Reducing Reefer Downtime with Trailer Roof Solar Panels
Solar panels on the roof of refrigerated trailers (reefers) are now a common sight on UK roads. Operators are fitting them to provide a trickle charge to keep the transport refrigeration unit battery topped up and to extend the life of the battery as it copes with increased parasitic draw from telematics, temperature monitoring systems, and fridge controllers.
Solar power and reefer trailers work hand in hand with each other, as the more power they need to keep goods cool in the summer, the more power panels can generate from longer daylight hours.
Genie Insights has supplied and installed over 7,000 solar panels on reefer trailers, including some of the UK’s leading refrigerated transport operators and supermarkets. Operators go for the high-voltage 50W panels, and this approach is working as Genie reported a zero percent fridge battery fail rate in vehicles fitted with its panels in 2025.
For the cost of a service callout, solar panels can be supplied and installed on a reefer trailer roof, and once in place, they look after themselves. In line with the trailer’s three or six-month servicing schedules, a technician simply hooks up to the solar panel controller via Bluetooth to check performance and health.
Solar charge controllers and inverters use a technique called Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) to extract maximum power from solar panels by dynamically adjusting the electrical operating point as sunlight conditions vary. MPPT optimises voltage and current, particularly in cloudy or shaded conditions, and by doubling the cells on panels by increasing surface area, Genie has further boosted panel productivity to cope with low light conditions.
Two big solar growth areas currently are on electric trucks and rigid trucks working in the catering and food service industries.
Genie is fitting larger solar arrays of up to 300W to 18-tonne rigid trucks in the food service sector for companies such as Reynolds Catering and Sysco, as their 24V batteries come under increased stress from ancillary equipment such as tail lifts and air curtains drawing power from the vehicle battery. These vans and trucks operate on short stop start journeys which puts increased stress on the fridge motor, the vehicle battery, and alternator, which is where solar energy comes into its own by keeping vehicle downtime to a minimum.
To find out how Genie Insights can help protect your fleet from unnecessary callouts and battery-related breakdowns, contact us to discuss the right solar solution for your operation.
