Harbor Freight Solar panels?

[krebsatm02]

They are having a sale on their 45 watt panels system after thanksgiving for $159. Anyone ever used these? I saw one mention of them in another thread.

Here's a link to them

 

[Curmudgeon]

I have some off-grid property in central Oregon, and my next door neighbor there bought a set of these two years ago and loves them. He has them permanently mounted on a south-facing roof of his cabin. I bought a set earlier this year but have not installed them yet. At this price I may buy a second set.

 

[FlatlinesUp]

My latest "Rifleman" mag has them listed in an ad for $149, and also a coupon for 20% off....:wings:

 

[gary in ohio]

The panels are ok but the charge controller is junk.
Also keep in mind thats 45watts PEAK/MAX power for the panels.
typical use will be in the 20watts range.

 

[teotwaki]

If I remember correctly, the HF unit is made up of 3 good-sized panels at 36" by 36". Compared to a more efficient panel you are deploying 2 to 3 times the surface area for the 45 Watts. On EBay you can get a 40 Watt panel (26" x 21") and a nice controller for $199 with free shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/40-Watt-12-Volt...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3ca715b903

 

[Oni]

The HF panels are thin film, which = less expensive + less efficient.

Si panels are typical for terrestrial flat panel applications now...but lots of new technology is being worked on. Problem for now is it's pretty expensive, but lots of new stuff including flexible solar cells (not the one's on the market now, but much higher in efficiency).

The new cells are expensive, so they use concentration on them...magnifying the suns power up to a few hundred times. This keeps the cost lower as the cell size is kept small for the amount of power produced.

Some companies are working on this new technology for consumer use, but it's still a few years out and will still be expensive for awhile.

I'd go with a good Si panel for now.

Homepower is a good magazine/site for good info on solar, wind and hydro power. www.homepower.com

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

If these were used to keep a couple of batteries charged say at a hunt lodge or a boat battery while in storage

We were staying in a BLM campground and a guy was having trouble keeping his house batteries charged. He went and bought these, but took them back a few days later because after a full day of sun, his house batteries would still be completely dead.