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I'm in eastern North Carolina. I tested these panels when they arrived new and got between 165 and 180 watts output. Had not thought about ut still being in the winter season. Thanks.

I freely admit, I did not do my homework when I had these panels installed on my metal roof, and it has cost me dearly. Thought I did my research, but that was not the case. Originally, they were installed down pretty close to the roof itself. Then, I had some spacers made from 2" aluminum...

I'm in North Carolina, not far from the coast, and we typically see one serious hurricane every other year or so.

Thanks, man.

Angle may have been off a little, but the panels faced the same direction as they would when mounted on the roof. Plus, it was late winter/early spring when I tested them.

Square tubing in 4" sections as a spacer for each bracket.

Thanks. Wish I had kept a better eye on this thread. They are installed on a metal roof. Total clearance would be 2" from the spacers, and 5/8" more from the mounting brackets. Should that be enough, or do I need another 3/8" or so? Also, what does NEC/NFPA stand for?

Not using any framing. Panels are now screwed directly into the metal roof. Thanks for your response.

Thanks for the input so far on reducing heat issues. I have the two inch aluminum square tubing on hand and ready to install, but when I finally heard back from Renogy, they suggested placing some insulation between their 200 watt panels and the metal roof beneath. Does this make any sense? If...

I believe I'm all set, with 1 possible exception. 3M has what appears to be the best option for some barrier tape to keep the aluminum spacer bars from contacting the metal roof, but I'm having a hard time finding any. They have some heavy duty rubberized tape which they said would work in a...

Couple more quick questions if you don't mind. Since all this tubing will serve as is a shim, I would think 1/8" thickness would be fine, correct? From what I can gather, it looks like 6061 series aluminum would work just fine, but since it will only serve as a shim, wouldn't 6063 series be...

Thanks very much!

Thanks. I finally talked with Renogy today, and asked them how much higher I should space the panels to address any possible heat issues. The answer was, 1.5 to 2 inches. Can anyone recommend some type of shim material in that thickness range that would be weather proof and heat resistant?

I did some time in Florida years ago, picking up produce. I feel your pain. So you are not seeing any loss of output from the heat? Part of mine just barely clear the ridges, and part of them are touching, so I'm almost certainly going to have to install some sort of shims between the roof and...

Eastern North Carolina. High of 81 here today. Hottest I've seen it here so far this year is 96.

So yours are mounted such that they do clear the ribs? That's how mine are mounted now, but considering the significant reduction in output versus last winter when each panel was just propped up on a bucket with no heat problems, I just need to be comfortable that there is in fact sufficient...

Thanks man. Take care.

Sorry for the delay in responding. These Renogy 200 watt panels averaged about 160 watts each when I checked them last winter, just propped up against a 5 gallon bucket. Now that they are mounted, they only show about 95 watts each in the summer sun. These panels resemble the photo on the right...

Greetings. I am in the process of purchasing three more 200 watt panels from Renogy_Solar on Ebay for a total of 10. My plan is to mount two rows of five panels each on my metal roof. The roof will be grounded to an 8 foot grounding rod sunk into the ground. I assume that would be sufficient...

I'm new to this. I have since read that the difference between mono and poly is not that much, like 10% I believe. I'm watching Craigslist and also Ebay for something close. Thanks for your help.

That sounds like a good idea. Thanks. Renogy seems to be pretty solid. Was thinking about buying two 200 watt panels to start with, but I'll have a look at what they have in a 300W foldable for now. Thanks again.

Take it from someone who just made the mistake of buying two iGen 1000s power stations: Avoid Westinghouse like the plague. One only produced 798 watt hours vs. the 1008 they advertise, and the other one had a serious issue right out of the box. Their 'support department' is a total joke.

I can already state that I will NEVER buy another Westinghouse product. Ever. Couple noteworthy responses today: "Good Morning So if you are not happy with the units purchased then please return them to the point of purchase for a refund or exchange. As here in customer support there is...

Registered them both for warranty this afternoon. I will post the results here.

Does not have a watt hour reading per se. It appears that both AC and DC output are on the back of the unit. Along with the USB ports, input watts and output watts are shown on the front plus remaining charge/discharge time.

Recorded time, watts and percentage of charge remaining as my post showed. Continued recording numbers until charge was completely deleted, averaged the watts, added the time intervals up, then multiplied average watts times total time elapsed.

Thanks, but they may not be as good as they appear. Hooked the first one (fully charged) up to a Crock Pot and ran the pot until the Igen battery ran out. 1008 watt hours? Oh, no. 798. Hooked the second one up fully charged. 0000: 277 watts, 100% 0030: 273 watts, 88% 01:00: 272 watts...

Greetings. I have been browsing for a couple days, and have not yet settled on the right panel. Looking to purchase two 200-watt mono panels to couple with a Westinghouse iGen 1000s. Max input is 400 watts. Looking for some pretty decent efficiency at a reasonable price. Connecter size is 8MM. I...

I just snagged two iGen 1000s power stations on Ebay, new in unopened boxes, for a total of right at $1,250. Must have caught somebody sleeping. The plan is to purchase two 200 watt panels, to reach the unit's max input of 400 watts, and have the bare essentials covered for pretty much as long...

Cell phone won't draw much current.

I am so sorry. I meant to say, watts. Found a label on the bottom of one of the two. Shows 1.1 amps. Not worried about the fridge. All I am really concerned about is having one floor fan. Could rely on a flashlight if need be.

Looks like a typical floor fan would require about 100 watts. Would I stand a chance using that system to run about 120 watts total?

I already have a Champion 3500/4000 watt generator and also a Champion 1850/2500 watt inverter. But I can only keep so much gas. I am trying to find something solar powered to limp along with indefinitely in case of a major, long-term outage and some hard times. I could do without the computer...

Greetings. At this point I know very little about solar power. I would not be confident putting different components together; I prefer to buy something pretty much self-contained, that's plug and play. My budget is $500 max. I realize that won't buy much. Hoping to power a water cooler (20...