Can you charge a power station with solar panels in the UK?
Yes. A portable power station can charge from solar panels in the UK, and in summer it works well. In winter it still works, but you get about a third of the summer yield, so panels top the battery up and rarely rescue a flat one. Here is what the data says, month by month.
What a UK year looks like
The table shows the daily energy a solar panel produces for every 100 W of rated power, using monthly estimates for central England from PVGIS, the European Commission's solar database. The figures are for a panel fixed at a 35 degree tilt facing south, with 14% system losses allowed for. The "peak sun hours" column is the same figure expressed as hours of full-power sun per day, which is how panel output is usually compared.
| Month | Peak sun hours a day | A 100 W panel gives | A 200 W panel gives |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 1.3 | 127 Wh | 254 Wh |
| February | 1.9 | 192 Wh | 384 Wh |
| March | 2.9 | 287 Wh | 575 Wh |
| April | 3.8 | 380 Wh | 759 Wh |
| May | 4.0 | 399 Wh | 799 Wh |
| June | 4.1 | 405 Wh | 811 Wh |
| July | 4.0 | 403 Wh | 806 Wh |
| August | 3.6 | 361 Wh | 722 Wh |
| September | 3.2 | 323 Wh | 646 Wh |
| October | 2.1 | 214 Wh | 428 Wh |
| November | 1.6 | 157 Wh | 315 Wh |
| December | 1.2 | 118 Wh | 235 Wh |
What stands out
- December gives about 30% of June. A 100 W panel produces roughly 120 Wh on an average December day, against about 400 Wh in June.
- The year is lopsided. Roughly 35% of the year's output arrives in June, July and August. November to February together provide only about 17%.
- Spring and autumn are different. Spring (March to May) averages about 3.6 sun hours, autumn (September to November) about 2.3.
These figures are the best case for panels
The table assumes a fixed, well-angled, unshaded south-facing panel. A portable panel laid on grass, propped against a tent or sitting in partial shade will usually do worse. Cloud matters too: a heavily overcast day can drop output to a small fraction of a clear day. Partial shade can hurt more than you expect, because shade across even one part of a panel can cut its output sharply.
That is why our power sizer uses lower figures than the data above:
| Season | PVGIS-based sun hours a day | Sizer assumes, per 100 W of panel |
|---|---|---|
| Summer (June to August) | about 3.9 | about 300 Wh (4 sun hours at 75% efficiency) |
| Spring or autumn | about 3.6 spring, 2.3 autumn | about 190 Wh (2.5 sun hours at 75%) |
| Winter (December to February) | about 1.5 | 75 Wh (1 sun hour at 75%) |
The sizer deliberately sits below the fixed-tilt data, with a 25% allowance for real-world losses on top of its seasonal hours. If you can angle panels well and keep them clear of shade, you will often do better. If you can't, you will be glad of the margin.
What this means for you
- Summer camping or a van: solar can cover a laptop, lights and a small fridge day to day.
- Winter use: plan on mains charging as your main source. Panels add a useful top-up, and they help in a power cut during daylight, but they won't run a heavy load.
- Power cuts: a power cut usually lasts hours, so most of the battery's energy will come from the mains beforehand. Solar helps on a longer outage.
- The unit limits how fast it charges. Each power station has a maximum solar input, and extra panel watts beyond that don't help. See matching solar panels to your power station.
Next
To turn this into a panel size, read how many solar panels you need, or put your own devices into the power sizer with solar switched on.