Calculate Solar Cost For Your Home - geni.us/solar_reviews DIY Home Solar ( as low as $1.26/Watt) - geni.us/project_solar Panels Tested EcoFlow 100W Panel - geni.us/0LR1mBl BougeRV 100W Panel - geni.us/q6orTqp Renogy 100W Panel - geni.us/uSVA100 ECO-WORTHY 100W Panel - geni.us/2Fk0zAK Harbor Freight 100W Panel - geni.us/KRHgFPN Rich Solar 100W Panel - geni.us/X7v4A EcoFlow Delta 2 - geni.us/u46bT EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus - geni.us/avZYM Power Analyzer - geni.us/s86J Other Resources 100W Testing Spreadsheet Results - geni.us/EcNIB Solar Tilt Angle Calculator -geni.us/z8r7 DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.
I saw you talking about solder vs crimp terminations. I’m an aerospace technician for 35 years. Crimps have an extremely longer life than a solder joint. The solder joint creates a solid stress point of failure. The auto industry uses crimp connections for durability.
Automotive engineer, also they are preferred for ease of repairability. It’s difficult to get an iron or heat source into some under dash and other locations. Mainly stamping crimps is more cost efficient.
Warranty comparison would make a big difference for me as a 3rd data point. And weight per watt as well is a metric for people with light RVs or people wanting to keep their center of gravity low.
Thanks for the spreadsheet with data on 100W panels. I was just about to make my own version when i discovered you have already done a great job of what is on the market today.
We will keep adding to the spreadsheet and also start including 200W and 400W panels. In addition I am setting up a large ground mount to see how they perform after 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc. a lot more to come 🙌
I have the eco worthy 100 watt panels, and at 44 degrees, I was averaging 86 watts a panel today in the upper Midwest. Angle is very important. Great videos
Some of main concerns deal with life cycle costs… how long do the panels last before needing replacement? Ease of cleaning? And ease of maintenance? And lastly, compatibility with the Tesla Powewall?
Great test. I've got 2 arrays running 2 homemade solar generators. 800W Renogy (8x100w panels) and 1200 W EcoWorthy (6x195W panels). On a good day I can get almost 820W out of the Renogy array but I have yet to get more than 1080W from the EcoWorthy array. In my opinion, you get what you pay for, balancing price for performance on this one.
@@cruikshankOn the smaller unit I'm using Victron for the MPPT controller and shunt, off brand 3000w inverter with two cheap 12v LIFEPO4 batteries and an automatic transfer switch to switch to grid when the batteries are low. Larger unit is an EcoWorthy 3000w all in one 24v inverter/charger with two 24v EcoWorthy batteries. First one was a lot of parts, second one was all in one unit and batteries.
Great testing! Would be good to try some of the new N-Type 16BB panels from Renogy. They claim N-type are more efficient with 16 bus bars per cell and will have a longer life!
Excellent analysis - thanks. As I'm in the UK I've been able to find some of the Renogy panels at the same price as the Eco-Worthy panels. A thought for the future - I'm using some Bluetooth enabled batteries and finding them much easier to manage than the 'dumb' alternatives. Any thoughts? I should say I use my solar to charge batteries that I then use in a remote location.
Nice, I stick with Renogy now. I have some no name cheap panels that are bad, and they don't even make them anymore so I can't expand that array properly or replace them. I have a few Eco Flow and Bouge, but the Renogy always perform the best and are on my critical array. The others are now on spare or non-crucial systems because they are just not very good producers. Another nice video!
Wow, Exco-Worthy did really well. What about 200W, 300W, 400W panels ? Does it cost less per watt ? If you have a small area, wouldn't it make more sense to get fewer panels that have a higher watt rating/output ?
If you tested these on different days then the results are not reliable as solar power reaching the ground will vary depending on the weather haze and pollution conditions but thanks for confirming I was right to buy thunderbolts when I found them bargain priced. We now camp with 400w of panels and have zero issues with power available when boondocking in shade or bad weather. We have have a 55lb push trolling motor that we use quite often so we need to charge batteries more frequently than most. In 1 spot where we could get full sun at first light we recharged 2 batteries completely by 12 noon that were 1 dead and 1 heavily drained the day before and were able to use the boat 2 days in a row.
The Eco-Worthy has Herculite glass (mine do), originally developed to resist breaking from explosions. Critical factor, in my boat application (plus hinged, to retract during bad storms). Check them out.
Thanks for the review. Is it ok to mix these different brands in series. Both 100w panels but slightly different open circuit amps ( ecoworthy and renology)
I was wondering if there was a toughness metric to separate delecate panels that should be static mounted vs ones tough enough to toss in the car and drag out to the campsites now and again.
FIRST RULE OF SOLAR: Make your needs minimal. My fridge, for example, uses 45 Watts, at 12 volts. It's tiny, but other bigger ones are out there, that run on 25 to 85 Watts, depending on demand
I have an off grid cottage. Optimal angle for my latitude would be around 25 to 30 degrees. However the roof is quite steep to account for snow load. Are there roof mounts that allow adjustment of the tilt angle? Would I need to worry about snow load if I flatten the angle?
One thing I wish… is you have panel with 3 modules wide, some 4 modules wide…. What I really need for my RV.. is one that is longer by only two modules wide.
Harbor Freight was alway my favorite 100W until I tested the Renogy which is a solid panel, for a reasonable price, and some of the best power output I have seen from a 100W.
I have the 4 of the 100 watt harbor freight panels I love them also have 3 of the 100 watt kits with the 4- 25 watt panels and the lights all work excellent and the price is right
Because I am close to putting 6x100w panels (3s2p renogy, thanks to your testing) on my high top van, I would be particularly interested in any mounting hardware you might suggest for possible tilting. I want to spend as little time as possible on an outside ladder once they are installed. I hope to reach them for cleaning through my skylight/hatch.
Here the thing with solar panels that irk me…. Is size…. More so then with which panel lasts the longest or puts out the most power. By size I mean two things. 1. Total square inches of the panel, which can vary as much as 10 to 12 square inch difference. You have some thar are more square like and other more rectangle like. The total square inches of the panel also don’t seem to have any correlation with how much power it actually puts out compared to a panel with less square inches. One thing I would love to see to help compare panels…. Is total watts per square inch. Ie this panel puts out .2 watts per square inch… and this panel here puts out .5 watts per square inch.
They all use roughly the same technology, around 23% efficiency, so the same area will give the same power within 10% or whatever. Choose the one that fits your needs.
You already get this information. The panel has a rated efficiency. Many are 20%, 22%, 24%. This is why one 100watt panel can be a different size than another 100watt panel. The bigger of the two might be 18 or 20% efficient and the smaller of the two might be 22 or 24% efficient.
@@HutchinsonJC I have noted that too… however even the efficiency ratings are under ideal circumstances. Only one true way to know is buy from someone with a good return policy and try it out first.
I would wait for Black Friday and then shop for an EcoFlow Delta 2 or Delta 3 Plus for the power station. If you get the Delta 3 Plus you could get 2 x 400W used panels and you should be set.
I have a 100W bi-facial panel. 24-34v measured at PV wires in good sun. When connected to MPPT 30A controller (24V system) the PV is about 10V. Is it a bad MPPT? I’m not calling out the manufacturer but considering switching it with a victron.
I'm starting my training wheels setup with Renogy, 100w panels with a 20A MPPT charge controller, looks like I've made a good choice 👍 Next step is upgrading into LiFePo4 batteries, wish me luck!
I keep going back to Renogy panels. They work well and you can always find them in stock to replace or upgrade your system. For controllers I like Victron a little better these days. Their app is way faster and I can integrate their Bluetooth with Home Assistant effortlessly. I think most of the other companies lock you into their ecosystem and their apps are just filled with ads. Enjoy the journey, it's so addicting, lol.
I need help finding a voltage and amp coming from panel to my battery back up to collect data. I wired my panels In series so it need to be able to take 130-150 volts. Plz and thanks
Only thing I'll add is the single packa of EcoFlow panels are way over priced. The 2 packs during sales are great, I usually buy the panels @~$169 for a pair and then add something else like parallel connectors or something to get it over $200 then use a $50 off $200 purchase. End up getting all of that for ~$168, the panel price is ~$144 for the pair so almost $.70/W. The shade performance seems good, would be interesting if there would be a good way to test them all on ~5-7days in a row of cloudy/mixed type weather now.😁
I did the solar calculator even though I had to enter my email and phone number so I will get calls and emails I'm sure. Anyway, the calculator is flawed. It asks for your latest power bill which in my case was $90 but that was a winter bill and I have gas heat. The calculator assumes that will be the amount EVERY month so the system it designed and priced is going to be coughing up blood when the central air switches on in the summer. If you use the calculator, enter your AVERAGE electric bill, not your latest one.
Most Residential windows are not going to be great for indoor Solar. If you were to try to look through a residential window with a thermal camera, you will mostly just see your own reflection in oranges and reds like looking in a mirror, but thermal signature.
Yes it could use the line loss calculator on our website to plug in your specific setup and see what % you will lose over the run of wire www.everydaysolar.com/calculators/
There is no one optimal angle - it’s all about being perpendicular to the sun’s incoming rays. If you observe the shadows during that part of the video, the sun was lower in the sky, so that’s why the max power was at such a steep angle. Imagine if he did that at noon when the sun is higher in the sky - max power would come at a much shallower angle. His commentary about “find the right tilt angle” is more pertinent to a permanent mounting situation where you can’t go out every few hours and adjust the tilt (that’s what I do with my portable panels during a power outage.) but for a fixed rigid setup, you install them at an angle that gets you the most “perpendicular to the sun” time for your position on the globe.
glad i bought 16 Renogy 100 watt panels.. 8 for us and 8 for my wife's sister.. going off grid next April.. wanted to get these before the tariffs go into effect.. figured 800 watts of solar and 4 100aH lithium iron phosphate batteries should be enough for us to live comfortably..
solar panels spezial in this sizes have great series scatter of ~25% across one panel type so funny test like your sare not helping anyone and not showing anythink. videos like : NewPowa vs BougeRV vs EcoWorthy! Head to Head Comparison of Glass Rigid Panels! helping consumers more then you get 90 watt on a panel and anotherone get on 100% similar model 75 Watt in output and the next get 99 Watt...... thats the reality so $/Watt not exist, only the hope if you buy anyone to get luck on what it will delivers finaly.
If you are monkeying around with 100w panels in this day and age? You're not very bright. Especially when there is a lot of used 250-350 watt panels available for dirt cheap these days. Or modern 400+ watt bifacials for
Most people wouldn't be putting together much more than a few hundrew watts with 100W panels but the size give mounting, storing, and transporting flexiblity.
@@justinsane7128 To get the kind of prices the op mentioned, you usually have buy in bulk of at least 10 panels and with a large shipping fee. Not everyone wants or needs that many panels.
Calculate Solar Cost For Your Home - geni.us/solar_reviews
DIY Home Solar ( as low as $1.26/Watt) - geni.us/project_solar
Panels Tested
EcoFlow 100W Panel - geni.us/0LR1mBl
BougeRV 100W Panel - geni.us/q6orTqp
Renogy 100W Panel - geni.us/uSVA100
ECO-WORTHY 100W Panel - geni.us/2Fk0zAK
Harbor Freight 100W Panel - geni.us/KRHgFPN
Rich Solar 100W Panel - geni.us/X7v4A
EcoFlow Delta 2 - geni.us/u46bT
EcoFlow Delta 3 Plus - geni.us/avZYM
Power Analyzer - geni.us/s86J
Other Resources
100W Testing Spreadsheet Results - geni.us/EcNIB
Solar Tilt Angle Calculator -geni.us/z8r7
DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.
I saw you talking about solder vs crimp terminations. I’m an aerospace technician for 35 years. Crimps have an extremely longer life than a solder joint. The solder joint creates a solid stress point of failure. The auto industry uses crimp connections for durability.
Automotive engineer, also they are preferred for ease of repairability. It’s difficult to get an iron or heat source into some under dash and other locations. Mainly stamping crimps is more cost efficient.
Warranty comparison would make a big difference for me as a 3rd data point. And weight per watt as well is a metric for people with light RVs or people wanting to keep their center of gravity low.
Thanks for the spreadsheet with data on 100W panels. I was just about to make my own version when i discovered you have already done a great job of what is on the market today.
We will keep adding to the spreadsheet and also start including 200W and 400W panels. In addition I am setting up a large ground mount to see how they perform after 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc. a lot more to come 🙌
I have the eco worthy 100 watt panels, and at 44 degrees, I was averaging 86 watts a panel today in the upper Midwest. Angle is very important. Great videos
Some of main concerns deal with life cycle costs… how long do the panels last before needing replacement? Ease of cleaning? And ease of maintenance? And lastly, compatibility with the Tesla Powewall?
Great test. I've got 2 arrays running 2 homemade solar generators. 800W Renogy (8x100w panels) and 1200 W EcoWorthy (6x195W panels). On a good day I can get almost 820W out of the Renogy array but I have yet to get more than 1080W from the EcoWorthy array. In my opinion, you get what you pay for, balancing price for performance on this one.
Can you share what equipment you used for the inverter, panel controller, and batteries? Thank You.
@@cruikshankOn the smaller unit I'm using Victron for the MPPT controller and shunt, off brand 3000w inverter with two cheap 12v LIFEPO4 batteries and an automatic transfer switch to switch to grid when the batteries are low. Larger unit is an EcoWorthy 3000w all in one 24v inverter/charger with two 24v EcoWorthy batteries. First one was a lot of parts, second one was all in one unit and batteries.
I was able to get 4 Eco Flow 100W panels for $75/panel. Enjoyed seeing this review of the panels!
That's a smoking deal! Thanks for the feedback!
100w are down to like $55/ea on Amazon now
Good Afternoon ! Glad I bought all the RENOGY. TAKE CARE..
Nice, looks like a smart choice 👍
@@everydaysolar After watching your VID, I was happy with my choice for small panels. TAKE CARE..
Great testing! Would be good to try some of the new N-Type 16BB panels from Renogy. They claim N-type are more efficient with 16 bus bars per cell and will have a longer life!
Can you do the Eco-Worthy 100W bifacial? Would like to see where that ends up.
I will add it to the upcoming list, thanks for the feedback!
You should really try out the n type calling solar panels 100 watts
The only one on this list that I have used is the Rich Solar and it always performed well.
Excellent analysis - thanks. As I'm in the UK I've been able to find some of the Renogy panels at the same price as the Eco-Worthy panels. A thought for the future - I'm using some Bluetooth enabled batteries and finding them much easier to manage than the 'dumb' alternatives. Any thoughts? I should say I use my solar to charge batteries that I then use in a remote location.
Nice, I stick with Renogy now. I have some no name cheap panels that are bad, and they don't even make them anymore so I can't expand that array properly or replace them. I have a few Eco Flow and Bouge, but the Renogy always perform the best and are on my critical array. The others are now on spare or non-crucial systems because they are just not very good producers.
Another nice video!
I hope you will test the Harbor Freight panels.
Done and Done ruclips.net/video/gZuk3TEtjuc/видео.html
This is a great video! Super informative and helpful. Thank you.
You bet!
Happy to help!
Wow, Exco-Worthy did really well.
What about 200W, 300W, 400W panels ?
Does it cost less per watt ?
If you have a small area, wouldn't it make more sense to get fewer panels that have a higher watt rating/output ?
If you tested these on different days then the results are not reliable as solar power reaching the ground will vary depending on the weather haze and pollution conditions but thanks for confirming I was right to buy thunderbolts when I found them bargain priced. We now camp with 400w of panels and have zero issues with power available when boondocking in shade or bad weather. We have have a 55lb push trolling motor that we use quite often so we need to charge batteries more frequently than most. In 1 spot where we could get full sun at first light we recharged 2 batteries completely by 12 noon that were 1 dead and 1 heavily drained the day before and were able to use the boat 2 days in a row.
The Eco-Worthy has Herculite glass (mine do), originally developed to resist breaking from explosions. Critical factor, in my boat application (plus hinged, to retract during bad storms). Check them out.
Can you test those 12v and 48v batteries for quality? You've tested the solar and now the storage part would be nice.
Good information. Have you thought about a solar tracking system that will give you better results?
Solar Tracking is generally more expensive to apply than it is to just buy more panels.
Thanks for the review. Is it ok to mix these different brands in series. Both 100w panels but slightly different open circuit amps ( ecoworthy and renology)
I was wondering if there was a toughness metric to separate delecate panels that should be static mounted vs ones tough enough to toss in the car and drag out to the campsites now and again.
FIRST RULE OF SOLAR: Make your needs minimal. My fridge, for example, uses 45 Watts, at 12 volts. It's tiny, but other bigger ones are out there, that run on 25 to 85 Watts, depending on demand
I have an off grid cottage. Optimal angle for my latitude would be around 25 to 30 degrees. However the roof is quite steep to account for snow load. Are there roof mounts that allow adjustment of the tilt angle? Would I need to worry about snow load if I flatten the angle?
Good show, thank you.
You bet!
One thing I wish… is you have panel with 3 modules wide, some 4 modules wide…. What I really need for my RV.. is one that is longer by only two modules wide.
Who else is rooting for Harbor Freight at the beginning of this video? 😅
Harbor Freight was alway my favorite 100W until I tested the Renogy which is a solid panel, for a reasonable price, and some of the best power output I have seen from a 100W.
Ha -
I have the 4 of the 100 watt harbor freight panels I love them also have 3 of the 100 watt kits with the 4- 25 watt panels and the lights all work excellent and the price is right
cheaper is never better quality
My vote is on Renogy (spelling)?🤔
Bit of a fan of Newpowa. Not sure how it stacks up vs the squad here.
Got the Newpowa sitting in the garage ready for the next test 👍
Great info
Appreciating your research, cheers
You bet!
Because I am close to putting 6x100w panels (3s2p renogy, thanks to your testing) on my high top van, I would be particularly interested in any mounting hardware you might suggest for possible tilting. I want to spend as little time as possible on an outside ladder once they are installed. I hope to reach them for cleaning through my skylight/hatch.
Thank you!
Have you considered Merlin, Sanyo, Mitsubishi, or Sharp panels?
Here the thing with solar panels that irk me…. Is size…. More so then with which panel lasts the longest or puts out the most power. By size I mean two things. 1. Total square inches of the panel, which can vary as much as 10 to 12 square inch difference. You have some thar are more square like and other more rectangle like. The total square inches of the panel also don’t seem to have any correlation with how much power it actually puts out compared to a panel with less square inches.
One thing I would love to see to help compare panels…. Is total watts per square inch. Ie this panel puts out .2 watts per square inch… and this panel here puts out .5 watts per square inch.
They all use roughly the same technology, around 23% efficiency, so the same area will give the same power within 10% or whatever. Choose the one that fits your needs.
You already get this information. The panel has a rated efficiency. Many are 20%, 22%, 24%. This is why one 100watt panel can be a different size than another 100watt panel. The bigger of the two might be 18 or 20% efficient and the smaller of the two might be 22 or 24% efficient.
@@HutchinsonJC I have noted that too… however even the efficiency ratings are under ideal circumstances. Only one true way to know is buy from someone with a good return policy and try it out first.
Im looking for a setup just to be able to keep a deep freezer running 24/7 in case my power goes out my meat won’t rot any suggestions?! Thanks
I would wait for Black Friday and then shop for an EcoFlow Delta 2 or Delta 3 Plus for the power station. If you get the Delta 3 Plus you could get 2 x 400W used panels and you should be set.
I have a 100W bi-facial panel. 24-34v measured at PV wires in good sun. When connected to MPPT 30A controller (24V system) the PV is about 10V. Is it a bad MPPT? I’m not calling out the manufacturer but considering switching it with a victron.
i away use rich solar and thay perform well..
I'm starting my training wheels setup with Renogy, 100w panels with a 20A MPPT charge controller, looks like I've made a good choice 👍
Next step is upgrading into LiFePo4 batteries, wish me luck!
That sounds like a great starting point for DIY solar. 🙌
I keep going back to Renogy panels. They work well and you can always find them in stock to replace or upgrade your system. For controllers I like Victron a little better these days. Their app is way faster and I can integrate their Bluetooth with Home Assistant effortlessly. I think most of the other companies lock you into their ecosystem and their apps are just filled with ads.
Enjoy the journey, it's so addicting, lol.
I need help finding a voltage and amp coming from panel to my battery back up to collect data. I wired my panels In series so it need to be able to take 130-150 volts. Plz and thanks
Only thing I'll add is the single packa of EcoFlow panels are way over priced. The 2 packs during sales are great, I usually buy the panels @~$169 for a pair and then add something else like parallel connectors or something to get it over $200 then use a $50 off $200 purchase. End up getting all of that for ~$168, the panel price is ~$144 for the pair so almost $.70/W. The shade performance seems good, would be interesting if there would be a good way to test them all on ~5-7days in a row of cloudy/mixed type weather now.😁
I did the solar calculator even though I had to enter my email and phone number so I will get calls and emails I'm sure. Anyway, the calculator is flawed. It asks for your latest power bill which in my case was $90 but that was a winter bill and I have gas heat. The calculator assumes that will be the amount EVERY month so the system it designed and priced is going to be coughing up blood when the central air switches on in the summer. If you use the calculator, enter your AVERAGE electric bill, not your latest one.
Can you put them behind a window because that's the only way I can get solar?
Most Residential windows are not going to be great for indoor Solar. If you were to try to look through a residential window with a thermal camera, you will mostly just see your own reflection in oranges and reds like looking in a mirror, but thermal signature.
Depends on sunlight's angle. Reflective loss will vary from about 5%, at 90°, to 60%, at 5°.
Your measurements are taken near to the panel. Does that output degrade very much on the longer run back inside the home?
Yes it could use the line loss calculator on our website to plug in your specific setup and see what % you will lose over the run of wire www.everydaysolar.com/calculators/
It is shocking that 90 degrees yields more power than 20 degrees. Why don't more people mount these on their northern fence?
There is no one optimal angle - it’s all about being perpendicular to the sun’s incoming rays. If you observe the shadows during that part of the video, the sun was lower in the sky, so that’s why the max power was at such a steep angle. Imagine if he did that at noon when the sun is higher in the sky - max power would come at a much shallower angle. His commentary about “find the right tilt angle” is more pertinent to a permanent mounting situation where you can’t go out every few hours and adjust the tilt (that’s what I do with my portable panels during a power outage.) but for a fixed rigid setup, you install them at an angle that gets you the most “perpendicular to the sun” time for your position on the globe.
glad i bought 16 Renogy 100 watt panels.. 8 for us and 8 for my wife's sister.. going off grid next April.. wanted to get these before the tariffs go into effect.. figured 800 watts of solar and 4 100aH lithium iron phosphate batteries should be enough for us to live comfortably..
Go with 48V batteries, not 12v. Cheaper and much better performance and simpler system layout.
Walking on shingles is a bad idea 😮
My 170w Ecoworthy panels perform terribly I'm lucky to get 120 watts from them, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.
solar panels spezial in this sizes have great series scatter of ~25% across one panel type so funny test like your sare not helping anyone and not showing anythink.
videos like :
NewPowa vs BougeRV vs EcoWorthy! Head to Head Comparison of Glass Rigid Panels!
helping consumers more then you get 90 watt on a panel and anotherone get on 100% similar model 75 Watt in output and the next get 99 Watt......
thats the reality
so $/Watt not exist, only the hope if you buy anyone to get luck on what it will delivers finaly.
Disappointed you didn't measure the output at 55•
If you are monkeying around with 100w panels in this day and age? You're not very bright. Especially when there is a lot of used 250-350 watt panels available for dirt cheap these days. Or modern 400+ watt bifacials for
Most people wouldn't be putting together much more than a few hundrew watts with 100W panels but the size give mounting, storing, and transporting flexiblity.
I'm not very bright ☀️. Where are these found?
@@justinsane7128 Fantan Solar for used. Just about any retailer for new panels by the pallet.
@@justinsane7128 To get the kind of prices the op mentioned, you usually have buy in bulk of at least 10 panels and with a large shipping fee.
Not everyone wants or needs that many panels.
100w = 30 to 50 actual w
3:44 how?
@dertythegrower try it yourself
Mount your panels on a solar tracking frame if you can, to maintain as much wattage as possible.