Club 80-90 Forums

Looking for a solar panel but read some worrying reviews of them not lasting very long.

Can anyone recommend one that's worth going for?

Cheers

I have two Japanese panels that were made in 1988 or 1992, I can't remember which. but they still put around 75% of their stated value in the best conditions I have subjected them to.

I also have a new Chinese panel and the maximum I have seen is around 75% of the stated output.

Link to reviews please.

I use a Baird panel, three years on I have not noticed any drop in performance and I look at the performance levels ..a lot
In that time I can say also the panel has paid for itself.

My only issue is I should have allowed for expansion.

I have a 20 watt from around 2000 puts out 1.7 amps ( should be 1.8 amps)
Interestingly on the spec sheet ( on the back of the panel ) the rating is 14.5 watts!
The 20 watt rating is peak (what ever that means)
So ( I guess ) when buying 200watt panel you/me are never going to get 200 watts ov electricsity!

dave friday wrote:I have a 20 watt from around 2000 puts out 1.7 amps ( should be 1.8 amps)
Interestingly on the spec sheet ( on the back of the panel ) the rating is 14.5 watts!
The 20 watt rating is peak (what ever that means)
So ( I guess ) when buying 200watt panel you/me are never going to get 200 watts ov electricsity!

It depends on the charge state of you battery. The lower the voltage the higher the Amps will be. Ohms law.

V
Ri
Or,Victoria,India, rubber .ohms law
The 1.7amps was taken with the meter on amps ( with the panel connected to the meter leads)

dave friday wrote:V
Ri
Or,Victoria,India, rubber .ohms law
The 1.7amps was taken with the meter on amps ( with the panel connected to the meter leads)

According to Ohms law you will only get 1.666666666(rec) amps anyway on a 12V battery

this little calculator http://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electri ... ulator.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Shows my 100watt panel still chucks out 8.0 amps after three years

kevtherev wrote:Link to reviews please.

I use a Baird panel, three years on I have not noticed any drop in performance and I look at the performance levels ..a lot
In that time I can say also the panel has paid for itself.

My only issue is I should have allowed for expansion.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/product-review ... ewpoints=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/community/ ... lar-panel/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are others on a gin palace forum that I stumbled across but can't find at the mo.
Good to know your Baird panel is doing OK
I have just had hassle with returning for a refund a Lensun panel that had a cut/crack in its surface, so now looking to buy.

OK I see that these panels just stopped working, I assumed you meant performance.
I chose a board mounted polycarbonate covered panel rather than these flexible ones, to minimise any issues due to it's..er flexibility.
I'm sure like all things man made, things can go wrong, but thankfully these days the cost of a panel is relatively cheap to 10 years ago.

And likely to tumble further over next few years

Yep, After longevity. Don't much fancy trying to remove a silkaflexed bonded panel in a years time.

Not the right thing to stick down a flexi. I used an exterior silicone and it comes off easy enough without staining anything either. Hard to say on longevity of panels, solid or flexible but I think the thing thats likely to change is efficiency which may prompt owners to ditch their old ones in favour of better ones as the technology improves.

I was talking to someone at AO who said two of his panels (fitted to his poptop) had failed due to vibration.

he has now fitted brackets with rubber feet and all seems well

Thanks for the replies

As an aside, I have recently had to return a Lensun panel, and surprise surprise its back listed for sale.

If it sells it will be the third time

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lensun-100W-1 ... Sw8w1X3vB9" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would you buy this? This time they are using MY pictures showing the "laminated fold of ETFE on the surface"

Lensun not cheap either. It does seem to be the case that price has much less to do with reliability/efficiency than you'd think. Had no probs with the two flexis I've got and they were well under £100 each. Batteries always up to full scratch even on an overcast day. I don't like the ridiculous connectors that panels often come with though. You can end up with cable everywhere. I got rid of those and fitted a waterproof junction box instead.