Hi, we really want to visit a campsite which has no electric hook ups. The generators need to be off by 10pm and our biggest problem is to keep the tent warm as we have two small children. What would be best for us to get to use with portable heaters - I have looked at portable solar panels but not sure if the would work? Anyone has any experience or could advice what would work best? Many thanks
Solar panels only work in the sunlight. Then you need to store the energy in a battery bank.
Heating will consume a lot of energy very quickly. So you will need a lot of batteries.
If your looking at gas heaters then make sure you have decent ventilation and use Carbon Monoxide alarms.
Been several deaths attributed to that in tents over the past few years.
Personally i would spend the money on better sleeping bags and the correct clothing.
Excellent advice already given and I concur that extra bedding and warm PJs is the way to go as you can really only expect to run heating appliances with mains hook up.
Yes, good advice, but I must disagree with "If your looking at gas heaters then make sure you have decent ventilation and use Carbon Monoxide alarms."
My advice is don't even consider gas heaters, even with CO detectors.
Hydrocarbon fuels, whether gas, petrol, paraffin etc need oxygen to burn, so CH (with a few numbers after each letter depending on the type of fuel) plus O can produce not only highly dangerous CO but also H20, which would condense on any cooler surface it came into contact with, making the tent and outer bedding fabrics damp and therefore cold, defeating the object of heating.
I understand one of the early symptons of carbon monoxide poisoning is confusion, so there is no guarantee that the victim would be alert and capable of responding to an alarm. I'd guess most people, even sleeping normally, have managed to ignore an alarm clock on occasions!
As said, I agree with all the other advice from Grampian and Helen - with adequate insulation (carpet/clothing/bedding) you really shouldn't need any heating.
To power heaters will need a very big battery bank and a lot of solar panels to provide sufficient energy to recharge. Bear in mind that most batteries shouldn't routinely be discharged below 50% capacity. A 1000w heater will pull 83A at 12V and discharge a 110Ah battery (typically around 25 kg) in less than 40 minutes.
I've put together a 150W panel and 110Ah battery with a 300w inverter for campsites without EHU to power my Dometic fridge, a light and charge phones/iPads etc. A 150W panel will generate about 8A in good light but is 1m x 1m unfolded and is another 16 kg to carry.
What you're after is theoretically possible but not really practical with current solar panel and battery technology
Thank you very much for all comment, very much appreciated. So seems it's a NO to solar panels for the purpose we had in mind and YES to additional layer of fleecy clothing!
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Topic: Portable energy - solar panels?
