Brunton Solar Chargers

As technology develops, portable solar panels and solar battery chargers become more efficient and easier to use.

A new result of technological development is the use of thin film solar panels, which contain special metals that are highly efficient in converting solar energy into electricity.

This has made it possible to create a wide range of truly portable light weight solar panels.

The Brunton Solar Charger: Popular Models

One leading company in the field of portable chargers is ASC Scientific, which has developed a product line called the Brunton Solaris.

The Brunton Solaris solar chargers are light-weight, foldable, and easily transported. When folded, they take up no more space than a notepad of sheet of letter-sized paper. Despite its deceptively small size, it is capable of recharging and powering a wide range of small electrical devices, including laptop computers.

The Brunton Solaris 52 Foldable Solar Panel is one of the strongest portable solar chargers on the market. Using thin-film solar technology, it can provide power in virtually any weather, and even in low-light conditions. It is waterproof, and constructed for durability, while remaining lightweight at 3 pounds and 6 ounces. This solar charger can provide up to 52 watts of power, and is suitable for charging laptops, DVD players, cameras, cell phones, and much more. What's more, you can link up to three Brunton Solaris 52 Solar Chargers together, in order to generate even more power.

The Brunton Solaris 26 is capable of recharging the average laptop in 4 to 6 hours. Whereas it will not independently run a laptop, it can be plugged in while you are using your laptop, thus slowing down the drain on your battery and extending your battery working time.

In order to connect a Brunton Solaris 26 solar charger, to power or recharge your laptop, you will need to purchase a 12v (12 volt) cigarette lighter adapter that has been made specifically for your laptop. This can usually be obtained at the same place you purchased your laptop, or it can be ordered from the manufacturer of your laptop. The Solaris 26 comes supplied with a female cigarette lighter adapter, which then connects to the one attached to your laptop. The laptop cigarette lighter adapter supplied by the laptop manufacturer will then convert the electricity supplied by the solar panel into the right strength needed for your laptop.

For more information on Brunton Solaris solar chargers, please see the Brunton Solaris Series.

Brunton SolarRoll 14

A final product that deserves mentioning is the Brunton SolarRoll 14. This is truly on of the most portable, lightweight, and yet rugged solar panels on the market so far.

It produces enough electricity to power a satellite phone, digital camera, iPod, MP3 player and many other electronic devices. What’s more, it's weather-proof and water-proof. It rolls up into a small tube, and weighs only 17 oz (half a kilogram).

This is a solar panel that you can take anywhere. Its also possible to link more than one of them together (also called "daisy-chaining"), although in this case you should use a solar controller in order to safeguard the batteries from overcharging.

For more information on Brunton SolarRoll solar chargers, please see the Brunton SolarRoll Series.

The Brunton SolarFlat 15 Solar Panel does not have the benefit of flexibility, but is still waterproof, and is excellent for use in low-light situations. This solar panel is idea for charging electric fences, RVs, wildlife feeders, tractors, boats, cars, ATVs, and parked vehicles.

Although this solar panel is neither foldable nor rollable, and is not necessarily the ideal equipment to take on a camping trip (the Solaris or SolarRoll would be more suited for that), it's low cost and durability still offers a good solution for providing electricity to devices which are located far from conventional power sources.

Solar Controllers

When using solar panels to recharge batteries, it is important to understand that batteries can be overcharged - resulting in damage to them. To solve this problem you will often need what’s called a Solar Controller.

This is basically a small device that prevents the batteries from overcharging and getting damaged. It also prevents electricity from flowing back from the battery into the solar panels, which could harm the panels themselves. If you have a solar controller connected between the battery and the solar panel, you will not have to worry about overcharging. It will keep your batteries in a fully charged state as long as it is connected.

This is ideal for vehicles or boats which are out of use for a temporary time period, as it will prevent their batteries from going flat. Any device using a 12 volt battery can thus be kept at maximum charge while out of use.

Additional Models

For more information on the different models of Brunton solar chargers, please visit the following pages on this site:

• Brunton SolarRoll Series
• Brunton Solaris Series
• Brunton SolarFlats Series

Solar Power Store

You can also visit our Solar Power Store to find a wide variety of Brunton solar power products, additional solar battery chargers, and other portable solar power equipment.