energy costs, effectively reducing the carbon footprint of the event.

Different portable solar systems have been installed for water pumps, irrigation equipment, and refrigeration facilities in small farms and by small farmers in countries like Kenya and Uganda. Increased adoption of the technology has cut farmers' production costs by about 20%-30% while increasing crop yields. Portable solar panels and power systems provide flexible and low-cost solutions. Portable solar devices had been extensively used in the high-speed rail construction project in China; 30%-40% of the power requirements of the site were successfully met along with saving colossal fuel costs.

Durable and Weatherproof

Efficient silicon materials and reinforced aluminum alloy housings are the general primary construction materials for solar modules. The modern portable solar modules must pass a series of compression tests and need to bear the wind pressure of 2,400 Pa to 5,400 Pa per square meter. Most of the high-quality portable solar panels can bear multiple instances of vibration and shock during long-term use.

IP65 and IP67 are common protection standards for portable solar modules, which have high levels of waterproof performance. IP65-rated solar panels can effectively prevent water spray, rain, and small water flows from penetrating, while IP67-rated panels are fully waterproof. In the Amazon rainforest of South America, portable solar modules are widely used in off-grid power systems for remote villages.

Besides that, during Arctic expeditions, the portable solar systems were deployed into polar research stations where modules also continue to function normally despite low temperatures over a long period of time.

Equipped with a thermal management system and anti-heat coatings, many of the high-quality portable solar panels work stably even in very hot environments. In the deserts of the Middle East, several successful deployments have taken place, providing power through portable solar systems in remote desert regions. Ultraviolet radiation is one of the major causes of failure in solar modules. Most portable solar panels are treated with high-strength anti-UV varnish to prolong their service life. In the Australian solar market, most portable solar panels have been designed with UV protection that allows them to work for many years under strong sunlight without aging, cracking, or other problems.

These devices require pretty low maintenance and operational costs due to their high durability and weatherproof performance. More than 90% power output can be retained even after 5-10 years of operation by the portable solar modules. Even when working under extreme conditions, a portable solar panel can serve for more than 10 years. Commonly, such devices have warranties of 2-5 years that minimize all hassles about their maintenance and replacement during use.