Marine vs. Terrestrial Solar Panels?

Tim Good

Tim Good

Well-Known Member
Joined
26 Feb 2010
Messages
2,888
Location
Bristol
Visit site
Is there realistically much difference between expensive marine polycrystalline panels against lower cost ones being sold for general use?

For example my 100w Solara Panel one costs in excess of £800 - (installed prior to me owning boat) -

http://www.barden-ukshop.com/solara-sm420sp-rigid-glass-solar-panel-2098-p.asp

Or you can get one from eBay or non marine stores online for around £100 with a very similar specification:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-100W-...-TUV-ISO-UK-/252192420936?hash=item3ab7d6f448
 
northcave said:
Is there realistically much difference between expensive marine polycrystalline panels against lower cost ones being sold for general use?

For example my 100w Solara Panel one costs in excess of £800 - (installed prior to me owning boat) -

http://www.barden-ukshop.com/solara-sm420sp-rigid-glass-solar-panel-2098-p.asp

Or you can get one from eBay or non marine stores online for around £100 with a very similar specification:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-100W-...-TUV-ISO-UK-/252192420936?hash=item3ab7d6f448
Click to expand...

Make sure any you buy have the correct open circuit volts and max power volts for them to be compatible with your controller and suitable for 2v ( 24 v ??) battery charging.
 
I rather doubt there's any such thing as a marine solar panel. There may be panels sold by companies associated with marine products, but they probably buy them from China like most outfits. They certainly won't be making them.

You'll probably recall being advised on one of your other threads that rigid panels are much more tolerant of the marine environment than semi-flex ones. The latter can be more convenient to install, but unless that's the overriding factor, stick to bog-standard rigids. I've never had one fail and their rate of loss of output with age is glacially slow. Every semi-flex I've had, including two much-vaunted ones, has died in three to five years.
 
skyflyer said:
Coat all connections with Contralube 770
Click to expand...

I think the 'connections' in question are the bonded ones that are part of the panel, rather than connections made by the owner. The green slime is the result of weathering of the bonding, exposing the copper beneath. I'm not sure that slapping on Contralube (of which I'm a fan) could help very much as a long-term measure.
 
macd said:
I rather doubt there's any such thing as a marine solar panel. There may be panels sold by companies associated with marine products, but they probably buy them from China like most outfits. They certainly won't be making them.

You'll probably recall being advised on one of your other threads that rigid panels are much more tolerant of the marine environment than semi-flex ones. The latter can be more convenient to install, but unless that's the overriding factor, stick to bog-standard rigids. I've never had one fail and their rate of loss of output with age is glacially slow. Every semi-flex I've had, including two much-vaunted ones, has died in three to five years.
Click to expand...

Yes I'm going the rigid type but I want to get two 100w in my arches rather than one so I may as well get two now ones the same size.

Out of interest, am I to assume I rig these in parallel if hey are identical panels of the same W rating?
 
I've had 4 100w domestic panels for 3 years now with no corrosion showing and no problems at all - I live on board 24/7 and they've seen out UK weather, the Atlantic coast with green water on the decks and now the Med. All 4 cost me £400 total including delivery. They're all rigged in parallel - in to a very swish Morningstar controller. No need for MPPT for me but I would advise buying the best controller you can afford rather than the £10 eBay jobbies.
 
northcave said:
Is there realistically much difference between expensive ...... panels against lower cost ones being sold for general use? Or you can get one from eBay or non marine stores online for around £100 with a very similar specification.
Click to expand...

There has been quite a rash of postings recently about the 'value/cost/type' of solar panels, which prompted me to do an internet survey focused solely on the warranties offered for a 60W-ish panel to replace my failed (hopefully repaired) panel. I wrote these notes up for my own future benefit. This seems like an appropriate occasion to share what I found (Sorry - the posting has lost the formatting of the original document). I leave you to draw conclusions.
Cheers
Bob
NOTE: If there is a perceived slight to your 'favoured' panel please complain to the seller/manufacturer for not making their offering clear.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A web survey of medium power (~60W) solar panel offerings
Based on the basic sales premise that a company should make it easy for its customer to buy from it, I surfed the internet for a panel to replace my current one that had utterly failed after 16 summer months exposed and 12 winter months stored in the dry. That panel was bought from Pennygreenfingers, who have failed to explain why they sell a panel that incorporates materials that can so quickly corrode. I was therefore looking for a materials and workmanship warranty (M&WW) in excess of 5 years - reasonable, I think, given that domestic panels are sold as lasting 20years. Here is what I found (in no particular order). Survey done early November 2015.
--- 5+ year M&WW:-
Aurinco Compact (£600+ for 50W) : from Kuranda UK Ltd : 10 year product warranty - not clear what it covers

Alpex (£110 for 50W from Marlec) : 10 year product warranty - not clear what it covers

Biard (£70 for 60W) : 5 year product warranty according to OEM brochure - not clear what it covers or which stockists pass it on.

Solarworld Sunmodule SW 50-55 poly RMA (£74 for 50W)." 10 year workmanship warranty" from Energy Development Co-operative .

PV Logic Flexi solar panel (STPVF040 - 40W) from Solar Technology Iternational (£170 for 40W or £240 for 60W).
STI website quotes:- "Ideal for marine buoys". Completely waterproof: Each panel is assembled to ensure complete encapsulation. This ensures the 6 layer heavy duty laminate protects the solar cell circuit from extreme conditions. The junction box is also injected with special silicon, guaranteeing no water ingress. Warranty:- The Flexi range is setting new standards with a 5 year product warranty.
Note: STP and other series are only water 'resistant'.

Solara
M-series Weatherproof and 5 year warranty (£550 for 50W). [?M=marine] (from Cleversolar)
Note: S & CS-series no warranty found (Barden/Cleversolar)
From ybw.com - no indication of which series the comments refer to:-
A. User experience; since 2009 no fault (Matt341)
B. vikinglish: solara solar panels..... Anybody got experience with solara solar panels? I fitted a 68 watt panel 3 years ago and was chuffed with its performance. It then failed some 9 months after the two year warranty expired due to water ingress. The panel kit cost 800 pounds and so far have had no joy out of Barden (uk supplier) making me pretty cynical about the 2 year warranty....
C. jb267......We have just returned from our summer cruise. 4 yr old semi flexible panel had delaminated allowing water into whatever metal is in the sandwich. The resulting rust stains have covered the decks. Will be talking to Barden and Solara about this asap. Panel has stops generating a charge as well.
D. Anon......When I spoke to the technical department in Germany a few weeks ago they told me that terminal corrosion is the most common failure mode.

Ameresco from Marlec: 5 year warranty – free from defects in materials and workmanship.

Force 4 Framed Solar Panel : 10 'product' warranty - details not given. (£140 for 75W)

Sharp: No small panels found on Sharp website but 180W on eBay with 5 year materials warranty (who from is not clear). NU series (175/185W) offer 2 year M&WW.

--- 2 years or less MW&W
Victron Blue (supplied by Barden): 2-year Limited warranty on materials and workmanship. Sealed, waterproof, multi-functional junction box

Spectraleisure from Marlec: 2 year warranty

Bosch : 1 year workmanship warranty provided by Photonic Universe

Titan Energy (from Pennygreenfingers): Corroded after 16 months exposure

--- Marine and Mobile use specifically excluded from warranty
ET Solar ET-M53655 12V Solar PV Module - 55W from Energy Development Co-operative M&WW excludes mobile & marine applications.

Kyocera from Energy Development Co-operative. KD series excludes mobile & marine applications. (But was only 1 year M&WW anyway)
BUT from ybw.com
jb267.......I also have a 5 year old KYocera rigid panel. Loads of power from this and it looks the same as the day it came out of the box.

--- No warranty found:-
Solbian (supplied by Barden).

Spectra Spectralite (30W max) from Seateach

NASA (Max 20W) : (NASA Marine/Force 4 website)

Sunware from Marlec: only 3 year warranty on output - not materials despite being declared by Energy Development Co-operative as suitable for marine use. No warranty mentioned on Force 4 website.

Yingli (from Select solar)

--- No small panels found:-
Panasonic (Sanyo), Schuco, LG : no small panels found.
 
Last edited:
northcave said:
Out of interest, am I to assume I rig these in parallel if hey are identical panels of the same W rating?
Click to expand...

It depends largely on your choice of controller. Most PWM controllers of the capacity to suit boats operate at a nominal 12V, so yes, they'd need wiring in parallel. Some (generally, pricier) MPPT controllers can accept much more, commonly up to 150V, giving you the choice to wire them how you want.
As Trident recommended, don't skimp on the controller. And remember that some cheapo controllers advertised as MPPT are really nothing of the sort (or so I've often read on here).
 
Interesting research, thanks for sharing.

I installed a 150w semi flexible panel from Titan energy / Pennygreenfingers at the start of the 2015 season, so read your comments about expiry after 16 months with interest.

Mine is this one http://www.titan-energy.co.uk/150w-flexible-mono-solar-panel-122-p.asp

When I installed it on top of the sliding sunroof I stuck it down with Nail & Seal, and also put a thick bead all the way around the edges and in the eyelet holes to prevent delamination from the edges. Not pretty but hopefully functional.
We shall see how long it lasts, although I am based inland so perhaps the environment isn't quite as severe as coastal marinas.

I can certainly say that the output hasn't been anything like as high as I had hoped from new.
The tech blurb says optimum working current is over 8A, I haven't seen more than 6.5A at noon on a blazing mid June day.

It does seem to keep my batteries nicely topped up when I'm away, although it was mainly bought to try and keep up with the fridge - which it nearly can.
 
I've seen Titan energy / Penny Greenfingers mentioned a few times on this thread. I have a 60W panel I got from them, at around 18 months it failed and there were obvious signs of rust stains around the junction box. I opened up the j/b to find a lump of rust, there are three connection strips inside the box, the outer two are soldered to the panel strip connection at one end and the cable at the other, diodes link the outer two connections to the middle one. These connectors must be made of mild steel because they had corroded to a lump of rust, going completely open circuit. There was no sealant of any kind in or around the box, and the box lid was simply a friction fit to the box.
I removed the cables, and cleaned out the mess in the box, removed the diodes, and soldered the cables directly to the panel terminal strips, filled the box with silicon and hey presto 2.5 Amps going into the batteries.
 
Trundlebug said:
Mine is this one http://www.titan-energy.co.uk/150w-flexible-mono-solar-panel-122-p.asp

When I installed it on top of the sliding sunroof [...]

I can certainly say that the output hasn't been anything like as high as I had hoped from new.
The tech blurb says optimum working current is over 8A, I haven't seen more than 6.5A at noon on a blazing mid June day.
Click to expand...

If you are not getting the optimim charge, I suggest it may be because the panel is horizontal, rather normal (at 90degs) to the sun.
 
sarabande said:
If you are not getting the optimim charge, I suggest it may be because the panel is horizontal, rather normal (at 90degs) to the sun.
Click to expand...

Yeah I found a huge difference tilting the panels 90 degrees to the sun at anchor. Even late in the day around 7pm I would get 1 amp horizontal but then 4 amps when I tilted the bracket almost 60degrees to point directly. I plan to make a more versitle tilting arrangement when I put the two news ones on.
 
DannyB said:
I've seen Titan energy / Penny Greenfingers mentioned a few times on this thread. I have a 60W panel I got from them, at around 18 months it failed and there were obvious signs of rust stains around the junction box. I opened up the j/b to find a lump of rust, there are three connection strips inside the box, the outer two are soldered to the panel strip connection at one end and the cable at the other, diodes link the outer two connections to the middle one. These connectors must be made of mild steel because they had corroded to a lump of rust, going completely open circuit. There was no sealant of any kind in or around the box, and the box lid was simply a friction fit to the box.
I removed the cables, and cleaned out the mess in the box, removed the diodes, and soldered the cables directly to the panel terminal strips, filled the box with silicon and hey presto 2.5 Amps going into the batteries.
Click to expand...

That is an exact description of my experience with that same panel (and the rebuild I am hoping will be successful).
Cheers
Bob
 
sarabande said:
If you are not getting the optimim charge, I suggest it may be because the panel is horizontal, rather normal (at 90degs) to the sun.
Click to expand...

I hadn't thought of that, many thanks for (more than likely) solving a problem that's been bothering me all last season. Your reasoning makes perfect sense. I'm not sure there's much I can do about it as the panel is fixed down flat (well convex actually) but at least I know why the performance has been below expectations now.

I would have preferred to buy a rigid panel, which would have been easier to hinge, angle & tilt but as I walk on it occasionally that was ruled out. Hey ho.
 
I had always assumed that the difference was in the materials, e.g. marine grade aluminium frame rather than a lower cost alloy suitable for terrestrial use. My aluminium framed Solara panels were recommended for marine use when I bought them around 10 years ago and the frames remain corrosion free . The type they market for marine use are semi-flexible with stainless steel backing plates. Their S-series rigid panels seem to be the closest match to mine, still claimed to have seawater resistance. http://www.solara.de/en/products/modules/s-series/
 
macd said:
I rather doubt there's any such thing as a marine solar panel. There may be panels sold by companies associated with marine products, but they probably buy them from China like most outfits. They certainly won't be making them.

You'll probably recall being advised on one of your other threads that rigid panels are much more tolerant of the marine environment than semi-flex ones. The latter can be more convenient to install, but unless that's the overriding factor, stick to bog-standard rigids. I've never had one fail and their rate of loss of output with age is glacially slow. Every semi-flex I've had, including two much-vaunted ones, has died in three to five years.
Click to expand...

+1 that mirrors my experiences with both types of panels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top