Instead of the sane approach of specifying 5, 9, 12, 15, and/or 20 volts and the amperages, products insist on listing every model of device in existence instead.
Most will do 12V, but I always want to make sure it’ll power my laptop (20V) as well.
A big thank you to reviewers who post images of the actual products where it shows the relevant info in one short line on the labels:
e.g. PD Output: 5V=3A, 9V=3A, 12V=3A, 15V=3A, 20V=3A
I’ve got two sets of solar panels and two different use-cases.
The panels my power banks use are all regulated 5v output (3x 6 watts, one 20W, and one 12W). I take one or more of those backpacking.
The 12V->USB PD adapter I’m looking for is to hook into my 12V 50 or 100 watt panel I take camping (which one i take depends how many people plan to charge from it). In addition to being a charging point for my laptop, it would also charge my power banks much quicker since they support QC/PD charging at higher voltages than the 5V panels produce.
But yeah, PV panels “open circuit” voltage is closer to 17-21 volts, but once you put a load on them, they’re closer to 12-14.
Oh I think I get it now. So you can terminate the solar panel with something like this and then charge phones with a standard car charger with PD. I like that idea.
Exactly. Except I’m trying to avoid those kinds of “cigarette lighter” style adapters, but I’ve used them before (which is why I’m trying to avoid them this time around lol).
Yeah, it’s hard to find good ones. You could invert it to 120v AC and plug in a regular charger, but you lose efficiency doing that, not to mention the added danger, weight, and complexity.