Phono Solar TwinPlus X Modules

[EJansen]

Does anyone have any experience with these panels? They actually look pretty good and have decent specs. What caught my eye was the lower VoC compared to other panels like the REC Alphas that I have now. You can get more panels in a single string to connect to the higher voltage MPPTs like those in the EG4 inverters among others.

I didn't find much in the way of reviews on YouTube and only a couple online, but it looks like the company has been around for a long time and they have massive solar farms around the globe. The warranty isn't the best (at least when compared to REC panels), but the cost for the specs seems quite good to me.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

No experience with those panels directly, but they are 60 cell panels. You might be comparing them to 72 cell panels ("24V") which tend to have ~45-50Voc.

Any 60 cell panel should be within about 10% of the panels you have linked.

The trade off is that the panel current is higher, but indeed 60 cell panels may allow you to optimize the PV voltage. IIRC, 60 cell panels became more prolific as residential grid tied systems became more popular for the very reason you stated.

Every year there is a scorecard published for several manufacturers. I always consult it first when reviewing panels:

The 2022 PVEL PV Module Reliability Scorecard

The 8th Edition of PVEL's PV Module Reliability Scorecard recognizes 25 manufacturers with excellent test results in the PV Module Product Qualification Program.

modulescorecard.pvel.com

 

[EJansen]

No sure where you saw 60 cells? I double checked what I uploaded, and it shows 108 cells on the first page.

Thanks for the link, I'll see if they're on there.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

No sure where you saw 60 cells? I double checked what I uploaded, and it shows 108 cells on the first page.

Thanks for the link, I'll see if they're on there.

LOL... missed that. I was just going off of the Voc values.

That's actually 54 cells, not 60. There are basically two 54 cell panels in parallel.