Get up to 50% more out of your Adventure Kings solar panel with these expert tips.

First, you need to have them constantly pointed at the sun.

• Angle them up and down depending on time of day. In the mornings it’ll be closer to 60degrees, and at midday when the sun is at its highest, your panel will be much more flat.
• In summer when the sun is higher, your panels will need to be flatter than in winter.
• Adjust them every few hours to keep tracking the sun all day.

Second, you’ve got to keep your panels clean!
Dirt on the panels creates shadows that affect your output more than you’d think – between 20 and 50% in some research!

• To clean your panels, use water and a cloth – abrasive cleaning products or detergent will scratch the glass or leave streaks that’ll cause efficiency losses.
• A quick 30 second wipe down every morning and your panels can gain back that lost efficiency – Easy!

The last tip is to choose a panel that suits you – it’s not always the case that bigger is better as it means it’s harder to lug around or takes up more space on your roof. As an example for choosing the best panel to suit your needs:

• Fridge 24 hours per day, 1A/H = 24A/H
• Camp lights on 4 hours, 2A/H = 8A/H
• Inverter used 15 minutes total for 1000watts = 20A/H

TOTAL: 52AH per day

The Adventure Kings 160Watt panel has peak output just under 9Amps. Assuming 10 hours of sunlight, you’ll get up to 90A/H per day – plenty to cover your usage and keep your deep cycle battery charged.

To do this you’ll need to work out the power use of your accessories and appliances and then look at the output of solar panels. Using a fridge 24 hours a day, some camp lights and even an inverter is easily covered by the Adventure Kings 160 watt panel. With a peak output of 8.75 Amps, in ideal conditions, over a full 12 hours of daylight you could expect up to 100 Amp hours per day being recharged into your battery.

That’s easily enough to run two fridges 24 hours a day, plus your camp lights, even charge your devices and run your 240 volt appliances with an inverter for 10 minutes or more.

Whatever you do, the biggest tip is to make sure you shop around and find a solar panel that suits your particular requirements. Look for a panel with a built in solar regulator, particularly if your dual battery charger doesn’t have an inbuilt regulator. Then it’s as simple as pointing it at the sun and then using the alligator clamps to connect it to your battery.