How Many Amps Will a 360W Solar Panel Generate in the UK?

When you’re sizing a solar system for a campervan, motorhome, boat or off-grid setup, a common question is: “How many amps will my panel actually give me?” In this guide we’ll look at a 360W solar panel in typical UK conditions and estimate how many amps you can expect in each season of the year.

Instantaneous Amps vs Daily Amp-Hours

First, it’s important to separate two different things:

• Peak amps (instantaneous) – what you might see on a bright, sunny moment at midday.
• Amp-hours per day (Ah/day) – the total charge you actually get over a full day.

Most people care more about Amp-hours per day, because that tells you how much energy you have available to run your loads and recharge your batteries.

Peak Amps from a 360W Panel

On a good, clear day around solar noon, a 360W panel feeding a 12V battery through a decent MPPT can roughly do:

• Charging voltage around 13.5–14V
• Current ≈ 360W ÷ 13.5–14V ≈ 25–27A peak

For a 24V system, the same panel would be roughly:

• 360W ÷ 27–28V ≈ 12–14A peak

That peak figure doesn’t change massively between seasons – what changes is how many hours you get useful power for.

Seasonal Output in the UK (12V System Example)

The UK gets very different amounts of sun across the year. A simple way to think about it is in “peak sun hours” per day – an average of how many hours of full-power equivalent you get.

The table below assumes:

• 360W panel
• 12V battery system
• Good MPPT controller
• Reasonable mounting (good orientation, not heavily shaded)
• About 75% real-world efficiency after losses (controller, cabling, temperature, dirt, etc.)

These are ballpark averages for much of the UK. Southern England on a perfect installation may see slightly higher figures; northern Scotland or shaded/flat-mounted panels may be lower.

What This Means in Real Life

Winter – Don’t Expect Miracles

In UK winter, a single 360W panel may only give you around 20–25Ah per day into a 12V bank. It’s useful top-up power, but you shouldn’t rely on it alone for heavy loads like inverters and fridges unless you have a large battery bank and/or alternator charging.

Spring & Autumn – The “Shoulder” Seasons

In spring and autumn, you’re more in the 35–70Ah/day range depending on the month and weather. This is often enough to comfortably cover lighting, USB charging, pumps, fans and a modest 12V fridge, with the battery getting a decent recharge on brighter days.

Summer – Where Solar Shines

In summer, that same 360W panel can easily produce around 90–100Ah/day into a 12V system on a good day. That’s when you can run fridges, fans and occasional inverter loads with far more confidence, especially if you’ve sized your battery bank sensibly.

Quick Rules of Thumb

• Instantaneous: a 360W panel can do around 25–27A peak into a 12V battery via MPPT.
• Winter: think of it as a trickle-assist – around 20Ah/day.
• Shoulder seasons: plan on ~40–70Ah/day.
• Summer: expect around ~100Ah/day in decent conditions.

12V vs 24V – Does It Change the Numbers?

The energy you get (in Watt-hours) is the same whether you run 12V or 24V. What changes is the current:

• 12V system – higher amps, lower voltage (e.g. 25–27A peak).
• 24V system – roughly half the amps, double the voltage (e.g. 12–14A peak).

For cable sizing and fusing, the amps matter. For battery capacity and autonomy, the total Wh or Ah at system voltage is what you care about.

Conclusion

A 360W panel in the UK is a solid choice for campervans, boats and small off-grid systems, but its real-world performance changes dramatically with the seasons. Understanding the difference between peak amps and daily Amp-hours – and how UK seasons affect both – helps you design a system that actually matches how you use your van or off-grid setup.

If you add your typical daily loads (in Ah or Wh), you can quickly see whether one 360W panel is enough, or whether you’ll want extra solar, alternator charging or shore power as backup – especially through the UK winter.