Solar Power 101: Overlanding Basics (Types of Solar Panels, How it Works, Uses for Overlanders)

The All Things Overlanding Podcast

In this week's episode of the podcast, I'm going to run you through the basics of solar power and it's uses for overlanding. I see people asking lots of questions in overlanding and camping groups and forums, so while I'm no electrician, I've been using solar for the last 4 or 5 years and I've learned a lot.

I was in the same place as a lot of us 5 years ago where solar seemed really intimidating and scary, but once I got into it, it's really pretty straightforward and there are so many valuable uses that it's a powerful tool for your overlanding build.

As I mention in the video, here are a couple of helpful links to related articles that may help if you're getting started in solar.

Mono vs. Poly: Solar Cells Comparison: https://sunvivalguide.com/amorphous-vs-monocrystalline-vs-polycrystalline-solar-panel/

Solar calculator: https://mowgli-adventures.com/rv-solar-calculator/

And here are some of the solar products I've used over the years that I liked:

The first 100W Renogy Solar panel with controller that I ran on my Xterra ($130 and includes panel, controller, and cords): https://amzn.to/42YED7p

Odyssey AGM Starter battery (ran this in both my Xterra and again in my Frontier-if you're not in a Nissan truck, verify the battery size for your application): https://amzn.to/3SYXnyP

I built a portable power bank on the cheap using this battery (100AH LifePo4): https://amzn.to/3T0a9gC

And I put that battery in a pre-made battery box for tons of capacity for around $300 total: https://amzn.to/3Ifwpyj

If you have a solar panel, but want a decent budget controller to allow you to hook it up to a battery, this one is great and it's $18: https://amzn.to/3P0oQzh

Or, if you want a better MPPT controller, this one is under $70 and has bluetooth connectivity and a phone app: https://amzn.to/3TdyZuK

Here's that Allpowers power bank and it comes with a 200 watt flexible panel (I'm going to mount mine to the top of my RTT for about $500 total including the power bank and the solar panel): https://amzn.to/49Tkfqi