Renogy 100w Bendable Solar Panels!
I just bought two of these, and I LOVE them. The panels are rated 100w at 19v, and using the world's cheapest, dumbest PWM charger I'm getting 60w out of each (120w total), all day long. ALL DAY LON...
Forum Discussion
Again, these are my initial impressions.
The 100 watt rating is based on a 19 volt output at 5 amps and change. But I'm using a cheap PWM controller to harvest 12 volts, or about 62% of the output, as stated. HOWEVER, a PWM controller only takes the bottom 12 volts and throws the rest of the power away. The fact that I seem to be getting a reliable 12 volts at 5 amps (60 watts) leads me to believe that much (but certainly not all) of the remaining 7 volts might be recovered using an MPPT controller.
I say 90% because I know all controllers are lossy, and I'm guessing. However, the amps are real, which tells me the stated 100 watt output is not fictional, given the proper controller.
And again, I'm most excited about being able to point these panels directly at the sun all day long. My glass-encased panels could never be tilted or turned that easily (too big, too heavy). IMO, even if the Renogy panels were half the efficiency of my Kyoceras, they would still be more productive only for that reason. But the Renogy panels seem to be in the same class of efficiency as the Kyoceras (although twice as expensive), which for me makes them far more productive than heavy glass panels laying flat.
Not talkin 'bout anyone else's panels here!
The 100 watt rating is based on a 19 volt output at 5 amps and change. But I'm using a cheap PWM controller to harvest 12 volts, or about 62% of the output, as stated. HOWEVER, a PWM controller only takes the bottom 12 volts and throws the rest of the power away. The fact that I seem to be getting a reliable 12 volts at 5 amps (60 watts) leads me to believe that much (but certainly not all) of the remaining 7 volts might be recovered using an MPPT controller.
I say 90% because I know all controllers are lossy, and I'm guessing. However, the amps are real, which tells me the stated 100 watt output is not fictional, given the proper controller.
And again, I'm most excited about being able to point these panels directly at the sun all day long. My glass-encased panels could never be tilted or turned that easily (too big, too heavy). IMO, even if the Renogy panels were half the efficiency of my Kyoceras, they would still be more productive only for that reason. But the Renogy panels seem to be in the same class of efficiency as the Kyoceras (although twice as expensive), which for me makes them far more productive than heavy glass panels laying flat.
Not talkin 'bout anyone else's panels here!
