The most popular portable solar panel systems have to be the 12 volt system. Due to their sizes, they may not provide enough heat to warm your entire house, but they do offer more than enough energy to run your portable devices and recharge them. Like their much larger counterparts, they run better under direct and full exposure to the sun but obviously require more time to generate the same amount of electricity. They will also run on cloudy and rainy days, but not on indoor lighting. However, development of solar panels which work under indoor lighting is in progress and will be available to the market within an estimated 4 to 5 years.

Portable solar panels provide great convenience to people with lots of outdoor activities. They, however, need to be handled with enough care, just like any other technical devices.

1. Make sure your panel has built-in regulator.

The built-in regulator is able to control that the panel only generate the amount of energy that is required by the devices being recharged. This is a feature that all superior portable solar panels have, and it eliminates the risk of overcharging which may well destroy the device being recharged.

2. Avoid folding solar cells

In reality, portable panel systems are foldable and thus can be put into a big pocket or purse with ease. But the solar cells themselves are far from being foldable. It is exact the same case as a weight belt: it is flexible, but that's only because the fabric they are attached to is flexible. Similarly, in case of solar panels, the fabric which holds them is foldable, thus allowing for the cells to fold with them.

Therefore, be wary of mishandling the solar panels. They may be advertised as being durable, hardy and waterproof, but under no circumstances should you fold the cells themselves, or pierce or poke them with anything sharp.

3. Do not use your panel to charge a regular battery

This may sound too obvious, but many people are still doing it. So, bear in mind that your panel only works for rechargeable batteries.

4. Buy customized connector for your panel

Equipment for connections should be bought separately as they aren't provided. The recharging plugs in your devices should have customized connectors for them.

5. "Trickle charge" your car to make sure its battery is full

In case you plan to trickle charge your car, or snowmobile battery or boat, battery clips are essential. The portable solar panel is to be situated in such a place so that it gets the maximum amount of sunlight, after which it is to be plugged in to the cigarette lighter socket or the clips are to be attached to the battery. This really comes in handy when the temperature is really low, and you need to keep your car parked for indefinite periods of time.

Compared to grid electricity and the likes, portable solar panels are an expensive alternative, but they are very useful if you camp outside for long intervals of time, or like hiking or working inside your car. In addition, they are invaluable as backup systems during power failures.