Solar Laptop Chargers

For the last few years I've been keeping my eyes open for a solar charger setup that would allow me to recharge and run my laptop.

Whereas there were solar panels available that would do the job, they were of such size and weight that they defeated the purpose of even having a laptop to begin with.

After all, if you own a laptop and want to power it with a solar panel, this does imply that you are hoping for a certain amount of mobility. Lugging 50 pounds of solar equipment around does not exactly fit the bill, in my opinion.

But a few years ago, a company called ASC Scientific came out with a product line called Brunton Solaris. This product line consists of units of foldable solar panels.

As its name implies, this foldable solar panel is capable of generating 52 Watts of power, in ideal conditions. This is actually enough to run a few laptops - especially if they are operating in low-energy-consumption modes. Minimally, this charger will significantly reduce the drain on laptop batteries, thus dramatically increasing the length of time you can operate your laptop before its batteries go dead.

The Brunton Solaris 52 is capable of fully recharging your laptop batteries within a reasonable amount of time, so this is definitely a breakthrough.

This still leaves a few problems and inconveniences, however. First of all, as the weather does change, you are not always guaranteed to have ideal charging conditions. And it charging a laptop late in the day can pose a problem, since evenings tend to be periods of low light.

Furthermore, while I might want my solar panel to collect solar energy, that doesn't necessarily mean that I want to sit next to it collecting solar energy myself (in the form of a sunburn). So how do I get around this?

Well the Brunton Solo Power Battery was just released.

When fully charged, the strongest Brunton Solo Power Battery will provide several hours of power to your laptop. (There are several varieties which provide different amounts of electricity.) And as it is designed by Brunton, it is also compatible with Brunton solar panels. You can therefore recharge your Brunton Solo Power Battery straight from your solar panels.

This leaves you with several options. You can recharge or run your laptop directly from the Solo Power Battery, at any time. You don't need to sit next to your solar panels while you are charging your equipment. You can also recharge your battery back-up during the day (using the solar panel), and recharge your laptop during the night, from your Solo Power Battery.

An additional advantage of the Solo Power Battery is that it can be recharged from a regular wall socket or from the cigarette-lighter socket of your vehicle.

With these three power options available (solar power, vehicle, or wall socket) you are not likely to be stuck without power, in any situation.

I've focused mainly on the use of solar power to keep laptops running in off-grid situations. But the addition of the Solo Power Battery to any setup makes for solutions to just about any power situation.

Even if you don't need solar energy, you might still use the Solo Power Battery by itself. You could recharge it from a vehicle or from a wall socket, and then use it to add several hours of running-time to your laptop when you are away from your vehicle and not near a power outlet. This might work for a day at the beach or at the park, for example, should you choose to keep working on your computer while your kids play in the grass or the waves.

Of course this solution is by no means limited to laptops. This set-up can provide virtually unlimited power for a cell phone or satellite phone, as well as a host of other gadgets you might need to operate in the field.

If you need more information on solar power for laptops, beyond what you find in this lens, you can refer to our page on Solar Chargers for Laptops.

Looking for more information? Search our network of lenses on solar power and solar chargers. We aim to make these subjects as easy-to-understand as possible, and we may just have what you are looking for. Type your search term below and give us a shot!