Low watts from 200 watt Rich Solar 24v Panel

[ebmjohnson]

I recently bought four 24 volt 200 watt Rich Solar Panels to put on my travel trailer. When I first got them I tested each panel and got between 70 - 85 watts per panel which was horrible but it was hazy cloudy. I didn't have a chance to test them again in full sunlight before I installed them. I should have known it was too low when I tested my 200 watt Renogy eclipse suitcase on the same day and I got 160 watts. In my mind I justified it by saying the Renogy eclipse are excellent panels and perform well in cloudy/low light situations. Now they are on my travel trailer roof and I am getting 360 watts on a sunny day (albeit winter sun angle). I have it setup in a 2s2p configuration and I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on. I confirmed I am getting the correct voltage from each panel and I confirmed each series connection has the correct voltage and I was getting ~180 watts per series panel. I reached out to Rich Solar and they wanted pictures of my setup which I sent but I have not heard back yet (it has been a week) but I understand that it is the holidays and responses can be slower.
I did test on a victron charge controller and I am currently using it on my EcoFlow Delta Pro and getting the same results on both. I am wondering if I am just missing something simple as these are standard glass panels and while I am not expecting 800 watts from the setup I was expecting 600 - 700. Are there other ways I could test if I just got bad panels? Since they are installed now it will make it extremely difficult to test each panel again but I am willing to do the extra work if I can learn new ways to test panels! I can test the two groups of series panels easily enough.
Thanks in advance for any direction you can provide.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I recently bought four 24 volt 200 watt Rich Solar Panels to put on my travel trailer. When I first got them I tested each panel and got between 70 - 85 watts per panel which was horrible but it was hazy cloudy.

Sounds pretty good for the conditions.

I didn't have a chance to test them again in full sunlight before I installed them. I should have known it was too low when I tested my 200 watt Renogy eclipse suitcase on the same day and I got 160 watts. In my mind I justified it by saying the Renogy eclipse are excellent panels and perform well in cloudy/low light situations.

Absolutely, positively no. First, both claims of bolded portion are false. Renogy is mid-pack at best. No better than Rich Solar. Second, no way 200W panels will output 160W in those conditions. You likely just caught a moment of full sun on them.

Now they are on my travel trailer roof and I am getting 360 watts on a sunny day (albeit winter sun angle). I have it setup in a 2s2p configuration and I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on.

Sounds great. 360W is 360/800 = 45% of rated. That's pretty typical for flat panels with Winter sun. I'm not joking. Your output is great for the time of year and orientation. We're at Winter Solstice - the sun is the lowest in the Southern sky - 23.5°. Add your latitude to that (35?), and the sun is 60° off perpendicular. At best, the solar intensity is about 50% that of perpendicular.

I did test on a victron charge controller and I am currently using it on my EcoFlow Delta Pro and getting the same results on both. I am wondering if I am just missing something simple as these are standard glass panels and while I am not expecting 800 watts from the setup I was expecting 600 - 700. Are there other ways I could test if I just got bad panels? Since they are installed now it will make it extremely difficult to test each panel again but I am willing to do the extra work if I can learn new ways to test panels! I can test the two groups of series panels easily enough.
Thanks in advance for any direction you can provide.

The only thing wrong is with your expectations. Flat panel performance in Winter is crap.

Check out this example - I think we can agree that Phoenix, AZ has sun year round (we do):



Flat panels in June will harvest 7.52 hours of solar (7.52 hours of full power equivalent from sunrise to sunset), but in December, only 2.95 hours.

2.95/7.37 = 40%

Hang a couple of 100W panels from the side of your RV facing south. They'll perform about as well as half your rooftop array.

 

[rmaddy]

I am wondering if I am just missing something simple as these are standard glass panels and while I am not expecting 800 watts from the setup I was expecting 600 - 700.

I agree with Mr breakfast. 600-700W from 800W panels mounted flat on a trailer is optimistic in the summer. Getting 360W from 800W panels in the winter is great. You should be thrilled you are getting that much.

 

[ebmjohnson]

Absolutely, positively no. First, both claims of bolded portion are false. Renogy is mid-pack at best. No better than Rich Solar. Second, no way 200W panels will output 160W in those conditions. You likely just caught a moment of full sun on them.

You may have missed it but Will tested the Renogy Eclipse panel and got 109% of the advertised watts.

I will standy by what I said and the eclipse panel by Renogy is freaking awesome. 108 - 109 watts out of a 100 watt panel is pretty amazing. Maybe you were referring to the Renogy non-eclipse panels.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

You may have missed it but Will tested the Renogy Eclipse panel and got 109% of the advertised watts.

No I didn't miss it. That's a very common result in phenomenal sun in LV (or AZ). I just saw 3600W out of my Talesun 2970W array IN DECEMBER! Does that mean that Talesun is awesomer? No. It means conditions were optimal for crazy high performance.

I will standy by what I said and the eclipse panel by Renogy is freaking awesome. 108 - 109 watts out of a 100 watt panel is pretty amazing. Maybe you were referring to the Renogy non-eclipse panels.

There's plenty of evidence on this site alone that Renogy is middle-of-the-road with typically poor customer service.

Bottom line is that solar panels aren't magic. They can't create energy that doesn't hit them. At this time of year, you have < 50% of the summer sun hitting your panels. This is a simple fact.

Bottom line: Regardless of your belief in show these panels should perform, reality is otherwise. 360W out of an 800W array flat on the roof of an RV at the Winter Solstice is actually very good performance.

 

[ebmjohnson]

No I didn't miss it. That's a very common result in phenomenal sun in LV (or AZ). I just saw 3600W out of my Talesun 2970W array IN DECEMBER! Does that mean that Talesun is awesomer? No. It means conditions were optimal for crazy high performance.



There's plenty of evidence on this site alone that Renogy is middle-of-the-road with typically poor customer service.

Bottom line is that solar panels aren't magic. They can't create energy that doesn't hit them. At this time of year, you have < 50% of the summer sun hitting your panels. This is a simple fact.

Bottom line: Regardless of your belief in show these panels should perform, reality is otherwise. 360W out of an 800W array flat on the roof of an RV at the Winter Solstice is actually very good performance.

I thought your first reply had some good information but you went completely off the rails on this latest response. I've read some of your other posts and you seem like a helpful person so i'm not sure why you went out of your way to be like this. I don't care about Renogy vs any other panel which is why I bought Rich Solar because they had 24 volt panels which was optimal for my setup. I said that eclipse is a good panel and you replied with but "poor customer service". The eclipse is a fantastic panel but does this somehow imply to you that I think Renogy is a great company and that's the end of it? I have had bad experiences with Renogy the company. On that same eclipse they sent alligator clips that had a 10 amp fuse with a panel that routinely does 12 - 15 amps. I thought I broke the controller before I figured out it was a fuse.

I don't know why I am even discussing this with you. As soon as you dismissed my testing/troubleshooting and even though you never called me a liar it was implied when you said "no way 200W panels will output 160W in those conditions." Do you think I didn't double and triple check my findings? I'm not even sure what I would accomplish by saying I got 160 watts out of 200. Why would I lie about that? I came on here looking for help and instead I got you.

You said 45% is "actually very good performance" in December when you just said you got over 120% watts from your panels. So why should I be happy with my 45%?

Please don't reply to this as I am done with your "help".

 

[Brassburnz]

I have four 260w REC panels 2S2P going into a Renogy Rover 40 amp MPPT SCC. 24v system. This is a screenshot off the Renogy app. I'm in L.A. This surprised the heck outta me. I've never gotten close to these numbers before or since. I think the SCC must have been in boost mode 14.4v. Float is 13.8v but my battery bank rests at around 13.2v @ 94% charge. For the past few days maximum power hovered around 420-440w. Panels at approx 30 degree inclination.

 

[JoeNewbie]

You may have missed it but Will tested the Renogy Eclipse panel and got 109% of the advertised watts.

I will standy by what I said and the eclipse panel by Renogy is freaking awesome. 108 - 109 watts out of a 100 watt panel is pretty amazing. Maybe you were referring to the Renogy non-eclipse panels.

I bought 4 of the Renogy panels after watching Will's video. If you all had any advice for additional panels. Here's a thread I started. Thank you. Your advice is much appreciated.

Advice to purchase solar panels. 7.5'x16' cargo trailer. Ecoflow Delta Pro.

I'd like to add additional (or all new) solar panels for a 7.5'x16' cargo trailer. This is my first post to forum, and I'm definitely a beginner. FWIW, I've been watching Will on YouTube for the last 12-ish months. Recently purchased: Ecoflow Delta Pro (3.6kWh, 1600w max input, 11-150V...

diysolarforum.com

 

[sunshine_eggo]

I don't know why I am even discussing this with you. As soon as you dismissed my testing/troubleshooting and even though you never called me a liar it was implied when you said "no way 200W panels will output 160W in those conditions." Do you think I didn't double and triple check my findings? I'm not even sure what I would accomplish by saying I got 160 watts out of 200. Why would I lie about that? I came on here looking for help and instead I got you.

Bummer. Not sure how I missed this. Sorry to disappoint you.

You said 45% is "actually very good performance" in December when you just said you got over 120% watts from your panels. So why should I be happy with my 45%?

Nope. I said that on a flat roof, 45% is good.

I never said my panels were flat on a roof. I said conditions were optimal. My panels are at 6500', so there's less atmosphere and more energy hitting them. They're tilted and oriented optimally and in amazing solar conditions 9 days out of 10 year round. Cold cells and cloud edging were also in play on that day. Panels with cells in the low teens °F can perform amazingly well... for a few minutes.

It was another example of the apples to oranges comparison you made.

Please don't reply to this as I am done with your "help".

Something I didn't consider in your original post - suitcase. If you oriented and tilted your suitcase favorably, 160W vs. 200W is believable.

Regardless, in post #2, I gave you hard data showing that even in a place like Phoenix, the energy hitting flat panels is less than 50% that of summer. Performance expectations under normal conditions beyond 50% are unrealistic. You'll find many accounts of that on this site. Panels flat on roofs just plain suck in winter.