Flexible solar panels, solbian vs renogy

[jbinbi]

Solbian is 3x the price of renogy for the same power.

Why, and is it worth it?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...X7NO78oCM/edit

vs.

https://www.renogy.com/100-watt-12-v...e-solar-panel/

[Networker]

Yes because they use the SunPower Maxeon cells, which are the highest efficiency cells I know of. They make a decent difference, I swapped my Renogy ones for SunPower ones this season. Is it a 3x difference, no way, but it helps. Is it worth 3x the price, maybe. I need all the power I can get, so yes. If you don’t, then not worth 3x.

[tamicatana]

I’ve been with GoPower and have been very pleased. They back their product

[leecea]

I thought the point of paying for more efficient panels was to get more power from your limited space. The panel areas for ~100w panels from each manufacturer seem too close to explain the much higher efficiency that SunPower claims.

[CarlF]

Solbian also has an excellent reputation for quick and easy warranty swap outs.

And warranty is important with flexible panels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onMZ_dRSFUs

[theglo]

I have Renogy flexible panels (2x175W) on my boat and have had no issues. They work great. Perhaps another brand would give me more power but you couldn't beat the price. They've been up less than a year.

I have their rigid panels on my last boat, 100W ones, and they worked flawlessly for the 4+ years I had the boat with them until I sold it.

[Rumrace]

Solar panels can be made by adding substrate in gas chambers. The materials used and the purity determine the quality.
The LEEDS program is for buildings and their environmental impact. A LEEDS certified building is taxed less. Sourcing LEEDS products as close to the construction site gains the highest credit. If an environmental product such as a solar panel came from China it would not qualify. 1. They don’t use the materials but substitute them. 2. It took more energy to make and ship than it will replace in its lifetime because of quality of base materials.
The key to a good LEEDS solar panel is to find a brand within 200 miles of your boat. The brand currently used on the international space station are made in Flint Michigan.
They are not all built the same either and they all expire. As example a handful are ultraviolet. Yup my panels produce juice at night but particularly when no other panels are working mine scream during circadian light. It’s not just the human charger. The flexible panel lense is less efficient than a glass lens, yes but only straight on The blondes and diamond pattern in the moulding lens bring light to the cells past 60 degrees where glass fails. Solar panels in frames are for homes and solar farms.

[jbinbi]

Not sure what you are saying. AFAIK, all commercial panels are made in China. Silicon does not respond well in the UV, it actually responds best in NIR. You need to back thin or change from Si to get a better UV response.

Lensing over the cells to refract more light works with rigid panels, panels that are flexible might be bent on the curvature of the dodger/bimini etc. so who knows how much curvature each panel has. This would negate some lensing effectiveness.

But your post doesn't answer the question of why Renogy is that much less than Solbian. W/area metric between both are pretty close, not enough for this difference. Potentially last longer, but would need to last 3x longer.

[PaulCrawhorn]

Solbian are afaik made in Italy, and only sold though trained professional system integrators.

Renogy makes nothing, is just a mass marketing relabeler selling consumer level crap from China

they used to have decent customer service but that was years ago

but quality was always crap.

Semi-flex panels as a niche is in itself barely sustainable, lifespan a small fraction of glass framed units.

To get more than average 2-3 years in a mobile context, installation on a rigid mounting needs to be perfect,

no actual flexing at all involved once installed, heat sinking built into the design, so no weight savings.

The only advantage is the ability for that rigid mounting surface to be curved.

So, you pay more for high risk of a much shorter lifespan.

[AedanC]

Originally Posted by PaulCrawhorn

Solbian are afaik made in Italy, and only sold though trained professional system integrators.

.

It's hard to find them but you can buy individual Solbian panels as a non-professional, for example here:


https://www.bluemarinestore.com

[Sdpaddler50]

After reading comments on various websites and forums, I decided on Solbian and placed the order last week for 2 SP flex panels and a Victron smart controller for each. Reliability is the key factor I was after when I am sitting at an offshore Island for 3 weeks at a time and need them to work. I was therefore willing to pay a premium for the Solbians. With that said, There also appear to be a lot of happy customers using Renogy panels as well.