If you have been considering getting yourself a solar panel system, either for your RV, cabin, or sailboat, one of the solar giants that first come to mind is Renogy.
Our Renogy solar panels review will cover the needs to know about Renogy and wether its worth purchasing.
Solar panels have been contributing a huge part to energy conservation efforts, and reducing air pollution. Having a solar panel system could mean energy independence, a huge chunk of savings on your monthly fuel bill.
And if you’re having trouble deciding which one fits your needs, here’s a little round-up on what to expect from Renogy.
Read our in depth review about the best marine solar panels.
Renogy Solar Panels Specs Review
Renogy makes rigid, lightweight, flexible, and foldable solar panels.
The rigid panels range from 4 watts to 500 watts. You can connect them to 12V/24V batteries. The solar panels can either be monocrystalline or polycrystalline cells enclosed in a high-grade aluminum frame, and protected with waterproof tempered glass.
Expect a high-efficiency rate of 21% for monocrystalline cells and 18.6% for polycrystalline PV cells. These panels are IP65 rated to ensure protection against environmental hazards.
The aluminum mount frame is resistant and adjustable to corrosion. It can withstand up to 5400PA snow loads and 2400PA wind loads. However, these 100W/ 12V kits may not go well off the grid.
If you’re RV living, you can get a Renogy portable folding suitcase for your van. This suitcase saves spaces and comes in an elegant folded design. The good thing about these foldable solar suitcases is you can get yourself one of them individually or purchase a kit.
Made with the same high-quality photovoltaic cells, you can enjoy your travel or outdoor living without worrying about losing power. Now, if you have decided to purchase a kits, know that you’ll get adapter kits and a compatible solar charge controller to protect your battery.
As portable as it can get, Renogy also makes flexible solar panels that are extremely thin and lightweight. You don’t have to worry about mounting these panels on curved surfaces as they can bend for up to 248° angle.
With a 2mm thickness, the Renogy flexible solar panels are still adjustable to corrosion. The flexible panels can deliver a power of 400W hours per day and still have 21% module efficiency.
Factors to Consider
So if you have decided to get a Renogy solar panel, the only factors you need to consider before getting one are:
- Panel type
- Size and your mounting space
- Your usage
- Your budget
Read our article on what is need to charge boat batteries with solar panels.
Renogy Warranty
These photovoltaic cells have gone through EL testing, which guarantees no hot spots on their produced solar modules.
However, drilling holes on flexible panels will void the warranty of five years for the materials and services. Instead, you can install the flexible panels by using adhesives or Velcro.
We highly recommend purchasing kits since they offer a warranty for the system. The warranty services are a period of transferrable power output for up to 25 years and five years warranty of skills and materials for a maximum of 600 VDC solar panel systems.
Renogy Solar Panels Kit Review
Renogy does well in customizing their kits according to usage. You can choose among starter kits, premium kits, RV Van, and kits for your home or cabin.
A whole Renogy system consists of the panel, tray cable, batteries, solar charge controller, inverter, adaptor kit, and inverter cable.
Renogy offers starter kits, premium, RV, Marine and home/ cabin kits. Now you don’t have to worry about setting up your solar panel system with the most essential accessories readily available. However, a more complex system might need professional help since they have most of the hardware tools you need.
Starter Kit
One of the most popular Renogy solar panel systems is the 100W 12V Monocrystalline Starter Kit. The assembly has 8ft 10AWG Tray cables, mounting brackets, solar adaptor kit, and 100W solar panel, which is expandable to 400W since it comes with a 30amp Renogy Wanderer solar charge controller. Expandable means you can add three 100W panels to the system.
One of the things we liked about this kit is that it can deliver up to 500 Watt-hours per day in 5 hours. The mounting Z brackets make it perfect for boats and RVs. The Wanderer is a negative grounding controller that protects batteries from overcharging.
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Premium Kit
Now, if you’re looking into a more advanced Renogy solar panel system, you probably need the 800W 12V Monocrystalline Solar Premium Kit. The new 100W panel is now paired with an MPPT solar charge Renogy Li 60A Rover controller.
The BT-1 Bluetooth module allows you to monitor your system remotely via the smart app, Renogy DC Home. With its BLE technology, you can monitor the system communication safely uninterrupted within a signal range of up to 82 ft.
The system also comes with connectors, fuse and tray cables, and mounting brackets. But if you feel the system itself is overwhelming, you can seek professional help when installing. That is if you’re not technically familiar with solar system installation.
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Conclusion
Renogy is one of the top players in solar technology. The company has been working on its solar technologies for a decade, which started as a university school project. From solar panels to solar charge controllers, inverters, batteries, and solar panel kits – name it – and Renogy has it.
One thing that you can expect from Renogy solar panels and accessories is that they are relatively cheaper than most of their competitors.
Hope you enjoyed reading our Renogy solar panel review. If you would like a more about our top recommendation on marine solar panels then read our best marine solar panels review.
Happy Sailing!