Solar Panel Performance

[Rick_Powers]

This is a continuation of the Solar Panel for Recharging Battery Thread.

The new solar panel arrived today (Thanks Amazon.com free shipping!).

Nicely packaged it measures 36" x 14" x 1" thick. Sturdy and weighs about 7 lbs. Looks cool with the black photo-voltaic surface. The future is here!

It is rated at 15W x 15V = 1 Amp

First thing I did was to take it out into the sunlight. Pointing directly at the sun at 3pm on a bright and sunny California afternoon I measured 22 volts coming out. Yeah!

Laying it down on the ground flat, I measured 22 volts. Yeah!

Bringing it inside to my kitchen table (I have lots of windows for ambient light) I still measured 15 volts. Good!

Into a darker bedroom with only one oblique window, 13 volts. Wow.

So, I will attach the panel to the voltage controller which prevents over charging, and that, with my new #1 battery, should keep me out of battery trouble for quite a while.

Tomorrow I will install the system on the boat. I can't wait!



(PS- this is an independent evaluation of this product)

http://www.sunforceproducts.com/prod...?PRODUCT_ID=89

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[sastanley]

Looks good Rick!

[rgoff]

Volts don't mean too much by themselves. It's the amps coming out that count. You can't measure those until it's hooked up to a battery (or controller). Then the volts will go down to under 14 or so, depending on battery charge.

[Rick_Powers]

Amps

Yes, you are correct.

After the controller it is 15 Volts x 1 Amp = 15 Watts

My point with the volts observations was that the panel picks up good photon flux even in sub-optimal conditions (off angle, inside a house, etc.).