Solar Powered Camping Lights: Can Solar Generator Power Camping Lights

Solar-powered camping lights are practical lighting solutions for your campsite and the inside and outside of your RV. Camping solar-powered lights are very popular because they do not waste any energy, yet they create a warm ambiance for you to enjoy. This is also a security measure for you to keep safe from wild animals and intruders. The other energy-efficient solution for off-grid lighting is a solar generator for a camping light. Interestingly, using solar generators like Jackery has far more benefits as you can use them simultaneously for various appliances, power high-watt camping lights, and run longer.

What Are Solar-Powered Camping Lights

Solar-powered camping lights use energy from sunlight rather than from fossil fuels or other energy. They contain a solar panel that is exposed to the sun, and it charges its built-in battery for later use when sunlight is not available.

Solar-powered camping light works by photovoltaic effect just like other solar products. They have solar cells in the solar panels. These solar cells absorb solar energy, which is converted into DC. The solar lights save this DC electricity in the solar battery, which is used as reserve energy. Thus you can use these lights at night.

Generally, a single solar cell produces 0.45 volts maximum depending on its size and the exposure to sunlight.

Solar-Powered Camping Lights VS. Solar Generator for Camping Lights

As we already discussed, there are two ways to incorporate solar energy for your camp lighting needs. These two options are solar-powered camping lights and solar generators for camping lights. So, how do you compare solar lights and solar generators?

Solar-Powered Camping Lights

Solar-powered camping is a small, portable, and very efficient device. They use solar energy, so the fuel cost is zero, and the camping lights are very economically priced. So, overall the upfront cost and running cost are both very affordable. You save your RV's battery power as well. Using solar energy makes these lights environmentally friendly and fumes-free.

Solar Generator for Camping Lights

Solar generators for camping lights are a very versatile solution. They can light up your camping lights and other camping equipment simultaneously. This feature makes it a sustainable energy source for RVs, camping vans, and trips. So, instead of buying a set of solar-powered lights, a solar-powered coffee machine, solar powered refrigerator, and other equipment, you can buy one solar generator and use your regular equipment.

Solar generators are also noise-free, so the folks concerned about the loud working like gas generators can take a sigh of relief. Also, solar generators are relatively low maintenance and very sturdy.

The below diagram shows how a solar generator works.

How Many Watts Do Camping Lights Use

Solar-powered camping lights use a very small number of watts. In comparison, solar generators can also light up other types of lights. Generally, the camping interior lights are 12V LEDs. So, if you use these for 10 minutes, you will hardly consume 1 ampere.

A day usage is estimated as follows;

0.2 hr x 1 amp x 12 Volts = 2.4 watt hours

If you are using 75-watt bulbs, then your four light bulbs will use 300 Watts. However, these bulbs are very expensive in terms of energy consumption.

How Many Lumens Do Camping Lights Need

What is a Lumen?

Lumen is a widely used term when discussing any light. It is a unit to measure the amount of light emitted by a light source. The more lumens a light source offers, the more area this light will cover.

However, there is a flip side. The more lumens, the more battery power you need. To save on your power cost and battery life, 35 to 60 lumens is a reasonable range. Your normal home flashlight has 10 to 30 lumens.

In your camping adventure, you will need lights with various lumens. For example, a light releasing 200 lumens can easily light up your camping tent. However, a camping lantern should have a maximum of 1000 lumens, but it should be dimmable to save battery when required.

How Much Solar Power Do Camping Lights Need

Solar power required by camping lights depends on their working principle and lumen capacity. For example, LED light bulbs require very little solar power; thus, they are a very popular choice as solar-powered camping lights.

We have summarized the watts usage by LED bulls in the following table.

How many watts do LED light bulbs use in a month and a year?

Jackery Solar Generator for Camping Lights

Jackery Solar generators are a series of generators that run on solar energy and are also rechargeable. They are available in various configurations to suit different needs of power. They have an AC outlet, a DC carport, and USB charging ports. At the same time, they can power up your smartphones, laptops, and appliances, including refrigerators, mini coolers, coffee machines, etc. Since the Jackery solar generators are portable, you can use them in your camping adventures with ease and use them to power your camping lights as well.

Why choose Jackery solar generators?

1. They are portable and thus can be taken on outdoor adventures.
2. They can be charged using AC outlets and solar power as well.
3. The Jackery solar generators offer fast solar engineering supported by Solarpeak™ technology.
4. They have dual battery protection and four temperature-core detectors. Hence they keep your appliances safe from voltage fluctuations.

Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro

The Jackery solar generator 1000 Pro is light, small, and portable, easily transported and stored. It is easy to use and maintain because its innovative smart screen display shows 18 functioning modes with crystal clear viewing. So, you know exactly the battery power and other details on the screen. They can be charged fast through solar panels, AC outlets, and carports.

Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro offers three AC outlets with up to 1,000 watts, a 12V DC car outlet providing 120W of power. Then you have two USB-C PD ports providing 100W of power. You can use the USB-A ports to charge your USB-powered devices.

Jackery Solar Generator 500

The Jackery Explorer 500 is the most portable rechargeable 518Wh lithium power station. It has a large capacity of 518 watt-hours (24Ah, 21.6V) lithium-ion battery pack with a  pure sine wave inverter.

You have an  AC outlet, 3 USB-A ports, 2  DC ports, and a carport to run low to high-power appliances, including a mini-fridge, water pump, air pump, and TV.

You can recharge the Explorer 500 with its high-quality built-in MPPT charge controller. So, you can charge the station using the Jackery SolarSaga 100W solar panels. The other options are a wall outlet, a car outlet, and an electric generator.

Suppose you require 10 watts for your lighting needs in camping. Then the breakdown of performance and support of the Jackery Solar Generator is as follows.

Solar Powered Camping Lights FAQs

1. What size of solar Generator do I need to power camping lights?

Working time = Capacity Wh * 0.85 / operating wattage of your device

For example, suppose the power consumption of all your camping lights is 10W.

A Jackery Solar Generator 1000Pro Working time will be 1002Wh * 0.85 / 10w = 85 hrs.

We multiply the solar generator capacity with 0.85 because it is a real fact that there is some power loss while operating the devices. So, we can aim for 85% capacity on average.

2. How to choose solar-powered camping lights?

Solar-powered camping lights are available in the market with various specifications. So, you need to know what to look for in a solar-powered camping light and choose the right options.

1. Lumens and the lighting temperature determine how much area it will cover.
2. Charging time and run-time are also critical. It would be best if you decided according to your individual needs.
3. Durability and waterproofing.

3. Are solar-powered camping lights safe?

The answer is a simple YES! Camping solar-powered lights are environmentally friendly. They do not require acidic lead-acid batteries. Also, there is no bursting, fire, or any other type of threat.

Final Thoughts

Camping is a fun adventure that gives you some time in nature and releases stress and anxiety. However, it is important to research and acquire the right gear and equipment to make your camping spree smooth and healthy. Solar-powered camping lights are an important part of your camping equipment to light up your tent and surroundings and keep it safe. On the other hand, you have an option of a solar-powered generator that can power your lights and other equipment. Jackery has a series of portable, sturdy solar generators with different power outputs. This is a better option because it is a complete solution for all your power needs during camping.