My 180 watt 9bb newpowa panels have been amazing. I got 3 to max out the charging for my Ac180 bluetti and it gives me the max 500 watts so I'm stoked. And it's thanks to you because you're the one that recommended them thanks to their low Voc voltage.
When you were showing the BougeRV panels, i noticed quite a bit of color variation of the individual cells within the panel. The cells that look kind of purple in color are cells that would have been rejected in a manufacturing line as having a poor anti-reflectance coating (purple indicates the silicon nitride coating is too thin). These would have been binned as something other than grade A cells and these type cells typically sold to panel manufacturers making the less expensive (or cheaper price per watt) panels. What you really don't want to see is color variations within the same panel (which is what i noticed from your video) as you will see quite a bit of parasitic losses (current) within the panel. The best performing BougeRV panel also appears to be the most uniform in color, as well as the best in color. The NewPowa also appears to have a better optimized bus configuration for each cell, as compared to the other panels. Great review! Maybe you could get EcoFlow to send out one of their 2 axis trackers for review. I think you would be shocked by how much energy is lost by not using solar tracking.
I should have tested these 4 panels thoroughly when I got them awhile back. I'm pretty sure the output has changed dramatically. The coloring was pretty similar on them in the beginning, or at least from what I remember.... Pretty frustrating that I get around 430 watts on average on my AC500 with this array when I could be getting 600+ watts. Garbage results from those panels....
After your video we ordered 3 Newpowa 200 watt panels. They by far are the very best packaged solar panels, arrived in perfect shape. And they work great! I'm sure anyone that orders solar panels have had damaged product issues.
I always learn more from all your testing. This was of particular interest because it involved solar panels. It took me awhile to understand more of the watts & voltages & amps outputs. Now if I can understand how to connect according to the requirements of the power station, that would be awesome. I would love to see more videos from you regarding solar panels because I can understand in manner you explain. Well done.
Thanks for the comments on shipping damage - certainly something that needs to be considered - it's always a big disappoint when a poorly packaged item is delivered.
Woof, the inconsistencies in the BougeRV panels is miles away from acceptable. Makes me want to test my 8x 100w panels because they are from a pretty random brand. Great video as always!
“Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!” haha, your comment reminded me of Home Alone LOL... Yeah, these panels are pretty bad now. I sent the video to BougeRV, We'll see what they say back. Not impressed at all.
Good to know. I missed out on the Bouge RV 180w 9bb 12v when they were $180. A few days later Newpowa 200w 9bb 24v were $206 so I decided to build a 24v system for my van. Got 4 of them. I'm building a tilting roof mount to get the most out of them.
I have 3 of these BougeRV 180w 5BB panels. They worked fine for me in a parallel setup (how I first used them), but when I put them in series, I noticed only full panel bypass was happening when a bit of shade hit a panel, no partial panel bypass like i expected. I looked in the junction box to find crazy stuff. One box looked great, 2 diodes (in pairs) all wired up nicely, but the middle terminal was floating (?!), turns out the internal tracing didn't make it all the way up to the top bus bar like it should. And other two panels had 3 diodes each in the box (should have 2), and the middle 2 terminals were floating too. There was tons of caulk in the box, hiding the fact that the middle terminals weren't even connected to the panel's middle trace. I cut out the caulk and wired up the middle trace, now these 2 panels work right. My other panels (Rich Solar and HQST) have properly working bypass diodes. It's odd to me that the BougeRV panels had this problem.
Just found your channel, like your reviews and methodology- but I would like to hear you tell us about WARRANTY, possible extended warranty, US vs foreign service, customer service after the sale. These are all VERY IMPORTANT points when purchasing somewhat expensive equipment. Thanks! Keep up the good work! 😁😁😁
I've been including warranty information and support experiences in my full length reviews more often, I can always improve with that, thanks for the feed back Beached Bum
I have two of the 180 watt Bouge panels and once I put them on my aluminium frame I noticed one or maybe both were slightly bowed in the middle. It was close enough for me, so I just bolted them to the frame that I made out of a 1/8" aluminium channel. The packages my panels came in were well protected. The front of the panel had foam and cardboard on it and the outside of the shipping box was strapped. I am not a fan of the lightweight aluminium around the panels, but I beefed them up with my rack. I was going for a lighter-weight panel because I have them mounted to the front of my A-frame travel trailer. I did notice the lower output of the panels; but they are mounted so I am going to roll with them. I don't see myself changing them out because my rack was configured around their size.
I have two of the BougeRV 180w panels, and one of their 200w panels, all of which are the 9bb version. They all tested out at 80% or higher, upon delivery. Now I want to go look at their coloration and see what kind of output they show after a few months of use.
@@Jasonoid 6 months later and the degradation on the 200w 9BB BougeRV panel is much higher than I had hoped it would be. It's gone from a peak of around 165w down to around 145w. I need to test the 180w panels to see how they are holding up, but the 200w panel is not living up to expectations.
Thank you for such a comparison. I recently bought an Eco Worthy and noticed quite little output at southern Utah, among the most sunny areas in US. Also it came with some damage on shipping package and the frame.
At the same time as I bought the 4 Eco-Worthy 195 watt panels, I also bought two 100 watt Eco Worthy 5BB panels. There was no shipping damage on those and they were kind of in a flimsy carton too. So I guess I was lucky there. Of note was that the 100 watt panels put out 82 and 79 watts. Normally I would not be too happy with that but I made an exception as I'll show below. Jason and I like to test against a known panel like the Sunpower 50 watt because we've seen that panel get near 50 watts on a good solar conditions. And so when we are testing panels if we don't get near 50 watts on the Sunpower, we can assume sky conditions or angle are not ideal and can approximate a value on the panels we're testing to know if they are any good. When testing the Eco Worthy 100 watt panels, the Sundpower was giving me 46 watts and a Newpower 100w panel I have was doing 84 watts. The Sunpower was 8% below best case specification and thus I'd like to see these other 100 watt panels give me 8% below their rating (ie: around 92 watts). Thus 82 and 79 watts is kind of below what I would like to see for a 100 watt panel. However I wasn't totally bummed because these Eco Worthy 100 watt panels size wise only had 723 sq inches of solar surface area which is the smallest I've seen for a company calling it a 100 watt panel. So if there was any reason to be happy was that the 100w had a good watts-to-weight, watts-to-price, and watts-to-size was OK. Also when proportionally comparing the Eco 100w to their 195w (they should call them 180w) based on solar cell size........well if the 100w is giving 82 watts, then based on solar surface area of both panels, the bigger panel should have delivered 162 watts. Interesting that the Eco 195 watt panels are twice the weight of their 100 watt panels and twice the price but do not put out twice the performance.
@@jeffl6089 I have a 195w eco-worthy panel, I’m getting a peak 164w from it with a mppt controller with a 8 amp limit. This was in late March In Connecticut. Paid $150 shipped.
bought quite a few of the bougerv panels all are working fine(solstice sun on the west coast...in excess of 9 amps with clear skies- very much like the first brv panel you tested all tested at rated specs when received). All 14 arrived in good condition. these are used in a variety of connections both series and parallel. I have no complaints, especially for the price I paid. I wonder if shipping damage could have disrupted the internal wiring (via twisting or shock?) in a manner that doesn't show? The shipping damage seems to be a linking factor. Let us know how the warranty process goes. I found them to be good to work with.(I bought a brv 9bb portable panel that was way out of specs... at least as advertised)
I have the eco-worthy 195w panel, it arrived in perfect condition. I’m running it with a bluetti eb70s, which is limited to 8 amp input. With that I have reached 164 watts, which is about as high as it gets with the eb70. It may put out more wattage with a better mppt controller.
The BougeRV 180W 5BB version solar panels have been quietly dropped/discontinued by the manufacturer. They start to lose power after about 4-6 months and develop burnt edges alongside each cell. I would stay away.
Really thanks for the answer the video put a light on the efficience For my Delta 2 Max the size and specs on paper tell me to take Eco-Worthy (2*200W (195W)) but in the test it was poor. The other comparaison I like to see is wattage vs size. Thanks fo all @@Jasonoid
That's why I bought my 360 watt panels (6 of them) locally and they were delivered for free! No damage 👍 I have seen over 1900 watts out of them (3 each in series x 2 mppt) on a bluetti AC300 which I can live with.
@@nascar427 I'm in Oklahoma so a company/ warehouse that sells solar products to the solar installers is who I found locally in Oklahoma city. Just call your local solar companies and ask them where and if there's a local warehouse in your area.
Same thing happened to me on my portable grid I made after seeing your build. One on my Newpowa panels was much less than the other two. Contacted Newpowa and after numerous emails and Facebook messages they agreed to send me a return label for one panel. All were bought in 2019. They had my panel for almost 2 weeks before I finally got confirmation a replacement was being shipped. Got the replacement and it's now a different size than the other two existing so won't match my grid build. Lol.
I'm sure it will be hard for me to get my panels returned since I've had them so long. Still glad you got a new replacement panel, better than the nothing I suppose.
Just got 4 of the ecoworthy 24v bifacial 195 watts panels was quite disappointed of the output could only get 133 watts of each panels and living in Arizona.
No wonder my BougeRV panel result sucks too, bought 14 200w panels result are 110w average. Should bought Renogy one, maybe my next string will change. Bought total of 6 different shipment, 5 shipment has broken panel, they need to improve packaging, Rich Solar is pretty good on packing and result are little better not much.
I got 585 watts from those panels in the winter earlier this year in this video at the 18:00 minute mark: ruclips.net/video/bE1EiGpt5KM/видео.html I now get around 440 watts on average throughout the day, much worse now. I still use them since solar power is solar power. I need the power to run my devices....
Hi jake liu, we will offer a one-to-one service if you have any problems within the warranty period. Please be free to contact us. Shopify Order:support@bougerv.com Amazon Order:service@bougerv.com
I really wanted to try a NewPowa panel but have been waiting months for the 210W 24V Monocrystalline Solar Panel to get back in stock - I check almost daily but no luck
Sadly, this is common practice. If you want 150 watt panel, you end up buying a 200 watt panel because you know the game the manufacturers are playing I for one am tired of it and hope that there are some sort of regulation that forces manufacturers to actually produce panels at there rated wattage.
I have 15 of the bougerv 100watt 9bb panels and I get over 100watts on each. Love them... I do have a 1 NewPowa 200watt 9bb and I hate that thing it will not get more than 155watts.
I wish my experience was the same as yours. Maybe the 9bb panels will have a longer lifespan than the 5bb? I got good results during my first 6 months, but now the power production is dropping out. I'll do an update video down the road, maybe in another 6 months to see how they perform. I doubt BougeRV will replace them.
Interesting that the same brand and model panels vary so much in output. You mentioned shipping issues. I wonder if some of the cells were damaged and that accounts for the difference. I wonder if the Newpowa, which had no shipping issues would be closer to the same output. What do you think of the newer BougeRV 9BB panels? I am always curious to know how panels do with partial shading and in low light. I wonder if the 9BB panels help with these situations. Also, love to see a video on CIGS panels some day. Thanks.
The glass and panels didn't appear to be damaged from shipping, I can only guess that the panels have degredated overtime. I wish I tested them more in depth up front to see the real difference. It's hard for me to recommend any BougeRV panel at this point since these ones were so bad... Who know if I got a bad batch or if they are all this way. 3 of the 4 panels are pretty bad! I don't compare partial shading on single solar panels tests since any shade on a single panel will kill the power completely. When you have portable/folding panels with individual sections (bi fold / quad fold), theycan be wired in series or parallel, so it's worth testing for partial shading results on those. As you mentioned cigs panels are the only option for higher power in shading.
@@Jasonoid I get what you are saying about single panels. I just wondered because I have seen some brands advertise that they do well in shadows and low light. I think one was a Renogy. Made me think there are some differences. I thought I also heard that the 9BB technology panels do better in less than ideal situations. I’m jus wondering because I’m trying to be smarter about my choices. Thanks again.
Nice comparison and results. Did you buy the BougeRV panels at the same time from the same source? Wonder if that plays a factor. Anyway I've taken Bouge off my wishlist. Still have the NewPowa 9BB 100w currently selling for $84.
They were all purchased at the same time, or at least within a couple weeks of each other. I'm wishing I really tested these up front so I would have some "new production" numbers VS what I am getting now... I'm guessing from the coloring I have some major degradation going on. The Newpowa panels I purchased recently all put out the same power on day 1, I guess time will tell on those as well.
I just got 2 BougeRV 9BB 200w panels. The VOC specs says 21.62 +/- 3%V but I am getting 19.0v from each panel in direct sun. Wired in series I am getting 280w as my Bluetti AC300 shows. Should I be getting 21v rather than 19.v ? Or is it correct and 280w is the best I will get? Thanks
The voc rating is usually under perfect conditions in a laboratory. You'll get closer to that number under colder weather conditions. With higher temps you'll see lower voltages. As for wattage output, there are many factors that go into how many watts a solar panel produces. Things like wire gauge, wire length, angles of the panels, weather conditions and temperature.
Interesting. Great video. Do you guys have a recommendation for panels that I can buy that will work with the Bluetti AC500 w/B300s batteries I have on order? I believe there is a 60 v (voc) limit I have to keep in mind. I know Bluetti has a PV410 for like a $800, which is expensive. Thanks in advance.
The AC500 has a voltage limit of 150volts, so you can get quite a few in series. I would just stick with some actual solar brands like Newpowa and Renogy. There are others as well.
100ah lifepo4 Battery is at 50% SOC during this test (13.2v during the entire test). We are using a Bluesky 20amp MPPT charger controller, the measurements on the screen are from an inline shunt. Panels were all tested at the same angle, conditions, and temperature. The same wiring length, connections, and gauge is also being used for each panel. The testing conditions were matched as close as we could.
Yes, all panels were in the same condition. BougeRV is replacing them under warranty since they are so bad now. Upgraded packaging and performance so hopefully they will be better.
Thank you. Now I know why my 195w ecoworthy never performs as rated. I have seen comments on Amazon saying it is likely a 160w panel. Also it performs worse when in series. I have two ecoworthy 195w that performs woefully when in series and there is a little shade on one panel. It appears there is no Bypass diode.
Are you talking about the biracial or the regular one ??? I have the bifacial ones and when I have it in series and if I have great sunlight n can pull about 900 off of 6 panels easily…
@@dieseldawg7132 The regular ones. I never get anything close to the rated power. It is always around 150w-160w on the best days. I have other panels from another brand that are 100w and they would sometimes give me 105w to 110w on a good day.
Keep me updated on your test results! I noticed junky performance out of my array so I wanted to test each one individually.... Glad I did! I hope BougeRV will do something about it. Oh wait I drilled holes in the frame, that caused the loss in power.... I could see them saying something like that!
Hi~ we have a good after-sales guarantee we will offer one-to-one service if you have any problems within the warranty period. Please be free to contact us. Shopify Order:support@bougerv.com Amazon Order:service@bougerv.com
Hey Dr J' I was looking for a 100w solar panel and came across the HQST $67, ECO-FRIENDLY $71, NEWPOWA 9BB $79 which brand do you think would deliver the most wattage??
It would be interesting to know were these panels are built. Probably china but still where they are built. By built I mean who manufactured the cells and who assembled the cells. The info you provided about packaging was great information. I will look into the who manufactures the cells as that is also info I want to learn. Great video. Quick with facts. Not lots of stories just the facts. Detective Joe Friday from the 1950's TV show Dragnet use to always say " Just the facts ma'am".
What is weird to me is I have seen 15-20% over rating outputs from all the 3 or the different brands I have. Newpowa(poly and mono) Renogy(poly and mono) and HQST(poly). Mine aren't side by side, same angle same day, same time, so it isn't the same as your test. I am looking at max output on my charge controller records, so it tells me they have the potential and I am getting what I paid for but I suppose I could get more on less than perfect days. Amazon had a $50 coupon for a Newpowa 180watt so I grabbed that quick($148 shipped) to pick up late afternoon/evening sun, I am kind of expecting to see up to 200watts peak from it, I hope I'm not disappointed. Have to wait for summer sun of course to find out.
Wow major bummer on this BougeRV panels. For the power you are getting from them, that array could be 60% of it's current size. Those degraded insanely fast and that's really not acceptable. Most manufacturers have a warranty based on percentage of original output so maybe they can replace them for you?
When using these panels on my system they are wired in a 4s config. I usually see around 430 to 475 watts total. I would like to see around 600 watts since the panels are 720 watts of rated power.
@@benjones8977 we showed testing the panels one by one and the wattage is way below rated output. Connecting them in series or parallel will not change the power output of the panels, it just combines the power. It's going to be the same output per panel (or worse) in series or parallel. The panels are clearly damaged and not producing as they should be. I see around 450 watts with this 720 watt array, way below what they should be.
@@Jasonoid Thanks. Too bad the panels were damaged. I had some shipped and had about two or three that were totally destroyed. Had to get them replaced.
@@bobseguin2195 If they are laying flat or partially shaded you'll see a significant drop in power. I wasn't too impressed by the EcoWorthy panels either.
Any technological device that uses ebonics to describe their product has got to be good.... "Yo dawg, the weather was trippin' last night and took out the power. What panels yo' slinging with that Jackery? Ecoworthy?" "Hell no, I'm slingin' the latest Newpowah biaaattchhh!!!"
My 180 watt 9bb newpowa panels have been amazing. I got 3 to max out the charging for my Ac180 bluetti and it gives me the max 500 watts so I'm stoked. And it's thanks to you because you're the one that recommended them thanks to their low Voc voltage.
When you were showing the BougeRV panels, i noticed quite a bit of color variation of the individual cells within the panel. The cells that look kind of purple in color are cells that would have been rejected in a manufacturing line as having a poor anti-reflectance coating (purple indicates the silicon nitride coating is too thin). These would have been binned as something other than grade A cells and these type cells typically sold to panel manufacturers making the less expensive (or cheaper price per watt) panels. What you really don't want to see is color variations within the same panel (which is what i noticed from your video) as you will see quite a bit of parasitic losses (current) within the panel. The best performing BougeRV panel also appears to be the most uniform in color, as well as the best in color. The NewPowa also appears to have a better optimized bus configuration for each cell, as compared to the other panels. Great review! Maybe you could get EcoFlow to send out one of their 2 axis trackers for review. I think you would be shocked by how much energy is lost by not using solar tracking.
I should have tested these 4 panels thoroughly when I got them awhile back. I'm pretty sure the output has changed dramatically. The coloring was pretty similar on them in the beginning, or at least from what I remember.... Pretty frustrating that I get around 430 watts on average on my AC500 with this array when I could be getting 600+ watts. Garbage results from those panels....
After your video we ordered 3 Newpowa 200 watt panels. They by far are the very best packaged solar panels, arrived in perfect shape. And they work great!
I'm sure anyone that orders solar panels have had damaged product issues.
I always learn more from all your testing. This was of particular interest because it involved solar panels. It took me awhile to understand more of the watts & voltages & amps outputs. Now if I can understand how to connect according to the requirements of the power station, that would be awesome. I would love to see more videos from you regarding solar panels because I can understand in manner you explain. Well done.
Thanks for the comments on shipping damage - certainly something that needs to be considered - it's always a big disappoint when a poorly packaged item is delivered.
Woof, the inconsistencies in the BougeRV panels is miles away from acceptable. Makes me want to test my 8x 100w panels because they are from a pretty random brand. Great video as always!
“Buzz, your girlfriend. Woof!” haha, your comment reminded me of Home Alone LOL...
Yeah, these panels are pretty bad now. I sent the video to BougeRV, We'll see what they say back. Not impressed at all.
Thank you Jason Great to see Jeff 😊 Interesting results
Glad you enjoyed it
Good to know. I missed out on the Bouge RV 180w 9bb 12v when they were $180. A few days later Newpowa 200w 9bb 24v were $206 so I decided to build a 24v system for my van. Got 4 of them. I'm building a tilting roof mount to get the most out of them.
How are you liking the Newpowa panels?
I have 3 of these BougeRV 180w 5BB panels. They worked fine for me in a parallel setup (how I first used them), but when I put them in series, I noticed only full panel bypass was happening when a bit of shade hit a panel, no partial panel bypass like i expected. I looked in the junction box to find crazy stuff. One box looked great, 2 diodes (in pairs) all wired up nicely, but the middle terminal was floating (?!), turns out the internal tracing didn't make it all the way up to the top bus bar like it should. And other two panels had 3 diodes each in the box (should have 2), and the middle 2 terminals were floating too. There was tons of caulk in the box, hiding the fact that the middle terminals weren't even connected to the panel's middle trace. I cut out the caulk and wired up the middle trace, now these 2 panels work right. My other panels (Rich Solar and HQST) have properly working bypass diodes. It's odd to me that the BougeRV panels had this problem.
Man, I should take my panel boxes apart to see what mine look like! Thanks for sharing your findings.
Agreed, NewPowa panels have worked quite well for us, as well.
I love Newpowa's Panels, they just came out with a new 250watt 9BB mono half cell panel.
Just found your channel, like your reviews and methodology- but I would like to hear you tell us about WARRANTY, possible extended warranty, US vs foreign service, customer service after the sale. These are all VERY IMPORTANT points when purchasing somewhat expensive equipment. Thanks! Keep up the good work! 😁😁😁
I've been including warranty information and support experiences in my full length reviews more often, I can always improve with that, thanks for the feed back Beached Bum
I have two of the 180 watt Bouge panels and once I put them on my aluminium frame I noticed one or maybe both were slightly bowed in the middle. It was close enough for me, so I just bolted them to the frame that I made out of a 1/8" aluminium channel. The packages my panels came in were well protected. The front of the panel had foam and cardboard on it and the outside of the shipping box was strapped. I am not a fan of the lightweight aluminium around the panels, but I beefed them up with my rack. I was going for a lighter-weight panel because I have them mounted to the front of my A-frame travel trailer. I did notice the lower output of the panels; but they are mounted so I am going to roll with them. I don't see myself changing them out because my rack was configured around their size.
Sounds like NewPowa is the new winner! Good to know! Thank you, Jason and Jeff!
Pretty interesting results!
Thank you, very interesting!
I have two of the BougeRV 180w panels, and one of their 200w panels, all of which are the 9bb version. They all tested out at 80% or higher, upon delivery. Now I want to go look at their coloration and see what kind of output they show after a few months of use.
The 9BB panels might be better, these are the older 5BB models. You can see quite a change in them since I purchased them, total BUMMER!
@@Jasonoid 6 months later and the degradation on the 200w 9BB BougeRV panel is much higher than I had hoped it would be. It's gone from a peak of around 165w down to around 145w. I need to test the 180w panels to see how they are holding up, but the 200w panel is not living up to expectations.
😎thanks again Jason 🌷
Thank you for such a comparison. I recently bought an Eco Worthy and noticed quite little output at southern Utah, among the most sunny areas in US. Also it came with some damage on shipping package and the frame.
Dang, guess the shipping issue is pretty wide spread. Also the low power for what it's rated.... Sorry to hear about that!
At the same time as I bought the 4 Eco-Worthy 195 watt panels, I also bought two 100 watt Eco Worthy 5BB panels. There was no shipping damage on those and they were kind of in a flimsy carton too. So I guess I was lucky there. Of note was that the 100 watt panels put out 82 and 79 watts. Normally I would not be too happy with that but I made an exception as I'll show below. Jason and I like to test against a known panel like the Sunpower 50 watt because we've seen that panel get near 50 watts on a good solar conditions. And so when we are testing panels if we don't get near 50 watts on the Sunpower, we can assume sky conditions or angle are not ideal and can approximate a value on the panels we're testing to know if they are any good.
When testing the Eco Worthy 100 watt panels, the Sundpower was giving me 46 watts and a Newpower 100w panel I have was doing 84 watts. The Sunpower was 8% below best case specification and thus I'd like to see these other 100 watt panels give me 8% below their rating (ie: around 92 watts). Thus 82 and 79 watts is kind of below what I would like to see for a 100 watt panel. However I wasn't totally bummed because these Eco Worthy 100 watt panels size wise only had 723 sq inches of solar surface area which is the smallest I've seen for a company calling it a 100 watt panel. So if there was any reason to be happy was that the 100w had a good watts-to-weight, watts-to-price, and watts-to-size was OK. Also when proportionally comparing the Eco 100w to their 195w (they should call them 180w) based on solar cell size........well if the 100w is giving 82 watts, then based on solar surface area of both panels, the bigger panel should have delivered 162 watts.
Interesting that the Eco 195 watt panels are twice the weight of their 100 watt panels and twice the price but do not put out twice the performance.
@@jeffl6089 I have a 195w eco-worthy panel, I’m getting a peak 164w from it with a mppt controller with a 8 amp limit. This was in late March In Connecticut. Paid $150 shipped.
bought quite a few of the bougerv panels all are working fine(solstice sun on the west coast...in excess of 9 amps with clear skies- very much like the first brv panel you tested all tested at rated specs when received). All 14 arrived in good condition. these are used in a variety of connections both series and parallel. I have no complaints, especially for the price I paid. I wonder if shipping damage could have disrupted the internal wiring (via twisting or shock?) in a manner that doesn't show? The shipping damage seems to be a linking factor. Let us know how the warranty process goes. I found them to be good to work with.(I bought a brv 9bb portable panel that was way out of specs... at least as advertised)
I have 4 bouge rv 180 all put ot rated wattage have 2 newpowa 200 watt never put out more than 70 percent that is over a 3 year period
I have the eco-worthy 195w panel, it arrived in perfect condition. I’m running it with a bluetti eb70s, which is limited to 8 amp input. With that I have reached 164 watts, which is about as high as it gets with the eb70. It may put out more wattage with a better mppt controller.
The BougeRV 180W 5BB version solar panels have been quietly dropped/discontinued by the manufacturer. They start to lose power after about 4-6 months and develop burnt edges alongside each cell. I would stay away.
That's what happened to mine, pure garbage!
Hi, I appreciate many of your videos. Thanks for them and this one. Do you have a spreedsheet for the panels like one for the power stations?
It's hard to test each panel in the exact same conditions so if I compared them to each other the results would not be equal.
Really thanks for the answer the video put a light on the efficience For my Delta 2 Max the size and specs on paper tell me to take Eco-Worthy (2*200W (195W)) but in the test it was poor. The other comparaison I like to see is wattage vs size. Thanks fo all @@Jasonoid
That's why I bought my 360 watt panels (6 of them) locally and they were delivered for free! No damage 👍
I have seen over 1900 watts out of them (3 each in series x 2 mppt) on a bluetti AC300 which I can live with.
@@nascar427
I'm in Oklahoma so a company/ warehouse that sells solar products to the solar installers is who I found locally in Oklahoma city. Just call your local solar companies and ask them where and if there's a local warehouse in your area.
@@nascar427
Your welcome 👍
Mine were $2,000 for the 6 panels the newest version Q10 by the way.
Same thing happened to me on my portable grid I made after seeing your build. One on my Newpowa panels was much less than the other two. Contacted Newpowa and after numerous emails and Facebook messages they agreed to send me a return label for one panel. All were bought in 2019. They had my panel for almost 2 weeks before I finally got confirmation a replacement was being shipped. Got the replacement and it's now a different size than the other two existing so won't match my grid build. Lol.
I'm sure it will be hard for me to get my panels returned since I've had them so long. Still glad you got a new replacement panel, better than the nothing I suppose.
Odd that Amazon shows the NewPowa as "Currently Unavailable" and their own website is down.
Just got 4 of the ecoworthy 24v bifacial 195 watts panels was quite disappointed of the output could only get 133 watts of each panels and living in Arizona.
No wonder my BougeRV panel result sucks too, bought 14 200w panels result are 110w average. Should bought Renogy one, maybe my next string will change. Bought total of 6 different shipment, 5 shipment has broken panel, they need to improve packaging, Rich Solar is pretty good on packing and result are little better not much.
I wish I would have tested them right when I got them to see how much has changed.
I’m sure it didn’t change much, is your AC300 getting similar solar input?
I got 585 watts from those panels in the winter earlier this year in this video at the 18:00 minute mark: ruclips.net/video/bE1EiGpt5KM/видео.html
I now get around 440 watts on average throughout the day, much worse now. I still use them since solar power is solar power. I need the power to run my devices....
Me too, maybe it the weather? My power is less now too, not sure what happen same with my ecoflow panel too.
Hi jake liu,
we will offer a one-to-one service if you have any problems within the warranty period. Please be free to contact us.
Shopify Order:support@bougerv.com
Amazon Order:service@bougerv.com
I really wanted to try a NewPowa panel but have been waiting months for the 210W 24V Monocrystalline Solar Panel to get back in stock - I check almost daily but no luck
Those look like an interesting panel! What's your application?
Can't help but notice the best performing Bouge RV panel looks different than the other 3 in the video. It's lighter colored.
Sadly, this is common practice. If you want 150 watt panel, you end up buying a 200 watt panel because you know the game the manufacturers are playing I for one am tired of it and hope that there are some sort of regulation that forces manufacturers to actually produce panels at there rated wattage.
Eco-Worthy are the best producing panels that I have ever bought, they do much better then my Renogy panels and they are very consistent
I have 2 Newpowa panels. They were delivered 1 year ago in great shape! You suggested I get two more 100 watt, I think I'll get Newpowa again! 😊
Glad they are working for you!
I have 15 of the bougerv 100watt 9bb panels and I get over 100watts on each. Love them... I do have a 1 NewPowa 200watt 9bb and I hate that thing it will not get more than 155watts.
I wish my experience was the same as yours. Maybe the 9bb panels will have a longer lifespan than the 5bb? I got good results during my first 6 months, but now the power production is dropping out. I'll do an update video down the road, maybe in another 6 months to see how they perform. I doubt BougeRV will replace them.
Interesting that the same brand and model panels vary so much in output. You mentioned shipping issues. I wonder if some of the cells were damaged and that accounts for the difference. I wonder if the Newpowa, which had no shipping issues would be closer to the same output. What do you think of the newer BougeRV 9BB panels? I am always curious to know how panels do with partial shading and in low light. I wonder if the 9BB panels help with these situations. Also, love to see a video on CIGS panels some day. Thanks.
The glass and panels didn't appear to be damaged from shipping, I can only guess that the panels have degredated overtime. I wish I tested them more in depth up front to see the real difference. It's hard for me to recommend any BougeRV panel at this point since these ones were so bad... Who know if I got a bad batch or if they are all this way. 3 of the 4 panels are pretty bad!
I don't compare partial shading on single solar panels tests since any shade on a single panel will kill the power completely. When you have portable/folding panels with individual sections (bi fold / quad fold), theycan be wired in series or parallel, so it's worth testing for partial shading results on those. As you mentioned cigs panels are the only option for higher power in shading.
@@Jasonoid I get what you are saying about single panels. I just wondered because I have seen some brands advertise that they do well in shadows and low light. I think one was a Renogy. Made me think there are some differences. I thought I also heard that the 9BB technology panels do better in less than ideal situations. I’m jus wondering because I’m trying to be smarter about my choices. Thanks again.
Nice comparison and results. Did you buy the BougeRV panels at the same time from the same source? Wonder if that plays a factor. Anyway I've taken Bouge off my wishlist. Still have the NewPowa 9BB 100w currently selling for $84.
They were all purchased at the same time, or at least within a couple weeks of each other. I'm wishing I really tested these up front so I would have some "new production" numbers VS what I am getting now... I'm guessing from the coloring I have some major degradation going on. The Newpowa panels I purchased recently all put out the same power on day 1, I guess time will tell on those as well.
I just got 2 BougeRV 9BB 200w panels. The VOC specs says 21.62 +/- 3%V but I am getting 19.0v from each panel in direct sun. Wired in series I am getting 280w as my Bluetti AC300 shows. Should I be getting 21v rather than 19.v ? Or is it correct and 280w is the best I will get? Thanks
The voc rating is usually under perfect conditions in a laboratory. You'll get closer to that number under colder weather conditions. With higher temps you'll see lower voltages.
As for wattage output, there are many factors that go into how many watts a solar panel produces. Things like wire gauge, wire length, angles of the panels, weather conditions and temperature.
Interesting. Great video. Do you guys have a recommendation for panels that I can buy that will work with the Bluetti AC500 w/B300s batteries I have on order? I believe there is a 60 v (voc) limit I have to keep in mind. I know Bluetti has a PV410 for like a $800, which is expensive. Thanks in advance.
The AC500 has a voltage limit of 150volts, so you can get quite a few in series. I would just stick with some actual solar brands like Newpowa and Renogy. There are others as well.
O@@Jasonoid Oh, cool. Thank you Jason
plse talk a bit about your setup..are you just passing solar through a measuring meter and/or do you have a battery of some sort as a load?
100ah lifepo4 Battery is at 50% SOC during this test (13.2v during the entire test). We are using a Bluesky 20amp MPPT charger controller, the measurements on the screen are from an inline shunt. Panels were all tested at the same angle, conditions, and temperature. The same wiring length, connections, and gauge is also being used for each panel. The testing conditions were matched as close as we could.
Please get a test a Harbor Freight panel! Lol. Not expecting a video but just wish I knew how/why the do so well with no angle adjustment!
It's on my to do list :)
@@Jasonoid nice! Just prop their legs out and enjoy no fuse watts.
Were they cleaned before hand? Crazy results on the BRV
Yes, all panels were in the same condition. BougeRV is replacing them under warranty since they are so bad now. Upgraded packaging and performance so hopefully they will be better.
Thank you. Now I know why my 195w ecoworthy never performs as rated. I have seen comments on Amazon saying it is likely a 160w panel. Also it performs worse when in series. I have two ecoworthy 195w that performs woefully when in series and there is a little shade on one panel. It appears there is no Bypass diode.
Are you talking about the biracial or the regular one ??? I have the bifacial ones and when I have it in series and if I have great sunlight n can pull about 900 off of 6 panels easily…
@@dieseldawg7132 The regular ones. I never get anything close to the rated power. It is always around 150w-160w on the best days. I have other panels from another brand that are 100w and they would sometimes give me 105w to 110w on a good day.
Jason, would you connect 2 100w panels in series or in parallel to a powerstation for an rv application?! Thanks
Depends on the charge controller you have in your system.
@@Jasonoid Hey Jason, I’m not sure about the type.. I am using the Anker 555 Powerhouse with renogy 12v connect with mc4-to-dc cable..
Viva La Differance ! ! !
Count the cells in the panels. Is it 15 x 4 or is it 9 x 4 ?
I have two BougeRV 180W panels. Both seem good, but I have not taken precise measurements. I hope this doesn't indicate a serious QC problem.
Maybe it's just my panels, time will tell I suppose. I hope it just a small batch since I got these all at the same time
I have 4 of the 5bb 180w and 2 of the 9bb 180w Bouge panels. Looks like I will have to test all of them independently.
Keep me updated on your test results! I noticed junky performance out of my array so I wanted to test each one individually.... Glad I did! I hope BougeRV will do something about it. Oh wait I drilled holes in the frame, that caused the loss in power.... I could see them saying something like that!
Hi~
we have a good after-sales guarantee
we will offer one-to-one service if you have any problems within the warranty period. Please be free to contact us.
Shopify Order:support@bougerv.com
Amazon Order:service@bougerv.com
Ecoflow sells rigid panels now. I'm thinking about getting 2x 400w panels but it's $999
Can you test the Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Portable Solar Panel vs RICH SOLAR 200W Monocrystalline Portable Solar Panel Foldable Suitcase?
My dad has the 100w Renogy folding suitcase panel, it works well for him. I don't see myself purchasing those 200w options in the future though.
@@Jasonoid Thanks for the reply mabe Renogy will sponsor you one day to test their equipment.
Hey Dr J' I was looking for a 100w solar panel and came across the HQST $67, ECO-FRIENDLY $71, NEWPOWA 9BB $79 which brand do you think would deliver the most wattage??
I've heard good things about HQST, good price too.
@@Jasonoid Ok, Kool. Thanks
It would be interesting to know were these panels are built. Probably china but still where they are built. By built I mean who manufactured the cells and who assembled the cells. The info you provided about packaging was great information. I will look into the who manufactures the cells as that is also info I want to learn. Great video. Quick with facts. Not lots of stories just the facts. Detective Joe Friday from the 1950's TV show Dragnet use to always say " Just the facts ma'am".
I believe Bouge RV panels are produced in Vietnam.
What is weird to me is I have seen 15-20% over rating outputs from all the 3 or the different brands I have. Newpowa(poly and mono) Renogy(poly and mono) and HQST(poly). Mine aren't side by side, same angle same day, same time, so it isn't the same as your test. I am looking at max output on my charge controller records, so it tells me they have the potential and I am getting what I paid for but I suppose I could get more on less than perfect days. Amazon had a $50 coupon for a Newpowa 180watt so I grabbed that quick($148 shipped) to pick up late afternoon/evening sun, I am kind of expecting to see up to 200watts peak from it, I hope I'm not disappointed. Have to wait for summer sun of course to find out.
Wow major bummer on this BougeRV panels. For the power you are getting from them, that array could be 60% of it's current size. Those degraded insanely fast and that's really not acceptable. Most manufacturers have a warranty based on percentage of original output so maybe they can replace them for you?
I will be reaching out to see how that works, I'll post an update later on the channel.
Are bougerv and the eco-worthy the same panel.
No, they are made in different factories and they are different brands.
I’d still keep buying the Newpowa’s because they cost less for the 100 watt panels.
The only question I have is how you wired the Bougerv panals?
When using these panels on my system they are wired in a 4s config. I usually see around 430 to 475 watts total. I would like to see around 600 watts since the panels are 720 watts of rated power.
@@Jasonoid
I would try wiring them in two different series and paralleling them together.
@@benjones8977 we showed testing the panels one by one and the wattage is way below rated output. Connecting them in series or parallel will not change the power output of the panels, it just combines the power. It's going to be the same output per panel (or worse) in series or parallel. The panels are clearly damaged and not producing as they should be. I see around 450 watts with this 720 watt array, way below what they should be.
@@Jasonoid
Thanks. Too bad the panels were damaged. I had some shipped and had about two or three that were totally destroyed. Had to get them replaced.
Mine are 100 watt size.
only got about 124 watts at best on the ecoworthy 195w.
Wow, not near the rated output at all.
I have 4 of the eco worthy, the best ive gotten was 450w on a bright sunny day 😢
How do you have them wired?
@@Jasonoid in series....
@@bobseguin2195 If they are laying flat or partially shaded you'll see a significant drop in power. I wasn't too impressed by the EcoWorthy panels either.
I should test them one at a time, like you did, and see what i get......
Any technological device that uses ebonics to describe their product has got to be good....
"Yo dawg, the weather was trippin' last night and took out the power. What panels yo' slinging with that Jackery? Ecoworthy?"
"Hell no, I'm slingin' the latest Newpowah biaaattchhh!!!"
Interesting perspective...not on board with that but I get the point.
Hqst ??
HQST make great panels, they are under the Renogy company umbrella.
Those four panels if they were in a string would be a disaster.
That is a true statement!
that one panel is a different color
Will not Buy from Newpowa
Been burned in the past with them?
@Rev Why don't you like Newpowa solar panels?
Eco-worthy Customer service is a nightmare. Stay away.
Did we test the Newpowa panels? I missed it
Yep, it's in the video