I purchased two of the "210W" panels. They were shipped the same day and arrived, yesterday. Minimal packaging but they really do seem well built.
Testing:
Each panel shipped with a test sheet that is supposed to be a test of that panel and each showed 210.8W. Well, today was a perfect day to test. I started with my Victron 100/50 and tested each panel on this cloudless 72 F morning (11:30), <40% RH and perfect tilt. (I ended up testing 3 MPPT and 1 PWM all with similar results)
150W from panel1
152W from panel2
304W from both in parallel
311W from both in series
340W both in series after chilling them to 55 F
My baseline panels were up and running on the same rack (2) 170W panels in series separate Victron 100/50 = 320W not cooled or cleaned
Fred was very responsive to my messages on ebay but also a bit of a twit. So I asked some questions and his replies were "did they have a sheet on them" what did the sheet say", etc.
I looked more closely at the "test" and decided to bust out the calculator.
IF the test he used was accurate @1000W m^2 @ 61F and he is showing the panels achieved 210W with (36) 156mm x 156mm cells the panels would be very nearly 24% efficient.
Now, let's say those panels were 18.7% efficient given the .876 m^2 of solar cells, I would expect 163W
I'll leave the decision to each person but the above are the results I received and some very basic math.
While I'm not surprised, I am disappointed. They are the perfect size for one project. Just not the perfect output.
Testing:
Each panel shipped with a test sheet that is supposed to be a test of that panel and each showed 210.8W. Well, today was a perfect day to test. I started with my Victron 100/50 and tested each panel on this cloudless 72 F morning (11:30), <40% RH and perfect tilt. (I ended up testing 3 MPPT and 1 PWM all with similar results)
150W from panel1
152W from panel2
304W from both in parallel
311W from both in series
340W both in series after chilling them to 55 F
My baseline panels were up and running on the same rack (2) 170W panels in series separate Victron 100/50 = 320W not cooled or cleaned
Fred was very responsive to my messages on ebay but also a bit of a twit. So I asked some questions and his replies were "did they have a sheet on them" what did the sheet say", etc.
I looked more closely at the "test" and decided to bust out the calculator.
IF the test he used was accurate @1000W m^2 @ 61F and he is showing the panels achieved 210W with (36) 156mm x 156mm cells the panels would be very nearly 24% efficient.
Now, let's say those panels were 18.7% efficient given the .876 m^2 of solar cells, I would expect 163W
I'll leave the decision to each person but the above are the results I received and some very basic math.
While I'm not surprised, I am disappointed. They are the perfect size for one project. Just not the perfect output.