Best Semi-Flexible Panels

[DefinitelyMe]

Hey guys and girls. Semi-flexible panels seem to have gotten better in recent years so i'm thinking of giving them a go and saving some space. The question is, which ones?

There are so many out there and they range in price from about $200 per 100W panel up to $1200 per 100W panel. I'm looking for about 250W total and i want to buy something that is really decent quality but not extortionately priced. Looking at the 145W Apolloflex panels for $700 each (after a 10% discount) from budget marine but i can't find any reviews for them. Which brands would people recommend, or stay away from? Which, in your opinions, are the best value for money? They're going to get heavy use in the South Pacific. I don't want them failing on me.

Cheers!

[Capt Gill]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Hey guys and girls. Semi-flexible panels seem to have gotten better in recent years so i'm thinking of giving them a go and saving some space. The question is, which ones?

There are so many out there and they range in price from about $200 per 100W panel up to $1200 per 100W panel. I'm looking for about 250W total and i want to buy something that is really decent quality but not extortionately priced. Looking at the 145W Apolloflex panels for $700 each (after a 10% discount) from budget marine but i can't find any reviews for them. Which brands would people recommend, or stay away from? Which, in your opinions, are the best value for money? They're going to get heavy use in the South Pacific. I don't want them failing on me.

Cheers!

It's difficult to get the spec's and info re. the mfg., but when quality is concerned take the time to research the retailer.
I've checked out many companies selling solar panels, virtually all give a power rating (watts) based on open voltage rating, around 18v, which one cannot charge any 12 v batt. that I know of, it's more in the range of 14.4 v, if one uses that figure (v x amp = watts) the useable power is about 80% of the advertised rating. OceanPlanet is the standout exception, Bruce actually under rates the power ! This sort of truth in advertising alone is reason to vote your dollars to OceanPlanet.
Disclaimer: many years ago Bruce and I crewed together in a C of C race on San Fran. Bay - he was modest then too.
Jack

[BassMonkey]

I agree, Bruce will get you pointed in the right direction. Your probably going to be looking at the Solbian Flex line. He'll recommend a separate charge controller for each panel(Genasun). This will maximize the panels energy potential. Shoot him an email, he is very responsive.

[Kenomac]

I'm also considering the Solbian Flex line out of Maine. Going to measure everything when I get to Italy on Thursday and get a quote. They seem a little more expensive than some, but I want the system to be designed properly for 24v, to take up a small amount of space on the bimini and come with all the attachments. I don't want to have to fool around hunting down parts from an online supplier and end up with a mess. Plus the Solbains are made in Italy.

[SVArgo]

We have 6 (yes, six) Renogy 100w panels on our bimini and are continually happy with them and their output.

At 4lbs, $200, 100w, and a topped up 450ah battery bank at 11am on a cloudy day, I couldn't be happier.

I run them in parallel into a 50amp MPPT charge controller. Pushing the limits on the MPPT, but as stated above, charging is at 14.4 and we usually, in full Caribbean sun, see 35-40amps, unless we have a higher load on.

In time I will be separating the 6 panels into 2 arrays of 300w with a 30amp MPPT for each side.

I diverted a bit...

I have yet to hear a complaint about the Renogy panels from any one that has them.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[CarlF]

SVargo,

I'm thinking of exactly the same plan - six 100w Renogy panels on the bimini split port and starboard into two 30 amp MPPT controllers (what brand controller are you considering?). I bought one Renogy panel to test and am happy with the output and construction quality.

How do you secure your panels to the bimini? Any problem with them flapping in higher winds? Any stretching of the fabric? Chafe where the panels touch the fabric? Do they cross any tubes?

I'm thinking of connecting each side in series and delivering 36V to the controller (12v battery) - primarily to keep the wire size gauge smaller as the run to the batteries is longer than I'd like. Thoughts?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Carl

[fallingeggs]

I just installed a 120 watt panel from the eBay seller Discount Solar out of California. It is a inexpensive Chinese knockoff of the US one mentioned above. It is hooked up to Morningstar MTTP.

So far it is performing to spec at 26 volts and 5.8-ish amps, even early on in the morning or later in the evening.

Again, it has only been a few weeks, but things are fine. Don't have any experience, other than price, with other panels, so I can't compare. On price, mine were $244 each with free shipping. Beats the pants off of $700 even if they last only half as long (ie 10 years rather than 20).

I hope to give a better review when it has more time under the sun and/or I figure out how to properly assess a solar panel.


Sent from my iPhone using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[newhaul]

Here is a lot of good info in another thread here on flexible panels
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ls-128947.html

[DefinitelyMe]

Thanks very much. I had looked at the Solbian ones and couldn't see much difference in the specs between them and the Apolloflex panels, but they're $150 more expensive. Is it worth it?

I already have a charge controller that i really love, a Rogue MPT-3048. Input voltage is not really important since the regulator can accept up to 100V (my current solar array has an output voltage of about 48V) and will spit out whatever it needs to for whatever state of charge and whatever temperature the batteries are at. In fact, whatever panels i get will be run in series to the charge controller in order to maximise voltage and therefore minimise resistance and voltage drop.

I had discounted the renogy ones, perhaps somewhat foolishly, simply because they are made with a plastic backing rather than a metal one and the price would tend to suggest that they are a budget purchase rather than a quality one. However, based on your testimonies they might be worth another look. At less than half the price of the Apolloflex or Solbian panels it might make sense. Solar technology is moving so quickly now that if they last me 5 years something far better and cheaper will be around by then as a replacement. As i said though, i don't want them dying on me half way across the Pacific........ and they will be my primary source of power.

[Muzungu]

My advice would be to avoid any of the cheaper Chinese imports, when you look closely they're not truly flexible. Bend a bit too far and you easily shear the contacts off the cells.

We went with the Gioco Solutions panels and very satisfied, no delamination issues that we heard other cruisers had faced on other high end panels. We did a ton of research as its was a big investment for 6 panels. The Gioco panels also have a unique attachment process where they've managed to achieve 16x more attachment points per cell to prevent hot spots from ever occurring. Our research also turned up the importer Gioco Solutions Price List - United States - Hybrid Power Supply so we bought direct. Service was fantastic also picked up some Genasun controllers, couldn't be happier with our solar equipment.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by CarlF

SVargo,

I'm thinking of exactly the same plan - six 100w Renogy panels on the bimini split port and starboard into two 30 amp MPPT controllers (what brand controller are you considering?). I bought one Renogy panel to test and am happy with the output and construction quality.

How do you secure your panels to the bimini? Any problem with them flapping in higher winds? Any stretching of the fabric? Chafe where the panels touch the fabric? Do they cross any tubes?

I'm thinking of connecting each side in series and delivering 36V to the controller (12v battery) - primarily to keep the wire size gauge smaller as the run to the batteries is longer than I'd like. Thoughts?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Carl

Carl, 12v solar panels don't put out 12v, they put out somewhat higher than 12v. In the case of the Renogy flexible panels, Vmp = 17.7v, Voc = 21.7v. Voc is the voltage that you must not exceed on your solar controller. In this case, your solar controller must be able to take at least 65.1v in order to connect 3 in series. If you've selected a controller that can't go that high, you can still connect them in parallel and the controller will see between 17.7V normally and up to 21.7V on a very cold morning.

Your idea of keeping voltage high for minimal voltage drop is a good one, just be careful to select a controller that can accept higher voltages. They're typically more expensive. However, comparing the price difference between thicker cable and the more expensive controllers, I'd probably spring for the thicker cable, since the price jump between cheaper controllers and the top of the line controllers could be as much as $300-400 ea.

I always try to encourage people to mount their solar panels as far away from shade as possible - the power loss from partial shading is a lot higher than people think. This usually means an arch over the stern, but you do the best you can with what you've got. Partial power is better than no power.

[socaldmax]

Originally Posted by DefinitelyMe

Thanks very much. I had looked at the Solbian ones and couldn't see much difference in the specs between them and the Apolloflex panels, but they're $150 more expensive. Is it worth it?

I already have a charge controller that i really love, a Rogue MPT-3048. Input voltage is not really important since the regulator can accept up to 100V (my current solar array has an output voltage of about 48V) and will spit out whatever it needs to for whatever state of charge and whatever temperature the batteries are at. In fact, whatever panels i get will be run in series to the charge controller in order to maximise voltage and therefore minimise resistance and voltage drop.

I had discounted the renogy ones, perhaps somewhat foolishly, simply because they are made with a plastic backing rather than a metal one and the price would tend to suggest that they are a budget purchase rather than a quality one. However, based on your testimonies they might be worth another look. At less than half the price of the Apolloflex or Solbian panels it might make sense. Solar technology is moving so quickly now that if they last me 5 years something far better and cheaper will be around by then as a replacement. As i said though, i don't want them dying on me half way across the Pacific........ and they will be my primary source of power.

The Renogy panels appear to be a real bargain, because thy're made with Sunpower cells, the most efficient cells on the market (aside from what NASA gets.) They're rated at 20% efficiency, so you're getting more power per square ft than any other brand. I'm surprised that they're that inexpensive.

[OceanPlanet]

Note that there are many different grades of SunPower cells, with the pricing going up in a steepening curve from the 20.1% low power bin, to the 20.8, 22.4, 22.6, 22.8, and at the top 23.7%. So the pricing of the panels generally reflects what cells you are getting.

[DefinitelyMe]

Originally Posted by OceanPlanet

Note that there are many different grades of SunPower cells, with the pricing going up in a steepening curve from the 20.1% low power bin, to the 20.8, 22.4, 22.6, 22.8, and at the top 23.7%. So the pricing of the panels generally reflects what cells you are getting.

OK, noted. But does the efficiency of the cells necessarily correspond to their quality as well, or just the W per unit area? I've decided to mount them on the lifelines, so space isn't such as issue, but construction quality definitely is!

[SeaKing]

I used 600 watts of 50 watt panels on our boat from Aurinco. I have them on three different MPPT controllers. One for the panels across the back and one for each side of the sail. They were installed 3.5 years ago with no issues with them yet.
Aurinco solar start page


That is our boat shown and you can see 1/3 of the panels are shaded but the other two thirds are not affected because of being on their own controllers. That is an idea I came up with. I was able to get three Morningstar controllers for less than one large enough for all the panels. Also if one controller dies I still have 2/3 of my system up.