Many have concluded that a portable battery power station is a smart investment these days for home backup in the event of a power outage. This is a scenario that seems to be happening more and more as more and more areas are affected by bad weather A portable battery power station is also a valuable accessory to have if you are a camper. With one, you don't have to rely on electrical outlets to use amenities like fans, coffee makers, or to keep your gear charged.
But what to do if there is no electricity for a long time? When this battery runs out, you have to find an electrical outlet or a car to recharge it. However, there is a third option: solar power.
When my kids were young, we went camping and I brought along the first generation of portable solar panels to charge our trailer's batteries. It was literally a point charge because although it was big and heavy (it used a lot of glass and metal), the solar panels weren't that efficient at converting sunlight into electricity. That has changed a lot, as evidenced by the Ugreen 200W portable solar panel I just tested. It weighs less than 20 pounds, comes with a handle for easy carrying, plugs directly into Ugreen's portable power stations, and is capable of delivering up to 200 watts of power.
establishment
The installation of this portable solar panel is quite easy. It folds up easily for easy transport and storage with a convenient plastic handle with magnetic closure, and magnetic closure on built-in stands to keep things organized.
To install, unfold the four sections (each with its own stand) towards the sun. It forms a substantial panel about eight feet wide. Ugreen includes a handy heliostat on the front of the panel to help you set the angle of the panel correctly. On the back is a sealed XT60 port. Connect the included XT60 to the AXT60 cable and plug it into one of PowerRoam's power stations (like the PowerRoam 1200 I recently tested) and you're good to go. At this point, everything depends on the sun.
The construction of ETFE almost looks like a thick plate, but it is actually plastic. It's IP67 waterproof, so a few splashes won't hurt it, but the panel shouldn't be left out in the rain.
Ugreen solar panels work
Ugreen actually offers kits with one or two of these 200W solar panels along with a power station, or you can buy the panels alone for $499. With limited space, I created a panel. I was working from home and spent a lot of time on zoom calls, so I wasn't able to move the panels to optimize their placement, but the solar panels still performed impressively.
I used the Ugreen mobile app to monitor the power output of the solar plant and I saw a maximum of 121W. In 16 hours (much of that time in the shade because the sun was behind the tall pines behind my property), the PowerRoam 1200's 1024 watt-hour battery reached 65% charge. Two panels will easily charge it fully in less time. If I was on top of the panel moving with the sun, I would probably get a 100% charge as well.
It should be noted that these panels still produce power even under cloud cover, although less than in full sun.
The thing is, with a solar panel like this you are effectively off the grid to keep your battery powered power plant charged. This will be especially useful when walking…
Key Features of Ugreen 200W Solar Panel
- Monocrystalline silicon solar panels with up to 23% conversion efficiency.
- A heliostat is fitted for optimal sunlight alignment
- Portable and compact design with handles and integrated stand
- ETFE construction with IP67 water resistance
- Operating temperature ranges from 14℉ to 140℉
- Includes solar panel, XT60 to XT60 2m cable, XT60 to MC-4 4.9m cable
- Folded size 25.2 x 21.3 x 2.7 inches, weight 18.7 pounds
- Unfolded dimensions are 93.7 x 21.3 x 1.2 inches
- MSRP $499
Recommend Ugreen 200W Solar Panel
The Ugreen 200W Portable Solar Panel is a great option to keep your portable battery power station charged without plugging it into an electrical outlet. Whether it's during extended power outages or camping in the wilderness, it's liberating not to rely on the grid to keep your devices powered up and running.
This solar panel is designed to work great with Ugreen's EasyRoam power stations, including the EasyRoam 1200. You can use it with any other brand of power station, but be careful of the solar input ports as you will need an adapter for your control unit. Doesn't work. Get one with an XT60 or MC-4 input
If you really want to increase your charging capacity and reduce your charging time, you might want to invest in some of these 200W panels. On the other hand, if you think the $499 price tag is too high, you have the option to buy the 100 W model at a much lower price, you won't have the same charging speed, but at least you can recharge station every day.
Disclosure: Ugreen provided the solar panels for review but did not participate in this review.
