Recomendation For Flexable Solar Panels?

[Roniszoro]

I am looking for input on flexible solar panels to attach to a bimini. I want good, highly efficient panels. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.

[CarlF]

I gave up on flexible panels after they never lasted more than two years. But I’m very close to pulling the trigger on the new CIGS technology. More expensive but may finally deliver on the promise of flexible panels. I have several friends who love them but I’m cautious because of my terrible past experiences with flexible panels.

https://www.bougerv.com/products/200...le-solar-panel

[Alistair242]

Ours have been great for the last 4 yrs and are more efficient than our hard panels. Ours are E-Arche 160w panels mounted on our coach roof.

[sailingharry]

I have a pair of 100 watt Solbian flexibles on my bimini. I have spent some time looking at the output from the mppt controller they go to. Tops is about 30 watts. They may work when new, but they have a short operational life.

[Senojev]

My recommendation on flexible panels is don’t unless there is absolutely no way you could mount rigid panels somehow. Flexibles are generally expensive, prone to early failures, and lower output compared to rigid. This is not to condemn all flexible but you will pay as much as 3-4 times as much for anything comparable to a good quality rigid.

[senormechanico]

Here's what I found about my flexible panel failures:

The exit block on top of the panels where wires exit is the most likely spot which causes failure. In my case, I had a 120 watt flexible panel mounted on each ama of my Dragonfly trimaran. The exit point for the wiring has a "snap on" top with a gasket.
The green water encountered in hairy conditions found its way into both of those panel's exit boxes, and the rest is history.


Open the panel's junction box with a screwdriver in the two slotted holes.
With a sharp knife and a soldering iron, I disassembled the panel by cutting into the laminations until I found enough salt water corrosion to kill the silver conductors. I managed to bridge a couple of them, but slight movement of the panel still showed intermittent voltage output.
I finally gave up and ordered two new ones just like the first ones.
When I installed them, the boxes got completely filled with silicone carefully applied to insure complete water tight integrity and the original cover was replaced.


I have another one in an array of three on the stern arch. It's still working, so I did the same thing to it.
Fingers crossed.


If you have any still operating panels with that junction box on the top, "JUST DO IT".

[donradcliffe]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

Here's what I found about my flexible panel failures:

.

The 100 watt flexible panels I have tried failed for two reasons.

1. The covering for the cells became opaque in the sun after a year in the tropical sun. This cause output of less than 30% of rated.

2. Water intrusion finally shorted out the panels.

Were your panels suffering from output loss due to sun damage? I have bought little 15-20 watt battery maintenance panels more recently, and they all still suffer from this.

[stevead]

I've a pair of Solbian SP100 panels on my bimini. They're wired in series and connected to a Victron 75/15 MPPT.

I wasn't concerned about cost differences between rigid and flexible panels as I've nowhere to mount rigid panels.

House batteries are a pair of 210 amp hour AGM's.

My experience seems at odds with others on this forum as they seem to be working fine after at least 7 years in the Med. They're unzipped and removed from the bimini over winter.

Admittedly I don't monitor the output as comprehensively as others, but on sunny days my batteries are back up from their overnight low which is usually12.6 volts to at least 12.8 volts and generally over 13.0 volts by mid afternoon.

My biggest drain is the refrigerator, 5 amps, 10' cycles twice an hour, so 40 amp hours.

I guess the panels are putting out at least that.
200 watts / 24 = 8 amps. Assume a sunny day gives 6 hours of good sunlight, so that equates to 48 amp hours.

Clearly others are having a different experience with their flexible panels.

[Pete7]

I have just bought a cheap 180w semi flexible of Amazon. Temporary installed it and aligned with the sun on a bright clear afternoon. Briefly managed 93w but mostly around 85w. That's not acceptable to me, 75% might have been okay to keep. Its going back when we return home because Amazon UK have a free 30 day returns policy.

Not sure what we are going to do instead. Sun Power if they are available might be worth a gamble, but will have a good think over the winter.

Shame about Solbian, they are supposedly high end panels.

Pete

[CaptTom]

I've seen a lot of recommendations to allow air space under the panels.

Could overheating be a cause of the premature failures and poor performance some are seeing? I'm trying to think of a way to add spacers of some kind between the Sunbrella and flexible panel. I don't really have a place for hard panels unless I build a new Bimini which incorporates them into the frame.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by donradcliffe

The 100 watt flexible panels I have tried failed for two reasons.

1. The covering for the cells became opaque in the sun after a year in the tropical sun. This cause output of less than 30% of rated.

2. Water intrusion finally shorted out the panels.

Were your panels suffering from output loss due to sun damage? I have bought little 15-20 watt battery maintenance panels more recently, and they all still suffer from this.

No noticeable loss. I have two different brands of panels, four of one kind and two of another. The two had discoloration of the top layer. I scraped it off, figuring I had nothing to lose. They put out to spec after that, and still do several years later.

[WatchingWaves]

I have 4 Renology 100W flex panels. They have been on the boat for 1 year, including 6 months in the Bahamas. They all still work, but only put out about 75 Watts each best case.


Since at least one is usually shaded by the boom and/or sails, and since the bimini is curved, the best I ever see out of the set is about 250 Watts.


Certainly worth having, but wish they could actually reach their spec output. Even new, they only did 80W each.