Solar Generators & Power at Night
As the sun sets, traditional solar sources may go offline but solar generators are different; they don’t. Unclear explanations on the internet leave many wondering why that is, or if the information they’re reading is correct. I realized this when I was shopping for my solar generator years ago. This article will clear up any confusion about using solar generators at night, providing clarity for campers, homeowners, and/or any emergency preparedness advocates seeking reliable power, day or night, for either convenience or necessity.
Do Solar Generators Work at Night?
Yes, solar generators do work at night. While solar generators aren’t able to charge themselves back up with solar panels at night to replenish the energy used, all the energy stored in them is still readily available to use at night. This means you can use your solar generator to power or charge the same devices at night as you could during the day.
If I had found a resource with 3-4 years of camping experience with a solar generator at the time, I would’ve made a different purchasing decision. All the research I conducted before I purchased my own solar generator provided me with conflicting information written by salespeople, corporate blogs, or YouTubers that never left the garage with their solar generators.
I repeatedly saw Reddit and Quora answers mislabeling solar generators and providing inaccurate information about what they can and cannot do, mostly from people that I know now, never used one outside of their bedroom.
How Does a Solar Generator Work at Night?
To understand how a solar generator works at night we need to quickly understand what a solar generator is and is not.
The name “solar generator” is a misleading marketing term. While still incredibly useful, a solar generator does not generate anything, it stores electricity like a battery. It is a battery, typically lithium-ion, but with a few bells and whistles that make it a lot more useful than just a giant AA, especially when camping or in an off grid/loss of power situation.
https://www.energy.gov/eere/solar/how-does-solar-work
Unlike a normal battery, a solar generator can be charged several different ways:
AC Outlet
DC Outlet
Solar Panels
One way is by plugging it into the wall of your home, an AC outlet.
Another way is by plugging it into a DC port, like a cigarette lighter port in your vehicle.
And the third way is by plugging them into solar panels, this is why companies have turned to marketing these batteries as “solar generators.”
The reason why solar generators do work at night is because all batteries work at night, you may not be able to charge them by using solar panels at night, but you can access the energy in the batteries just as well at night as you can during the day.
The exact means of using the battery, during the day or night, does depend on the solar generator you purchase.
Some will have AC Outlets on them, some will have USB ports on them, and some will have DC ports on them. Most nowadays have some combination of all three. Mine, for instance, which was purchased a few years ago has three AC Outlets, four USB ports, and two DC ports.
An equivalent model of the same wattage and amps runs about $150 bucks.
Do Solar Generators Need the Sun?
No, solar generators do not need sunlight to work or to charge. Solar generators can be charged three different ways: by AC, by DC, or by solar panels. Like any other battery, solar generators don’t need the Sun with to turn on. As stated above, solar generators don’t even necessarily need solar panels to charge; they can be charged by AC or DC means instead.
Tips: How I Maximize Nighttime Power Availability with the Solar Generator
1. Something we’ve learned to do to have as much power as possible at night is to use of solar generator all throughout the day.
This is when you can utilize the solar panels, you should be utilizing them as much as possible.
2. If the solar generator is fully charged, use it to fully charge other small devices like small portable power banks, cell phones, tablets, etc.
We try to make sure everything’s always 100% charged during daytime as this is when the solar generator is always plugged into solar panels anyway. If we can charge up every device during the day, and the solar generator has still had time to charge itself back up by the time the Sun is setting, you can use your solar generator for more power hungry jobs like keeping a fridge cool or fans running in the summer, or electric blankets warming through the winters.
I’ve seen people utilize their solar generator not just for a fridge like we do, but for a movie projector on the side of their camper for their kids. I was a little jealous.
3. Another way to maximize the amount of power your solar generator has for the night is to charge your smart devices while they are turned off.
When you plug a smartphone or a tablet into a power source, like a wall outlet or a solar generator, your device doesn’t just charge its battery, it uses the power source for all of its power needs. So you’re not just using your solar generator to charge your phone, you’re also using it to run your phone. This uses several times more electricity than you need just to charge it to 100%.
If you’re not using the device while it’s charging, go ahead and turn it off and it’ll charge quicker while using less energy from the solar generator.
This may not seem like much, but smartphones nowadays can use up to 18-20 watts of power.
What I Use My Solar Generator at Night For
As I’ve stated I’ve had my solar generator for the past 3 to 4 years, I’ve camped with its roughly 10 times each year.
Some of these trips have been two or three day weekend trips, some of these have been long holiday weekend trips. And a few have been cross country over 7 day long camping trips.
I brought my solar generator with me each time and use it every night for different reasons depending on the type of trip or time of the year. I most consistently use the solar generator to power lights at night. Having a large battery backup to run small lights like LED string lights or to recharge a rechargeable headlamp or lantern is one of the most practical and consistent uses of it.
We’ve also winter camped and brought it into the tent with us. A few times we’ve tent camped in temperatures in the mid 20s – 30s Fahrenheit. We use sleeping bags good down to 40° F, but also utilize electric blankets that plug into USB ports. Small portable power banks aren’t enough to run two electric blankets all night without dying, so having a solar generator stay on throughout the night when the temperature is in the 20s° F has been essential to being able to sleep throughout the night.
A more obvious use has been to keep phones charged at night in case of emergencies, but a more fun use has been to keep a portable Bluetooth speaker running as well. If we’re around camp throughout the day, the bluetooth speaker usually dies a few hours after dark. With a solar generator, you’re able to charge it back up at night.
The biggest impact however, especially in terms of pure wattage needed, has been being able to run a 12 volt fridge throughout the days and nights. We charge the solar generator during the day in the DC Port while driving, or by the solar panels while at camp, and try to make sure that generator is charged up every night once the sun goes down. We can then use the energy that was collected throughout the day to keep the fridge running throughout the night. In the morning, we take the solar panels back out and start charging the solar generator back up again.
For more info on how the 12v fridge works with the solar generator, and its own battery, check out the post here:
Can You Run Solar Generators at Night in a Campground?
Yes, you can run solar generators at night in campgrounds. Most campground signage and rules haven’t caught up to the times and will include language such as “No Generator Use After 10:00 p.m.”
This language applies to noisy generators such as gas, diesel, and propane generators. As we discussed above, solar generators are just batteries, and batteries make no noise. The most noise a solar generator will make will come from the fan inside. If too much power is being drawn from the generator at once, a small fan might kick on to help cool down the components inside. This fan will be about as loud as a laptop fan when your laptop gets too hot and would not be heard from more than 5 or 10 ft away. Because solar generators make no noise and produce no exhaust, solar generators can be run all night without disturbing anyone or breaking any campground rules.
Conclusion
Now that you understand that solar generators do work at night, you can probably see exactly how and why other information online is often inaccurate. Many think solar generators are tied to solar panels, meaning if the solar panels can’t be used, neither can the solar generator.
You now know this isn’t the case; solar panels and solar generators can be used together, but they don’t have to.
Other sources online say you can’t use them at night because they assume you’re camping and they know campgrounds don’t allow generator usage at night. These sources don’t understand that solar generators are not the same as the normal gas generators; they do not produce any noise or exhaust. Now that you know the difference and understand how and why solar generators can work at night, you can begin to weed out your information sources, knowing some of those sources are not always as well-informed as they would like you to believe.
If you find the cost of a solar generator is bit too high for you, check out my blog post here on how to do the same, for a few hundred dollars cheaper!
Happy camping!
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