Community Forums

BigBillSD · 09-09-2018, 01:06 PM

I have decided I don't want to mount rigid panels on my roof and since that epiphany I have been researching flexible panels. I really wanted to do the Global Solar 300w peel and stick panels due to their quality and length of time they have been making great panels, but I just don't have the 18'x 20" of clear space on my roof to mount them. I don't even have enough 13' x 20" space to put 3 of their 200w peel and sticks. The thought of putting 6 100+ watt panels with all the ensuing wire connections was not very appealing either. I am now leaning toward these Renogy 160w panels that are back in stock this coming week. Warranty looks good as well as max voltage (600v) compared to most other brands. I am not finding any reviews of them.

Has anyone here mounted these flexible panels? Or even the 100w panels. If so, what is your opinion so far? How long have you been using them? etc.. Thanks! Bill

https://www.renogy.com/renogy-160-wa...e-solar-panel/

4x4 · 09-12-2018, 01:19 PM

I had 600w of high end flexible panels for about 6 months. They never performed as expected and started cupping within that time. Read this article on AMSolar's site for their view. I concur with the article. https://amsolar.com/solar-panels-for...lexible-panels

Itinerant1 · 09-12-2018, 02:04 PM

From reading different blogs, forums and seeing videos it seems flexible panels don't do well glued down and have a poor performance. Folks that make some sort of frame or just lay/ lean them on something have a little better performance but down the road seem to buy framed panels the next time.

BigBillSD · 09-13-2018, 11:32 AM

I guess I am going to be the guinea pig for flexible solar. I had read the AM solar review, they didn't even mention the Global Solar which has a great track record. Probably because most RV's could do that themselves and leave AM Solar out of the question.

I just received my Renogy 160w Flexible s https://amzn.to/2xgKiHE
Hopefully my cabling arrives today so I can do a sidewalk test on them.

They have a 5 year Materials warranty and 25 year @ 80% output warranty.

I better get a hard copy of that!

-Bill

Itinerant1 · 09-13-2018, 12:13 PM

It's not that you're a guinea pig your just not believing what others have done before you with flexible panels and expecting/ hoping for a different result.

4x4 · 09-13-2018, 12:22 PM

It's your money but like I said I had high end panels... and they were... Global Solar panels...

The quip about AMSolar is also not fair. They have been doing installs and have redone improper installs of flexible panels from either self installs or other "professional" installations.

It's your money but I guarantee you you'll be looking at them in 6 months wishing you went with rigid panels and will be replacing them within 2 years...

There's another problem with them not mentioned yet. Heat. Since they are black and are stuck right on your roof they build up heat which gets transmitted through your roof into the interior of your rig versus glass panels that are raised above the roof that not only don't transmit the heat but also shade the top of your rig. They also stay cooler being separated from the mass of your roof, a triple advantage over flexible panels glued onto the roof. Finally people have had their roofs ruined by the build up of heat caused by the flexible panels...

BigBillSD · 09-13-2018, 10:40 PM

These panels are made with ETFE, they do not look like any of the panels I have seen in the flex problem reviews.

But only time will tell, and if they are a problem, I won't hesitate to let everyone here know how it goes and will use the warranty if they need replacements. I imagine in 5 years there will be better offerings, maybe even White solar panels.. Wouldn't that be "cool".

As for the heat issues with the black panels, I have a lot of black paint on my coach, like thousands of other RV's these days. And yes, sometimes when its 108 in the shade, I wish I had an all white RV

-Bill

BigBillSD · 09-24-2018, 10:42 PM

Panels have been installed for over a week now and are just putting out a lot of power. I really didn't expect to be getting close to 500 watts starting around 10am in the middle of September glued flat on my RV roof. But they are working that way. I originally hooked them up (4 panels) as two serially then the two pairs paralleled to the controller but they kept tripping my 20 amp breaker so I rewired them as all serially connected and it lowered the amperage to half and have not had a breaker let go since. I do notice the voltage go down from around 78 when the panels are cooler in the morning to around 69 in the heat of the day and later. But the Victron MPPT just keeps cranking in the 30 or so amps into the batteries.

I decided to check the ceiling temperatures inside the coach below where the panels are. No difference to the rest of the ceiling on a 95 degree day here in SoCal to my touch.

I am really enjoying the silence and watching the Bogart Trimetric showing +35 amps into the batteries and no sound or vibration from the generator.. as its not running!!

Heading for the Balloon Fiesta in a couple of days. Will be over with the Escapees if anyone else is there. -Bill

talmag · 09-25-2018, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigBillSD

Panels have been installed for over a week now and are just putting out a lot of power. I really didn't expect to be getting close to 500 watts starting around 10am in the middle of September glued flat on my RV roof. But they are working that way. I originally hooked them up (4 panels) as two serially then the two pairs paralleled to the controller but they kept tripping my 20 amp breaker so I rewired them as all serially connected and it lowered the amperage to half and have not had a breaker let go since. I do notice the voltage go down from around 78 when the panels are cooler in the morning to around 69 in the heat of the day and later. But the Victron MPPT just keeps cranking in the 30 or so amps into the batteries.

I decided to check the ceiling temperatures inside the coach below where the panels are. No difference to the rest of the ceiling on a 95 degree day here in SoCal to my touch.

I am really enjoying the silence and watching the Bogart Trimetric showing +35 amps into the batteries and no sound or vibration from the generator.. as its not running!!

Heading for the Balloon Fiesta in a couple of days. Will be over with the Escapees if anyone else is there. -Bill

What Victron charger did you use? I recently completed a 600W install (4 150W Renogy panels). Initially had them wired in series to a Victron 100/50 charge controller. Watched on several occasions where the PV voltage would spike from around 78V. Enough to have the controller indicate over voltage alarm. At that point the panel output would drop to zero then work it's way back up. Watched it do that several times in a 5 minute period and decided to rewire the 4 as series parallel to drop the PV voltage to avoid the intermittent over voltage condition.

Hartrepair · 02-17-2019, 11:16 AM

Id be interested in how this install is functioning now. Rigid panels are better, but the weight is something I cant afford.

jcussen · 02-17-2019, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talmag

What Victron charger did you use? I recently completed a 600W install (4 150W Renogy panels). Initially had them wired in series to a Victron 100/50 charge controller. Watched on several occasions where the PV voltage would spike from around 78V. Enough to have the controller indicate over voltage alarm. At that point the panel output would drop to zero then work it's way back up. Watched it do that several times in a 5 minute period and decided to rewire the 4 as series parallel to drop the PV voltage to avoid the intermittent over voltage condition.

Think you need to return your controller, should not fault at under 100 volts. I have the 150 volt Victron and have seen 130 volts in the morning. Your panels max. voltage open circuit is series should be 91.2 volts, well within the 100/50 range.
https://www.victronenergy.com/live/mppt-error-codes

BigBillSD · 02-17-2019, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by talmag

What Victron charger did you use? I recently completed a 600W install (4 150W Renogy panels). Initially had them wired in series to a Victron 100/50 charge controller. Watched on several occasions where the PV voltage would spike from around 78V. Enough to have the controller indicate over voltage alarm. At that point the panel output would drop to zero then work it's way back up. Watched it do that several times in a 5 minute period and decided to rewire the 4 as series parallel to drop the PV voltage to avoid the intermittent over voltage condition.

I used the SmartSolar 100/50. I have not see a voltage issue in the 5 months I have been using them. I have 4 wired in series. Usually 80 volts, but I calculated if they get below 32 degrees they could go over voltage. It almost never gets that cold where I am in the winter so if it would be going there I would just turn them off till it gets a bit warmer. BTW, These panels are awesome. I was getting close to 500 watts at solar noon on Jan 15th. Overall they generated 2.19KWH that day. Middle of winter with 640w of panels glued flat on my RV roof! They still look new to me. -Bill

BigBillSD · 02-17-2019, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hartrepair

Id be interested in how this install is functioning now. Rigid panels are better, but the weight is something I cant afford.

I am a very happy boondocker! These panels are amazing and generate way more power in the winter that I could have imagined. I calculated they would have put in 160AH into my batteries in one day the middle of January had I not be using 8 amps for those 10 hours... So my Trimetric only saw 80AH put into the battery that day and I used the other 80 AH realtime. Once I figured that out I broke out the Solar Suitcase I built last spring to allow all 160 AH to go into the batter instead of almost half being used prior to getting to the battery. After 5 months I would not hesitate to purchase them again. And I may add two more on the roof next year so I don't have to deploy the suitcase to grab that extra power.