Portable, solar power generators eliminate the need to integrate a solar charging system into a boat’s current battery and charging system. All can be charged with lightweight panels or shore power.
A boating friend was frustrated. He wanted to add a solar-powered, auxiliary electrical generating system to his pocket cruiser, but every time he followed a promising lead, he found multiple bits and pieces required to make the system work. Add the various upgrades that could improve performance, increase convenience, and bolster reliability and durability, and the result was decision paralysis.
I’ve learned that when the number of potential solutions is greater than two, it’s time to analyze the core aims of any equipment purchase. For a cruising yacht smaller than 30 feet long, the projected power demand is trimmed if you don’t want to operate every electrical appliance under the sun. If the goal is simply to add contemporary electronics and minimal refrigeration for cruising, then the better choices become clearer.
It’s of course possible to install one or more permanent solar panels with an appropriate controller to charge a ship’s service battery or batteries. However, sometimes a different solution makes more sense: the portable solar generator.
Solar generators for auxiliary power are gaining in popularity on small trawlers and cruisers. These generators are lighter, smaller and more economical than even small portable gasoline generators. They’re also greener. When you pare down your electrical demand to the essentials plus, maybe, a few contemporary electronic conveniences, the total daily demand (with the boat’s engines turned off) is well within the capability of economically priced solar-generating setups.
The relatively lightweight units resemble a small portable gasoline generator but do not have an internal engine to drive them. Instead, these units incorporate an internal battery, usually a LiFePO4 unit. There’s also a controller for charging the battery from an external solar panel, and a charger/inverter for charging the battery from shore power. The charger/inverter provides 110-volt power from the internal battery, in addition to 12-volt power for the boat’s direct current and 5.5 volts for electronics such as smartphones and tablets.
Portable solar units can be purchased in a plug-and-play kit with solar panels. Indeed, at least one brand can be ordered with a folding, weather-
resistant, 100-watt solar panel that can be stowed as a roughly 24-inch-square package. It also can be mounted permanently as a 2-by-4-foot panel. Owners who want faster charging can order an additional solar panel. The kits include all of the connectors and cables needed to set everything up.
This approach eliminates the vagaries of having to find guaranteed compatible components to assemble a system. The lightweight (roughly 25 pounds) core unit can be easily moved. And given these solar generators’ growing popularity and availability, pricing is reasonable. A 1-kW unit and solar panel charging kit (including an integrated LiFePO4 battery) is available for less than $800.
Solar generators are an attractive alternative, if for no other reason than eliminating the need to integrate a solar charging system into a boat’s current battery and charging system, which can get complicated with batteries that are flooded lead acid, absorbed glass mat or gel cell. They don’t like to be charged alongside LiFePO4 batteries. With solar generators that have their own battery, simple wiring and switching allows boaters to engage solar power for certain cruising appliances.
Jackery
The Explorer 1000 is a 1,500-watt (2,000-watt surge), 22-pound unit with three AC outlets, dual USB-C ports, USB-A ports and a 12-volt carport. Like many portable solar generators, it comes with pure sine wave inverters, and can be recharged from its folding solar panel array or via a shore power connection. An LCD screen provides real-time power tracking. $999
Georgian Bay Leisure
At just under 17 pounds, the 500-watt unit (approximately $375) from Georgian Bay Leisure’s Off-Grid line has an optional 65-watt folding solar panel array for an additional $135. Its sturdy aluminum housing looks built to last. Like nearly all units, it can be recharged from shore power.
SinKeu
SinKeu’s 600-watt unit (750-watt surge) is priced at less than $200 at big-box retailers. It comes with a 100-watt solar array, an integral charging controller, matched charging cables and a pure sine wave inverter. A variety of output connections are included, but no solar array. Amazon pairs the units with a foldable 40-watt array that costs about $60.
Vtoman
The 1,500-watt Vtoman solar generator (2,300-watt surge) incorporates LiFePO4 batteries for reduced weight (31 pounds) in a compact package, with reported faster charging per watt-hour of capacity. Out-of-the-box features include a 220-watt solar array and multiple output options (three AC outlets, four USB-A ports, two USB-C and DC ports, and one carport). $660
