Capturing solar energy can be done many different ways.  One of the most common ways is to use solar cells arrange into a solar panel, and even larger than this a solar array.  12v  solar panels are very common because the automotive industry set the standard for vehicle batteries at 12 volts.  Deeper than this the power inside these vehicle batteries that turn over our engines everyday are 12 volts DC or direct current, which is the same kind of power that solar cells produce.  All that is needed to match up to a vehicle battery is to make the solar panel the same voltage or slightly higher so it can then charge the typical 12v battery.  Of course the solar panel needs to be in the sun and also a charge controller to control he charge rate and stop the charging if the battery is fully charged is necessary to complete a simple solar battery charger. 

As electric vehicles really begin to have an impact on our transportation system solar panels will become more and more important as a method to capture the sun’s energy.  Also body panels on cars and other vehicles will utilize solar cells to capture solar energy even when the vehicle is in use.  These body panel solar cells will most likely match up to the vehicle battery bank voltage which may be higher than the 12 volt solar level.

The 12v  solar panels can also be combined together to give multiples of the voltage levels such as 24, 36, 48 or even higher.  Many electric vehicles of the future will run at levels higher than 100 volts and surely they will be some multiple of 12. 

There is no doubt that twelve volt solar panels will remain an industry standard as the world continues to move into what I like to call the solar revolution.