New: Installation service for all solar equipment of £500 or more. Equipment installed by experienced technicians in Midlands workshop or nearer/at your home. Deposit required to initiate.

New: Highly Portable Folding Solar Briefcase Kit:  Extremely handy, 13W kit complete with leads, adjustable support, charge indicator and blocking diode to protect your battery. Powerful enough to be really useful yet very easy to use and compact for easy stowage so ideal for motorhomes, caravans, boats and camping. The adjustable support enables an optimum angle to the light, maximising output. This is an important feature because pointing at the light gives 4-5x more change than laid flat so this may give an equivalent charge to a flat mounted panel of maybe 60W!  What more can we say?  Buy Now >>>

Solar Power By Alden:  75-100 watts of electricity for free! Completely silent and ultra-green recharging will maintain fully charged batteries even when wild camping, or simply give you peace of mind about your batteries in general. If any or all of these benefits appeal then solar power may well be the way to go!  Although solar power is amazingly common in Europe we seem to have been quite slow in adopting the zero running cost benefits here in the UK.

Solar is a hot topic at motorcaravanning because our increasing on-board laptop use means we're now rather short of power on a daily basis. Alden solar and to some extent satellite seem to be almost standard fit in France where they are the market leader and recommended by numerous enthusiastic 'camping-caristes'.

Beginners Guide:  Out of the great mass of information I've waded through recently there seem to be just a few solid guidelines for those of a less technical disposition. 

1. Don't worry about the different cell technologies, the 'mono-crystalline' type are the most common because they give more 'bang for your buck' in most circumstances and so suit most people most of the time. 

2. Whatever size you think you'll need it won't be big enough! This is especially true further north. You can make all sorts of calculations but in practice you should go for the biggest you can sensibly fit and afford. For general holidaying that will be between 50-100W. 

3. Flat panels are the most convenient being 'fit and forget' apart from an occasional wash. 

4. Quite apart from overall capacity, there is some extra advantage in having two panels rather than one. In practice only those with higher power demands will spend the extra on this in which case point five also comes into play ... 

5. You can get four or five or more times the normal output from a panel by making it face the sun. The Alden auto-elevating unit claims to provide about 5x the daily charge of flat mounted panels. This unit is about the same cost as installing fairly substantial twin panels so is usually for the heavier user or those who like to spend a few bob on 'doing it properly'. 

6. To complete a kit you need a regulator & wiring and some high-bond Sikaflex, all are included in the Alden kits along with a waterproof cable entry box. 

7. Balance your solar capacity with suitable leisure batteries, preferably 2x90/110Ahr leisure batteries with a 100W panel e.g. and four such batteries with twin 100W panels. (Watch your payload in the latter case!). 

8. Comparison with wind power is inevitable. Wind generators have quite high output when the wind is blowing, but generally have to be set up and then stored away for each use. They tend to be both heavy to manipulate and quite noisy in use, sometimes irritatingly so for both you and your neighbours. 

9. Fuel Cells & Generators are both worth considering. Their relatively high output and full independence from the vagaries of the weather are the main attractions. Generators are notoriously noisy (even the silent ones!) and both require you to carry fuel. Generators are relatively polluting whereas the nearly silent fuel cells have much greener emissions, both carry fuel costs of course - in strong contrast to completely free solar energy.

Alden Kiteco:  Kiteco solar panel kits are for people who want high quality solar panels at a competitive price. With mono-crystalline cells fitted in metal frames they are ready to mount on motorhomes, caravans and boats. Alden recommend fixing with Sikaflex adhesive and this is included as is a regulator and wiring. Available in three power outputs of 75W, 85W, and 100W. All are lightweights at 8.3 to 9.5Kg and come with a 25 year warranty. Dedicated versions for new Rapido are also available as below.  Buy Below >>> (PgDn)

Sizing: There have been some surprising variations in Kiteco sizes of late and very few seem to correspond with Alden's published info(!)  The sizes given below are from actual stock in early 2008.

Alden Sunpower 'Phenix':  For the ultimate in solar power efficiency, the 'Phenix' may be the only choice. Using sophisticated electronics, the panel tracks the sun's elevation and direction throughout the day, ensuring that maximum power is always generated. Naturally enough when parked for travelling it charges just like a static flat panel. On an average day this unit will produce more than five times the power of a fixed flat model. An eye witness account - "January at 10.15 am and the Phenix was putting out 4 Amps!"  The sky was clear but the sun was very low and a flat panel would have produced <1 amp. When the sun goes down or when the engine is started the panel will automatically lower itself and lock into a safe position. A regulator and wiring are supplied. Nominal panel rating 100W, dimensions 1250x680x16mm, weight 20Kg, clear height for rotation 90mm. Warranty; panel 25 years, mechanism 3 years.  We're sometimes asked about wind resistance and the official advice from Alden is "the Phenix and any of our satellite dishes should be parked when the wind reaches force 5 and must be parked when it reaches force 8".  Buy Below >>> (PgDn)

Optional regulators, output panels, and cable boxes, available separately.  See also - batteries page!

NEW: Expert installation service for all solar equipment over £500. Vehicle examination by our technician required for detailed costs; a deposit is required to initiate. The deposit is of course refundable if our estimate is refused. Fitting in midlands workshop or locally. Do with your questions.

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All these are normally stock items but their popularity does mean that we run out very occasionally so do remember to buy early for that special trip!