Results

I bought the 5watt solar panel made by SunForce. After doing some research I knew I was going to buy this product, but wanted to ask the manufacturer (SunForce) some technical questions. I sent them two emails requesting technical assistance and neither of them got answered. Although they have horrible email skills, the 5watt trickle charger is a pretty decent product for the money.


We all know solar panels consume energy from the sun. Well, this 5watt trickle charger claims to work in cloudy skies - so of course this was my first test. What SunForce claims, is true, I don't know how exactly this works in grey overcast skies but it works, and it works well!


I did read allot of posts on the internet and everyone swears the 12v cigarette adapter does not work if you shut the car off. Here is what I found. If you plug in something like your GPS which has a green LED to indicate power, you will find that while the cars ignition in in the ON position the green LED will light up, and as soon as you take the key out that LED goes dark. So yes, the 12v adapter looses power when the key is out of the ignition. HOWEVER, if your plugging a solar panel in the 12v adapter, you WILL power your dashboard. I can leave my keys in my pocket, plug in the 12v solar panel and listen to the radio, its powerful enough to spin the CD, run the venting fans, and light up the dashboard.


Did you ever have a passenger that needed to run in a store for anything and you just wanted to wait in the car? Well you don't want to leave your car running because now your wasting gas, and we all know gas is cash. So, you turn the engine off. Now your killing your battery trying to listen to the radio. Problem solved.


Although the main purpose for this solar panel is to increase miles per gallon. Having a 5watt trickle charger connected directly to a 12volt battery does not increase you MPG. At least I haven't noticed a huge increase. But, when you leave your car sitting for several hours the battery slowly looses its stored power. Now when you turn your car on, the IMA battery first has to charge up, once it does it then replenishes the power to the 12volt battery. When this occurs it takes power away from the IMA battery, and thats what we want to keep charged since that is were the giant increase in MPG is. So the less the IMA battery has to charge the 12v, the more energy I am saving which can be used instead to propel the car forward.


With my driving habits, and a terrain with allot of hills, I typically get 360-365 miles per 8 1/2 to 9 gallons of gas, using the cheap 87 octain gas. Same driving habits, same hilly terrain, same gas station on those 8 1/2 to 9 gallons of gas I am now getting 375-380 miles. On both tanks of gas the weather was in the same average temperature of 45*-50*. I am aware that hotter weather also increases MPG so I made sure to check that, I didn't want anything to throw off any results. Now is this increase in miles per tank of gas a direct result due to the addition of 5watts? I have no proof other than my observations. Could a really good defense attorney rip me apart in a court of law telling me I am wrong? YEP!


If you are planning on purchasing a solar panel to do something like this. Here are some things you need to look for. Check the wire running to the solar panel, make sure it is not hot, if this even feels warm to the touch then disconnect it immediately before you cause permanent damage. Also, the 12volt adapter has a fuse in it, be sure to check that often, if this fuse blows, there is a problem somewhere do not just replace the fuse find out why it blew. Finally, check your cars fusebox and make sure that 12volt fuse did not blow.


My Conclusion
I "believe" the addition of solar panels connected to the 12v battery is saving me gas money. I got this shipped to me for about $50 bucks, and will make my money back after 6 tanks of gas maybe sooner if prices continue to rise. I am also looking forward to the results once the temperatures rise and everyone drives around with the air conditioner on. I feel this solar panel is strong enough to power the cars AC.