How to choose, size, and get the most from portable solar — plus our top panel and power station combo picks.
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Portable solar isn't one-size-fits-all. Your use case determines how much wattage you need and what features matter most.
Weekend trips to sites without hookups. You need enough power for lights, phone charging, a portable speaker, and maybe a camera. Portability and weight are top priorities.
40–100W recommendedFull-time or extended travel where you run a 12V fridge, laptop, lighting, and occasionally a fan or small appliance. A 200–400W portable array supplements or replaces shore power.
200–400W recommendedGrid outages from storms, wildfires, or ice events. Keep phones charged, run a CPAP machine, power a medical device, or keep the fridge cold for 24–48 hours.
200–500W recommendedCharging house batteries on sailboats, pontoons, or fishing boats. Marine environments demand IP-rated connectors and corrosion-resistant frames. Semi-flexible panels work well on curved surfaces.
100–200W recommendedSeasonal or permanent cabins without grid connection. A semi-permanent portable array (400W+) paired with a large power station or battery bank can cover most basic loads year-round.
400W+ recommended4WD expeditions, overlanding, or hunt camps where you need to charge action cameras, GPS devices, satellite communicators, and a fridge while parked off-grid for days at a time.
100–200W recommendedFour steps to figure out exactly how much panel and battery capacity you need — from my guessing or estimates.
Find the wattage of each device you plan to run (check the label or adapter brick). Note how many hours per day you'll actually use it. Use the reference table below as a starting point — real-world numbers vary by device age and model.
Multiply each device's watts by hours of use, then add them all up. That's your daily energy need in watt-hours. Example: a 50W laptop for 4 hours = 200 Wh. Add 27 Wh for phone charging and you're at 227 Wh/day.
Peak sun hours vary by location and season — typically 4–6 hours/day in most of the US. Divide your daily Wh by peak sun hours to get your minimum panel wattage. 227 Wh ÷ 5 hours = 45.4W. But panels aren't 100% efficient in real-world conditions, so divide again by 0.8: 45.4 ÷ 0.8 = 57W minimum.
Multiply your minimum panel size by 1.25 for the final recommended panel wattage. For the power station (battery), aim for 1.5³2 ÷ your daily Wh so you have a cloudy-day buffer. Our calculator below does all this math automatically.
| Device | Watts | Hours/Day | Daily Wh |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laptop | 46–65W | 4 hrs | 180–260 Wh |
| Phone charging | 18W | 1.5 hrs | 27 Wh |
| LED lights | 10W | 5 hrs | 50 Wh |
| Mini fridge | 40–80W | 8 hrs | 320–640 Wh |
| CPAP machine | 30–60W | 8 hrs | 240–480 Wh |
| Small TV | 30–50W | 3 hrs | 90–150 Wh |
| Drone charging | 60–100W | 1 hr | 60–100 Wh |
Check the devices you use daily and we'll recommend the right panel and power station size.
The most popular portable solar combo — 1,002\\Wh station with 200W panel. Charges to 80% in under an hour with solar.
2,000Wh LFP battery + 200W ETFE panel. LFP means 3, 500 cycles — over 9 years of daily use.
505Wh station + 100W panel. App monitoring, very portable at 12.9 lbs.
X-Stream tech charges 1,024Wh from 0-100% in ~1 hr via AC. Bifacial 220W panel boosts output.
Use our free savings calculator to see what a rooftop system could save you over 25 years.
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