Solar Battery Charging For Cars & Trucks

Solar pv panels, also called 'solar modules' or 'solar battery chargers' are used to prevent flat batteries in all types of cars, trucks or motorhomes. A flat battery will be permanently damaged if left for a long time in a discharged state, often needing expensive replacement.

Vehicle starting batteries go flat when left for long periods of time. This process is called 'natural discharge'. In most vehicles, battery discharge will occur at about 10% to 25% per month - high temperatures accelerate the process.

With the increase in 'high power' vehicle alarm and tracking systems - many performance, collectors or low mileage vehicles have a struggle to keep up with the drain on the battery. Fitting a solar battery charger is an effective solution.

Small solar pv panels can be used to keep the vehicle battery 'topped up'. For most cars, solar panel wattages of around 5w work well in the UK. Trucks & lorries have larger batteries and are therefore likely to need a 10w solar panel. 24v vehicle batteries can be charged using two 12v solar battery chargers, wired in series.

Our range of high specification flexible solar battery chargers are ideal for use in cars, as they have no sharp edges and take up virtually no room in the vehicle. These flexible chargers are also at least 3x more powerful than the cheap rigid glass & plastic solar chargers available from car accessory shops, which are normally rated at 1.5w or less.

A solar battery charger is normally arranged in the front or rear windscreen, in a position which gets good light exposure. Tinted and reflective windows reduce the amount of light and so these vehicles need to use a larger panel to compensate for the losses.

If the vehicle is garaged, it is often possible to mount a solar panel on the roof of the building, ensuring that the panel gets good levels of light. The solar battery charger plugs into the car electrics either via the cigarette lighter socket, or attaches directly to the battery.

If you plan to connect the solar charger via the cigarette lighter socket, please check that the vehicle's power socket is "live" when the ignition is "off", otherwise you will require a slight modification to your wiring to allow the panel to charge when the keys aren't in the ignition. Alternatively, the solar battery charger can easily be connected to any other "permanently live" circuit in the vehicle.

A solar 'charge controller' can be used to prevent any risk of overcharging, although often they are not necessary due to the low wattage of the solar panel. However, if the car battery is unusually small (below 60AH) or the solar panel is more powerful (above 10w) a solar controller should be considered.

Trucks, lorries & trailers which have tail-lifts or tracking systems can also benefit from solar pv panels to help keep the battery charged. Please contact our system design team to discuss your situation.

Please see our online store for details of flexible solar panels & battery charging devices.