Eco-Worthy 12v solar panels, Now drifting to... mono vs poly

Hi,

It is nice to see 12 volt panels that are not an arm and a leg.

$119 for 100 watts (12 volt)

Hi,

Only what has been reported on RVnet. No really "hard" data, but as the price is the same I'd probably go poly. What I have now is quite shade and even rain tolerant. But the size is HUGE for the watts of output.

I'd also go high voltage and MPPT, for that has worked well for me.

What I really want is a panel so flexible it can replace the awning. Or solar paint. Add some cheap Edison batteries to my wish list.

I'm still torn about adding, starting over, or doing nada to my existing system. I tracked my generator costs this year and they are far lower than I thought they would be. I could save on propane by getting to 700 watts of panels and run the fridge--but that only saves $10 per month.

I could directly run the air conditioner by getting to 1300 watts of panels (1500 would be better). At the 1300 watt level I'd more or less never need a campground.

Snowman9000 wrote:
Don, you've been a big fan of poly over mono too, I see in the archives. What have you read or seen?

Hi,

Ebay wants shipping--Amazon does not. Therefore Amazon is overall cheaper than Ebay.

RJsfishin wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Renogy has a better price on Amazon than on Ebay. They do offer a poly panel, too.

Hummmmmmmm, I just checked, still see Amazon $20+ more than ebay.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Renogy has a better price on Amazon than on Ebay. They do offer a poly panel, too.

Hummmmmmmm, I just checked, still see Amazon $20+ more than ebay.

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

Renogy has a better price on Amazon than on Ebay. They do offer a poly panel, too.

I just looked, and that is not the case now. Ebay is about $20 cheaper for their 100w panel.

Don, you've been a big fan of poly over mono too, I see in the archives. What have you read or seen?

Don't put much hope in the "Make Offer"
If you real lucky, it may be good for 5%. But I have had several 5%'s refused.

Hi,

Renogy has a better price on Amazon than on Ebay. They do offer a poly panel, too.

mdelleman, if you buy that panel, please post what offer price you were able to get accepted. That panel is in my short list for buying, mostly because of the 21" width, which helps me a lot.

Jim, I'm wondering if your mono-poly results simply reflect one bad mono panel?

smkettner wrote:

bigfootford wrote:

smkettner wrote:

mdelleman wrote:
Is this a decent panel set up?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solar-Panel-Off-Grid-100W-Watts-100-Watt-Mono-12-Volt-12V-RV-Boat-PV-Charger-/281117901727?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4173eec39fI would like something to help keep the batteries juiced so I don't have to run the gen as much!

Those are fine. Get at least two.

Nice size panels but be aware that the VMP on this panel is 18.9vdc... 22.5 VOC...

I would not use a PWM type controller with this, MPPT is what I would recommend and use.

Jim

Still they will work fine with PWM controller. Just a bit more voltage gets clipped.

If using PWM controller the important spec is Isc or short circuit amps. Use cost per Isc rather than cost per watt to compare value.

Correct. The normal poly 100w has Isc of 6.3a approx., so this one at 5.75a is low for a 100w panel. But its Voc is way high at 22+ instead of 21.9

An MPPT controller could do more with the 22v panel than the 21v panel, but now the cost doesn't work out for such little gain (MPPT on 12v panel). Unless perhaps you use the $13 Buck gizmo instead of a $13 RJ Special PWM controller, you might get and extra amp or two for the same money