I’ve got three BougeRV 100w CIGS on my camper in parallel to my Victron 100/30 mppt controller. BougeRv gave me the first one to do a review which I posted on two other forums. I liked the CIGS so much that I bought two more of them. All are double-sided tape prepped (no grommets) I tested on a camping trip against a 110w monocrystalline soft panel from LensunSolar connected to my Victron 75/15 mppt controller. The soft panel has almost identical specs to a 100w hard mono panel. Both CIGS and mono laying flat on the camper roof with no sun orientation. Although they have a slighter lower efficiency rating than mono, The CIGS panel beat out the monocrystalline in total watts per day by about 20%. I took measurements early morning, mid-day, afternoon, and evening. My campsite received partial shade in the afternoon. The reason was that the CIGS started producing power almost a half hour before the mono panel started to register. Same thing in the evening. So, in essence, the CIGS was gaining a one hour advantage over the mono. Even though the CIGS amperage was low in early morning and evening, the mono was doing nothing. When the shade came over part of the roof in the afternoon, the CIGS did almost 30% better than mono. We didnt get any rain, but I suspect the CIGS do way better than mono in rain or cloudy skies. Back at home under cloudy skies, our panels are still putting out 35-40w each. If you’re considering buying these panels, you need to be aware that they’re Voc is significantly higher than mono panels. I think it’s about 30 volts per panel. So, you’re limited to 3 panels in a single serial string if connecting to a 100/30 controller. For 4 panels going to a 100/30 controller Series/Parallel is the best setup.
We were at Key West Naval Air Station, Sigsbee CG with no hookups for two weeks. Yes, the CIGS cost about 150% more than mono, but IMHO, they perform way better than mono in real world camping situations, and here’s the biggie: No need to put ANY holes in your roof, and virtually zero install time. Just clean roof with alcohol, remove paper backing and slap them in place. Then plug into your MC4 roof gland. Done. 3 panels mounted and connected in about 35 minutes. No drilling, no screws, no rails. The BougeRV panel design produces very little heat, so BougeRV management assured me that there’s no reason to use a mounting under-lament of any kind. To me, that was worth the price of admission. They are extremely durable, and you can walk on them. I hose ‘em down with a soapy power wash before each trip. We have a small camper, so rooftop real estate maximized by going with two long profile CIGS and one short profile panel. I still have room for a forth short profile CIGS, but I don’t need another because the 3 in parallel produce over 1.3 Kw/day. We have a 12v compressor fridge which is a power hog at about 600w/day. But even with the fridge, on sunny days our CIGS panel produce all the power we need, sent for storage in our 2Kw LFP battery. On rainy days, or when it gets hot enough that we need A/C, we carry a 2500w propane generator.
im A big fan of the BougeRV CIGS panels. Only worth the extra cost if you lust after their other advantages. Kind of like making the decision to buy LFP instead of golf cart batteries. Otherwise, save money and fill you rooftop with mono. But consider if you pay somebody to mount your mono panels, your cost will exceed the cost of the CIGS panels because CIGS are such an easy DIY.
