Review on VITCOCO 16W Foldable Solar Phone Charger with 2 USB Ports & Display Function - Solar Charger | Ideal for iPhone, iPad, Android, Power Bank | Waterproof & Portable for Outdoor Camping by Rebecca Flores

I think this is one of the most affordable panels that actually comes with a DC connector. Most other panels in this category typically cost over $100 for reasonable output. Although I have a comparable 28W solar panel, I specifically wanted it with a DC connector so I can charge my higher voltage devices (i.e. I have a power supply that draws 2-3A from a wide voltage range of 5V - 5V pulls). 20V). Since my old solar panel can only output 5V USB, the maximum charging power was limited to about 10W (because the power supply only draws 2.1A at 5V). A higher voltage solar panel means I can charge my battery faster without wasting much of the energy generated by the panels. strong, otherwise you tear the tongue off the device - which I don't think is that important). It also has a pair of carabiners so you can attach the panel to a backpack or other item. It also has a USB-A to Micro USB cable and a built-in 5.5*2.1mm DC plug cable that cannot be removed in the back pocket. There is also a small LED display in the back pocket that shows the voltage and current of the USB ports. . There is no DC output. If the solar radiation is too low, the display shows "vLo" and the USB outputs can be disabled. As expected, the USB ports are regulated (5.25V - the ports are recognized as a 2.4A Apple charger), while the DC port is not regulated. This is extremely important because, unlike USB ports, the DC port does not output a regulated voltage of 12V, but rather an unregulated voltage of around 15.5V, with the voltage dropping as the current increases (see current curve above). . The voltage doesn't really drop to 12V until the current reaches about 1.5A. As you can see, once the current reaches 1.5A (which is the lowest tolerance my battery is ready to charge), there is a sharp drop in voltage to 4.3V. Note that the curve is built outdoors. on a sunny day outdoors with the solar panel facing the sun and slightly tilted towards the object (30 degrees). The power output is greatly affected by the intensity of the sunlight and what exactly you are loading. For example, on a partly cloudy day, the moving shadows of a cloud can significantly affect the result. Even simply moving your hand over the panel leads to a temporary drop in performance. When the solar panel is flat or wrongly pointed at the sun, it typically loses about 4-6 watts of power compared to its most optimal state. If you're hoping to use this indoors, the window itself can also hamper performance. you can get. I've tested this panel in a variety of conditions, and here's the realistic max power output you're most likely to get (note you won't get anywhere near 29W unless you can expose it to intense sunlight). : Sunny day outdoors in summer on a patio table tilted about 30 degrees up (no clouds at 11 am in California): 19.5 WS Same as above but facing the sun in the opposite direction: 14 WS Same as taller but flat: 12.5 WS Single pane window (sunny day, direct sunlight): 14.5 W Single pane window (cloudy): 4 W have special coatings that filter out certain spectrums of light useful for power generation. So while the light may appear intense, the energy production through the window is greatly reduced, especially when using a double glazed window. A single pane window with no coating should not suffer much, although there will be some performance loss due to the attenuation created by the glass window. Depending on what you want to charge, you may need a regulator for safety and efficiency. . Since the voltage is usually quite high (sometimes it can go as high as 16V for short periods), it's usually not safe to connect 12V devices without some sort of voltage regulator. However, large power supplies designed for DC charging can usually charge over a wide voltage range, and a solar panel works well for these devices. My PSU is an exception as it generally likes to draw >2A of current from the PSU instead of dropping the current when the voltage drops (which many devices do). In these cases, the voltage drops to the minimum voltage your device can handle and this can result in very slow charging speeds. To fix this drop I used a couple of adapters as well as a small DC -> QC. Buck converter (this is very handy as it allows you to convert the raw DC voltage into different types of fast charge based protocols that can be used/recognized by your devices). This buck converter has a minimum operating voltage of about 9.8V, and the built-in nature of the buck converter prevents the source voltage from dropping too much by slowing down the output side. Since my QC battery recognizes 9V as a possible charging algorithm, it can charge with 9V @ 16W. The regulator adds a small power loss to the equation, although it provides a smoother output and is much faster than charging at 4.2V, giving only 6-7W of total power. Charging at 16W to fill my half-depleted 28000mAh battery usually takes around 3-4 hours, especially in the midday sun. I also have larger battery packs that require 19V to charge and won't work with this smaller pad, but that's enough for now.