The Ultimate Guide to 100W Solar Panel

Growing environmental concerns have skyrocketed the interest of people in solar panels — a clean energy source. Solar panels work on the idea of capturing light from the sun and converting the sun's energy into electricity. Homeowners looking for a lightweight and compact solar panel system can choose 100W solar panels. 

A solar panel is your go-to option, whether you're an American who loves outdoor activities like camping or wants to power your off-grid cabin. However, a wide range of solar panels is available from 80W to 200W. So, who should choose 100-watt solar panels, and what makes them the right choice?

In addition, it's essential to ask, "what will a 100-watt solar panel run?" before installing one at your home. Jackery 100-watt solar panels are compact and lightweight power solutions for your home, boat, or RV. It can charge most of your appliances by teaming up with a Jackery Portable Power Station.

In this guide, we'll explain everything about 100-watt solar panels and why Jackery solar panels are the right choice.

What Is a 100W Solar Panel? 

A 100W solar panel is a compact, lightweight, clean, and sustainable energy source. Jackery SolarSaga 100W Solar Panelfeatures 1* USB-C(5V,3A) output port and 1* USB-A(5V, 2.4A) output port to charge 2 small devices directly like cell phones, lamps, fans, routers or WiFi, etc.

Thanks to their lightweight nature, Jackery SolarSaga 100W Solar Panelis easy to carry around as per your needs. In addition, mono-crystalline solar panels have high conversion efficiency and are suitable for power outages and outdoor life

The 100-watt solar panel typically produces 300-600 watt-hours per day, depending upon the peak sun hours you receive. Before purchasing a solar panel of 100 watts, the most common question every homeowner faces is: what will 100-watt solar panels run? The solar panel will generally charge small devices, like LED lights, laptops, smartphones, etc.

However, the single 100 watts panel will struggle when charging the larger appliances. Either the solar panel will run out of power quickly or fail to handle the load if used for large appliances. If you need more power to keep your gadgets running for a long time without grid power, upgrade to a Jackery Solar Generator(solar panel+portable power station).

The Benefits Of 100W Solar Panel

A 100 watts solar panel is an excellent power source to charge all your devices. Below are some benefits you can expect from 100W solar power panels.

• Solar panels producing 100 watts of energy can power up most small electrical devices, including smartphones, light bulbs, laptops, cable boxes, and even TVs.
• The dimensions of Jackery SolarSaga 100W Solar Panelare 24 x 21 x 1.4 in (610 x 535 x 35 mm) when folded, and 48 x 21 x 0.2 in (1220 x 535 x 5 mm) when unfolded, which is relatively compact. That said, you can place the solar panel under a small roof section, over a window, or balcony. Hence, it is suitable for small-sized homes.  
• They are easy to set up, and you do not have to indulge in any technicalities to install them. TheJackery SolarSaga 100W panel come with two kickstands, making the installation easy.
• On top of that, they are portable and an excellent choice for those who love to travel. Most solar panels come with a foldable design, rubber handle, and adjustable kickstands for angle adjustment. Jackery SolarSaga 100W panel weighs 10.33 lbs (4.69 kg) and is easy to carry.

When To Use A 100W Solar Panel? 

Even though 100-watt solar panels are compact, there are many ways to use them. From using them as a power source during camping or boating to using them as an alternative to power source during power outages, the solar panel is a complete powerhouse.

• At Home:With a solar panel of 100 watts, you're never out of power. By teaming up with Jackery portable power station, you can set up a solar powered system for your appliances like laptops, mobile devices, and other small and large devices for hours.
• RV Trips: Outdoor trips are the first thing that comes to mind when discussing adventure. A solar panelwill rechage your portable power station to keep all your gear charged up during the trip.
• Camping: During outdoor adventures, keeping your electronic devices charged for emergencies is essential. However, running a car and wasting gas to power up gadgets is not a reliable option. That's where100-watt solar panels come into the picture.
• Boating:Lastly, you can use 100-watt solar panels during your boating trip. You can use the solar panel and portable power station on your boat and reduce fuel usage.

 A solar power system is all you need if you're planning to enjoy hiking, camping, boating, or other adventurous activities. The portable and lightweight solution means you have energy wherever you go without posing a threat to the environment.

What Will 100W Solar Panels Run? 

Solar panels of 100 watts produce less energy than 200W or 300W panels. Therefore, they are best suited to charge all the small appliances and devices you don't want to run continuously.  

What Can A Single 100W Solar Panel Run?

Here is the list of devices to help you understand what will Jackery SolarSoga 100-watt solar panels run. It equipped 1 USB-A Output (5V, 2.4A) and 1 USB-C Output (5V, 3A).

• LED Light Bulbs

LED light bulbs are the most efficient lighting option for homes. A 60-watt LED light bulb consumes only 10 watts of electricity to produce 800 Lumens.  

• WiFi Router

WiFi router is essential for anyone who wants uninterrupted internet access 24 hours a day. Generally, the WiFi router uses between 2 and 20 watts of energy. With access to 100-watt solar energy, you can keep it running all day without any disturbance.

• Cell Phones

Cell phones, smartphones, and tablets are energy-efficient as they are specially designed to run on a battery for extended periods. The devices usually consume 2 to 6 watts while charging. Due to the lower power consumption, you can easily keep a cell phone charged for emergencies.

There are various other appliances and devices that you can charge with a solar generator with 100-watt solar panels, considering the different scenarios.

What Can a 100W Solar Panel Run?

The appliance/devices you can charge with 100-watt solar panels depend on multiple factors, including:

• Battery size
• Environmental factors such as weather conditions
• Size of solar generator

Here is an example to understand what 100-watt solar panel can run:

Suppose you live in a state with peak sun rays for 5 hours. Your 100-watt solar panel will produce around 425 watt-hour of power in a day(100 watts * 5 hours*0.85=425 watt-hour). Using a single solar panel of 100 watts to recharge your power station, you can charge:

• Laptop for 7hour that use 60 Wh
• Two electric fans for 7 hours that use 35 Wh each
• Ten LED lamps for 4 hours that use 10 Wh each
• Smartphone charger for85 hours that use 5Wh
• Five compact fluorescent lights for 7 hours that use 10-14 Wh each

Continually evaluate the amount of electricity an electric appliance uses to determine whether a 100-watt solar power can run the item for hours or not.

More Facts About 100W Solar Panel

Now that you understand the basics of the solar panel and what will a 100-watt solar panel run, it's time to learn its critical terms — amps, volts, power, and energy.

How Many Volts 100W Solar Panels Produce? 

Volt (or V) is the unit of electromotive force or electric potential. To increase the volt capacity of the solar panel, you can connect multiple panels in series or parallel.

Typically, a 100-watt solar power panel produces nearly 18 volts of a maximum volt.

You'll have to connect more than 20 residential solar power panels to power your home. Likewise, you'll have to connect three or four 100W panels for RVs.

How Many Amps 100W Solar Panels Produce?

Amp, or ampere, is an electrical current unit that measures the electromagnetic force between electrical conductors that carry electric currents. SolarSaga solar panels generally produce 5-6 amps power per peak sun hour. Therefore, if you receive 6 hours of direct sunlight, you can expect around 30-36 amps per day.

Certain factors affect the number of amps produced by solar panels, including weather conditions and solar panel setup. For example, the solar panel will have fewer amps on a cloudy day than on sunny days. The solar panel position and the tilt angle are other factors that affect the amps production. You should position the solar panels facing the sun for maximum amp production.

Note - Under normal conditions, the solar panels produce amps between 50-100% of the maximum current rating value.

How Much Power 100W Solar Panels Produce?

The power of a solar panel (WH) is the amount of sunlight captured from the sun and stored in the power station battery in the form of electrical energy. The higher the power of the solar panel, the better the performance of the solar panels.

The sunlight received directly affects how much power a 100-watt solar panel will produce. Ideally, the solar panel can produce 85 watts per hour apart from around 15% heat consumption and transmission consumption. So it can produce around 500-800 wh a day under 6-10 hours direct sunlight.

On the other hand, you can expect an output of fewer than 100 watts over an hour during the winter days.

Jackery Best 100W Solar Panel

A solar panel of 100 watts is lightweight, versatile, environmentally friendly, and a limitless power supply source. While various qualities make a solar panel good, here are a few characteristics the best solar panel should have.

• High Power Output

Solar panels produce varying outputs. Standard solar panels produce 20% output, whereas advanced technologies have a high energy conversion efficiency of 23-24%. Remember, the higher the energy conversion efficiency rate is, the more power it can produce. For example, Jackery SolarSaga 100W panels have a higher energy efficiency conversion rate of 24.3%.

• Temperature Coefficient

Solar panels operate under certain temperatures, and that's where the role of the temperature coefficient comes into play. The temperature coefficient simply corresponds to how much a rising temperature will impact the output. For example, our Jackery SolarSaga 100 watts solar panels have a temperature coefficient of - 0.29%/°C.

• Weak Light Performance

As mentioned above, the ability to produce solar energy will depend on the amount of sunlight received during the day. If the weather is cloudy or shady, chances are solar panels output will be low. That said, choosing a solar panel with better weak-light performance is better for producing a high power output.

• Durable & Splash Proof

Solar panels from Jackery come in an ETFE-laminated case and are durable enough to extend solar panel lifespan. Thanks to the IP65 water-resistant abilities, the solar panels are protected from water splashing. In addition, the multi-layered cell technology improves the quality of the solar panel.

Customer Reviews

Here is what customers of Jackery SolarSaga 100W panels say about the product:

“Accurate power output under good sunlight. Good quality, great expandability. Charges my power station Explorer 300 in roughly 3-4 hrs. Might get a few more panels and connect them. This is probably in the top 3 quality solar panels out there (there's a lot) so you won't be disappointed with Jackery. --Ryan M”

Here is the overview of Jackery SolarSaga 100W solar panels:

Jackery SolarSaga 100-watt Solar Panel is best known for its superior portability, foldable design, and rubber handle. You can combine it with Jackery Explorer 240/300/500/1000/1500 power station to build up your portable solar generator system.

Single SolarSaga 100W can charge the Jackery Explorer 240/300/500 in 4/5/9.5 hours to power your appliances. On the other hand, you'll need two SolarSaga 100 to power Explorer 1000 Pro within 8 hours.

For homeowners wanting a power backup solution, a combination of four SolarSaga 100W and Explorer 1500 is ideal. Having a reliable energy source will help you save on electricity bills and reduce the power consumption from the grid.

The price of the single SolarSaga 100W solar panel is $299. You can combine it with either Jackery Explorer 1500 power station, available at $1699, or Explorer 1000 at $1099 for maximum efficiency.

FAQs About 100W Solar Panel

Now that you know the basic facts and features of 100-watt solar panels, it's time to answer the most common questions that solar panel buyers usually have. Below are the five most common questions that Jackery solar panel shoppers ask our experts before purchasing.

• What is the 100W solar panel output on a cloudy day?

Solar panels produce electricity by capturing the sun's solar energy and converting it into electrical energy. This is a major misconception that solar panels don't function on cloudy days. As the solar panel efficiency depends on the amount of sunlight penetrating the cloud, the solar panels create low energy compared to what they initially produced.

To produce high electricity with the 100W solar panel, you should constantly adjust the solar panel towards the sun. For example, modify it at the angle that the sunlight falls directly on the solar cells. Another thing you can do is store the power in Jackery power station during sunny days and use the stored energy on a cloudy day.

• Can a 100W solar panel run a refrigerator?

In a word, no. 100W solar panel along can’t run a refrigerator. The average power required to run a refrigerator lies between 350-400 watts of solar energy.   That said, you can go for Solar Generator 1000, 1000 Pro, 1500 2000 Pro to power up large appliances like refrigerators for hours.

• How many solar panels do I need to go off-grid?

The number of solar panels required to go off-grid will depend on the electricity you use and the number of direct daily sunlight hours you receive. Ideally, the average off-grid home requires 7000 watts or 7 KW of power to cut the connection from the electrical grid.

If your energy requirements are 7KW and you use 100-watt solar panels, you'll need more or less than 70 panels to take home off-grid. That's why it's better to purchase a  solar power system Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro (Explorer 2000 Pro + SolarSaga 200W)  to go off-grid. It is an affordable means to switch to renewable and clean energy.

• How long to charge a 12V battery from a solar panel?

Depending on the charging capacity, it will take around 4-20 hours to charge a 12V battery with a single 100W solar panel. If you want to charge the battery fast, you can increase the number of solar panels you use for charging. Here's a quick breakdown of how long will a 100-watt solar panel using a charge controller will take to charge a fully depleted 12-volt lithium-ion battery:

• 4 hours to charge 20Ah capacity
• 8 hours to charge 40Ah capacity
• 10 hours to charge 50Ah capacity
• 20 hours to charge 100Ah capacity

Note* - Here, we assume that the peak sun hours are 1000 w/m2/h.

• How to make full use of a 100W solar panel?

The best way to utilize the full power of 100W solar panels is by combining them with the Jackery Power Station Explorer 240/300/500/1000/1500. The combination is helpful to power your small and large appliances during hiking, camping, climbing, hiking, and during unexpected power outages.

The Jackery's power generator is built with Battery Management System to improve its performance and improve safety levels of the battery. To power your home, you can combine four SolarSaga 100W panels with Solar Generator 1500. The best part about the generator is that its one-button design makes it easy to operate.

Final Thoughts

If you are a first-time solar panel buyer, a 100-watt solar panel is an excellent choice to switch to renewable and clean energy. While many sizes are available, the small solar panel is suitable for low-power-consuming appliances. They become more effective when paired with a solar power station and can easily power up large devices.  

If you want to install a portable power station that can power your entire home, check out the Jackery SolarSoga Solar Panels. Such a system will help you to offset up to 100% of your electricity usage and go green. Sign up for Jackery's newsletter to keep yourself updated about tips, discounts, deals, and product releases.