A Flexible Solar Panel:
Roll Up For Portable Power

A flexible solar panel makes solar power a lot easier to take with you.

Just roll it up like a poster and bring it along if you're heading to the beach, camping, boating, or RVing.

(If you don't like rolling things and would rather do some folding, check out our page on folding solar panels.)

Traditional solar panels are an incredible invention and a great source of power but they're not very portable.

For a solar panel to be portable it has to use one of the thin-film solar panel technologies like amorphous silicon or CIGS.

These panels are less efficient than traditional solar panels but they are also:

In other words: They are perfect for portable power to recharge your gadgets or keep your battery topped up.

While camping, just unroll your panel in a sunny spot or throw it over your tent and keep your ipod, cell phone, or laptop charged and ready to go.

If you're boating you can unroll a flexible panel on the deck or even wrap it around a mast and keep your battery charged. The panels can be fastened by their corner grommets, or secured with double-faced tape or Velcro strips.

The power available in a rollable panel ranges from 4.5 watts to 28 watts. The smaller panels are great for ipods and cell phones while the larger units can power your laptop or keep your marine battery charged.

Most of these roll up panels are waterproof and very durable but check the specs to make sure they will meet your specific needs.

Here are a few flexible solar panel makes and models:

• SolarRoll by Brunton
  • SolarRoll 4.5 (4.5 watts)
    Great for charging small electronics like cell phones and PDA’s
  • SolarRoll 9 (9 watts)
    Perfect for running cell phones and charging digital and video cameras
  • SolarRoll 14 (14 watts)
    Great for running satellite phones and charging laptops
  
  
• PowerFilm
  • PowerFilm R-7
  • PowerFilm R-14
  • PowerFilm R-21
  • PowerFilm R-28
  
  
• Sunsei Flex
  • SF-600 (7 watts)
  • SF-1200 (14 watts)