The Powerness Solar Panel with built-in S.P.A.T. Most powerful and efficient portable solar panel?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 มี.ค. 2023
- I'm not much of a test or review channel but this small portable panel caught my eyes. It has a built-in S.P.A.T. Yes, even this is 'patented' by the Off-Grid Garage, they have an electronic version which helps you to align your solar panel perfectly to the sun! I'm angry, very angry as we don't need the traditional method any more, we all love so much.
BUT, can the new modern version of the S.P.A.T. deliver, can it outperform a fresh calibrated ice-cold S.P.A.T.? Here is the full test.
Portable 120Wp Solar Panel from POWERNESS:
www.powerness.com/ (use code OffGrid5 for 5% off their entire product range)
POWERNESS on Amazon:
amzn.to/3SSZqUT (link is for the 200W panel)
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25 min video on a sh🐸tty foldable (The Powerless Solar) panel... 😂 I'll dream of '95, 98, 88, 102... just over 100 Wattsss'. The gründlichkeit and enthusiasm of Andy does not have any boundaries 👏 Keep up the good work Andy!
as soon as he said 23% efficiency rated, I just about fell over laughing. Those foldable panels are lucky to see 20%. Also you could tell by looking at the panel build they're💩
Everything must be tested. Unlike other tests for this panel, I have to say and show the truth!
Thanks Andy, I can confirm that most portable panels are expensive garbage… Have used a few in my time with my caravan and the result is usually …. You guessed it, yes, garbage.
However, one thing that does help many portable panels is if you can connect individual panels in series, thus obtaining higher voltage, and run them through a good MPPT controller.
@@markbrettnell3503 I actually own a portable solar panel that exceeds rated capacity running on a PWM controller, but it is not flexible. It is a Renogy Eclipse 100w and with my PWM I have seen 103w. With an MPPT I have seen 111w... But they are 2, 50w panels in paralell. Great purchase but no cheap...
@@ricardomarcelino8388 but it's not a "portable" panel. It's more like a real solar panel though. the fold up portables are usually a lesser type to work with. And then the companies also charge an obserd premium to.
Thanks Andy! Always a pleasure!
Thank you!
Die normale SPAT Methode ist wesentlich praktikabler 🖖 Man braucht nicht buckeln hinterm Panel.
Under heisse Schotter brennt sich nicht in die Knie!
Andy one again proves that you can never underestimate the 'powerness' if a ice cold spat
Love doing what seems to be my weekly off-grid binge watching!
Good vid Andy, u gave it more than a fair go with the cooling etc, a 100W rating would have been fair without fudging it further. Flexible & foldable panels have their place in certain scenarios, camping, etc, but they do have a tendency to fail sooner than u would expect for various reasons.
Honest Andy 😂
They must pay for the positive reviews 😂
Seems like everyone in reviewing some sort of solar generator on YTube.
Some give positive reviews even if they are crappy.
Thank you for doing an honest review they must not follow your channel if they thought you would just call it good.
Your attention to detail is what makes your testing interesting.
Good job 👍
Thanks a lot. Well, I contacted them with the results before I released the video. The explanations were... they were stretching the claims a bit to the point where I said, OK, I just release the video then and show what I found...
I'm not doing any paid promotions here, for sure.
I say stick with the original S.P.A.T! At least it has a duel use! Thanks for the video.
Spot on, nothing beats a freshly calibrated S.P.A.T.
The panel might not be the best but you are the best "Mensch" Power Point Tracker.
Yes, always works. Not so good any more after calibrating 2-3 SPATs 🍺🍺🍺
I hate to tell you this but you could have put a probe from a multimeter in the center for positive and use the negative probe for the outside of the barrel of that 5.5mm to get open circuit amps and volts without having to cut the wire...Just saying. 🙂 That's actually good output as any little tiny bit of cloud or even just haze or moisture in the air will kill some power. You're always going to lose about 5w from the MPPT controller due to losses. Mine does the same around 4-5 watts. Put it this way. You'll NEVER get the rated power output unless it's on top of a mountain or in orbit in a vacuum. 98 watts and +5 with the losses from the MPPT controller, wires, etc. Is very very good. On par with the best panels out there. Trust me an excellent high end 100w panel will produce around 80 to 85 watts or so. It's fine. I've own a few panels in my lifetime, if it gets 75% of its rated power or above it's good to go. In winter or late fall in Canada where I live when the panel is near freezing it will get almost the rated power. Heat kills efficiency badly. Great review.
Nice review. I like it. Well done. Thanks for sharing
To follow up:
I have the slightly newer version of this which comes with more adapters, including the popular 5.5x2.1 now. This is an awesome panel. I got 106 watts in October in Toronto. 18.3v at 5.79 amp. A superb panel considering these panels are tested at 1000 w/m2 solar radiation and I was dealing with 652 w/m2. My max power current on this new version is 7.7 amp max not 6.6 so maybe the panels are even slightly better. Considering I was dealing with 65% of what it's rated at to get 106w is incredable. My panels on this new version are slightly different than what's been tested in this video. Also the max watts says 140w not 120w even though it's marketed as a 120w. I'm wondering if the new panels on this new version is why it's pumping out even more power. It was only about 21C and was slightly breezy so the cooler air and cooler panels may have increased efficiency of the panels a bit.
New Sub here. Just bought my first set of LifePO4 cells for my tiny solar system. Probably bought rubbish "class A"'s. Noticed a bit of different in one cell. Wish I'd found here first.
Upgrading to 24V with another 4 cells from same seller, say model. Balancing so far naturally with a longer and higher absorption than nominal, mostly due to the EPEver being still in SLA mode. It's fine.
The issue I have now is... 330W panel + 1.2kWh pack. It can fully charge that pack in a single sunny day or take a week to do so if it's cloudy. It makes managing the load side difficult. If I see a sunny day coming I have to find things to load the battery with. Alternatively I can pull the battery down with load and cut that out when it gets to 13.0V to leave a bit left for nominal
Clear skies here, lots of sun, and close to -15C: perfect :)
I should send you the panel for testing!
@@OffGridGarageAustralia I wonder how long it would take to send them. In principle I don't mind testing them, and I can pay for transport as well, but if they arrive in two months I won't have this cold weather anymore...
I am not sure when it happened but at some point within the past year the first place I look on TH-cam in the morning is if you posted a new video. I have learned so much from your experiments and, I must say, you are also a bit entertaining! You and your experiments encouraged me, informed me, educated me and gave me the knowledge and confidence to jump into the LifeP04 world.
It is now like an "addiction". I want to build a bigger battery, expand my solar array and upgrade my components.
Tell me Andy is there any cure for this disease? Do you know of any treatment centers that specialize in this condition? I am asking for a friend.........and my wife.
Hahaha, great comment, John. I have the same disease and I want more batteries, solar and equipment. It never seems to stop. I'm constantly thinking of upgrading and how and when...
I guess, you have to live with it and just go with it. Best wishes to your wife 😉
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Same for me too. It’s extremely contagious and addictive!
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Andy, I think you have GAS. This is a condition which I have had with my musical instruments. Gear Acquisition Syndrome ! Andrê in Sydney
Instead of soldering and heat shrink to splice the cable back together, I suggest a pair of XT60 (female on the panel, male on the connector you cut off). Overkill, but the flexibility of having an easily accessible, common and standard connector is worth it.
I have some folding panels, a small and a larger. They rarely get used.
I have a pair of Ecoflow 160 watt panels that actually produce what they say. They're also water proof. My Ecoflow River Pro can only accept 200 watts through solar, but the second panel helps on cloudy days.
There you go. I would have rated this panel as 100W and everything would be great. But 120W is a bit too much...
Great video!
The reason your laptop do not charge is because the USB-C output is only 5V 2,4A Your laptop needs 20V so its for a phone with USB-C not a laptop ;)
Keep up the good work!
Makes sense, didn't think about that.
Also it seems to use a single regulator for both its 5V outputs, and to be unable to use PD, which is a protocol pretty much required to charge any laptop. They need to know what to expect.
Exactly. It's a difference between USB-C and USB-C PD (PD=Power Delicery, for laptops and such).
Thanks :-) 👍 🌞💡
hi andy,
your video, the cloudy sky remembers me on a moment during world solar challenge 2003. somewhere on the road we had similar wether. and for seconds the sun was shining clear through a reflecting hole in the white clouds. at that short moment i had
~ 120% solar power.
team heliodet, start nr.21, detlef schmitz, the suitcase man. we arrived in adelaide, as latest, just 1/2 hour till timeout...
Nice my tv program is back 🥰
It is back!
23:10 I would say it doesn't charge the laptop because it may require 20volts from the usbc where this solar panel has a fixed output of 5v on the usbc
@7:40 that's called multiplexing, it happens so fast our eyes don't see it but cameras do.
Nice honest review. The portable panels always seem to have mediocre performance.
I'm guessing the USB C laptop issue was because the solar panel charge circuitry isn't able to communicate to charge at the voltage the laptop requires.
Ah, is there a communication for USB-C charging? It works from the Bluettti's USB port.
@@OffGridGarageAustralia USB PD has a negotiation routine for devices to specify what voltage to output (can be 5,9,12,15,20)
On the powerness web page they state, it has IP65 protection class.
On the homepage of Powerness is written that the mobile Solarpanel is even IP65.
So it should not be an issue to use it at rain😅
Greetings from the Solar-Bastler from germany😎
They maybe put this on the website after the video when they realised it's missing in the manual 😁
Would be nice if you did a "cover" test also to see if it still works partially covered or not.
I prefer the SPAT edition
nothing better than a fresh beer after having aligned the panel.
Or before.
Yep, nothing beats the original and approved method.
Great show ! I will pass on this info to MANY of my INVENTORS FRIENDS !!👌👍🙏👏. “G PA STEVE”. THANK YOU SIR !!
Yeah, there a few very positive reviews of this panel but getting it for free does not mean I'm advertising it. I test and show what I found.
So you can lay the panel flat, there needs to be a cable so you can lay the panel flat and still extend out the display and read the SPAT.
Yeah, if you have to lay it flat, that makes sense. It's not a great design, good idea but not well implemented.
Wow. that is Very interesting. You keep many materials related to solar energy in your garage and test and use them. However, your garage is surrounded by trees. It must have been challenging to get efficiency from solar energy in that location.
That is the whole reason for setting up this solar system, to proof it is still working 😉
Heya, those solar panels are nice wen going on vakation or so yes
I just bought their 200watt version of this panel. Bought a plug to convert the larger dc cable over to SAE so that I can plug it into my campers MPPT controller. Not sure why but I’m getting 30 volts on average but can’t get more than .75 amps. I don’t know why the amperage is struggling so bad.
The USB-C standard can deliver diverent output voltage between 5 and 12V. USB-C chargeable laptops usually need 9 or 12 V. If this panel puts out 5V USB-C voltage, only your laptop will never charge - regardless of how strong the sun is shining.
I thought they can output up to ~40V DC? But certainly not this panel as it has only 22V
@@OffGridGarageAustralia oh yes. You are absolutely right. The usual voltage steps of USB-C are 5 V, 9 V, 15 V and 20 V; 12V support is optional and is more of a convention. These steps are referred to as SPR, and EPR adds 28 V, 36 V and 48 V steps into the mix - for up to 240 W charging power.
the battery for phone and such is called ‘power bank’
"aaaaah Good Luck!", best comment today. 🙂
Thanks for watching until the end 😄
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Always!! Your videos are my favorite "TV show" and I will tell you that it has cost me around 4-5000 EUR now. Only 4x335wp for now, but a 12V 280Ah LiFePo4 pack, and a 48V 280Ah LiFePo4 pack, with JK-BMS of course. And a fortune in Victron equipment. Will be tested on a free-standing cabin on wheels, before I invest in 10kwp on the garage roof. Far south in Norway. Off-grid system for charging my electric car. I would never have started this if it wasn't for you Andy.
Murphy's law is such a pain in ass. I know how you feel. Pull out the panels and the clouds appear out of no where!🤪 Always enjoy watching!!!😃👍
Thanks Mark. I could make a lot of videos just about these Murphy occasions. Got heaps of them recorded in the last two years 😄
"All sorts" apparently means...two. (Smiling, really)
04:12 "It gives you all sorts of information..."
"Voltage, amps, power(X)...I think that was it."
04:38 "...cell efficiency 23 per-cent...that is insanely high."
Actually, a *_claimed_* efficiency of 21-23% is pretty typical these days for quite a few panels. I don't know about this specific panel, however, I suspect many sales groups are claiming higher efficiencies *_than are actually realized in the REAL world_* compared to the lab, or by finessing their test methodology or marketing heads simply being less than careful with the numbers.
Take the free stuff Andy lol
Test their panel in moon light.
i've done it and the new ones actually produce a bit of power.
Once my panels picked up solar flare activity.
that was many many years ago.
I can see this every night on my garage panels. Seen up to 5V under good conditions. Enough to charge a mobile?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia 😃👍
Andy, I bought 5 flexible solar panels ETFE 380 watts each total 1900 watts and found that I could only get 475 watts but they keep zeroing output every few minutes. Sadly I will have to go back to rigid for my boat. It looked like the perfect solution as weight is very important on a catamaran. André in Sydney
Were these via eBay?
@@zwarst Yes, but it has taken a few weeks to test them and eliminate any other suspects. So I don't think I can return them, and I have mounted them with VHB tape so may even damage them when removing. André
That's a shame, maybe you have a bad panel in series with the others or if they are in parallel one panel might be loaded by another. Maybe there is too little current (A) so you might have to have all in parallel, check each panel and your charger, have a good summer
@@jacobhn2 Thanks I have been playing with them not knowing what I am doing. Maybe rewiring from MPPT to panels will be the answer. Or maybe the MPPT cuts out when in absorption or float? ANdré
Maybe your laptop requires the quick charge or power delivery protocol which uses higher than 5v over USB (9-20v) and maybe the missing 20W is powering the display lol. Great review of a portable.
Solarpanels/chargers (I don't know who lies the most) is on the level as lead batteries are...50% of what they promises. But that is still great, just don't believe the figures. Right now I have a 280 watt panel on a 20 amp MPPT charger and I have not been able to get it to produce more than 140 watt (10A).
Please test freedomwon batteries 🙏🙏🙏🙏
the rest of the capacity the government taxed away. :)
Nooo, not her. Not yet! 😄
Bluetooth connection to phone running relevant app would be better (like victron connect) than the screen
But Andy, what happens when 1 panel is shaded?? 😁👍
I guess, it produces even less power?
i watch you alot andy because i think your very intelligent with electronic, not to critic you but why sever the wire to conduct the testing when you could just use a spare jack to plug onto the end and take measurements off that??
If you want your equipment tested by Andy you better have your 💩 together!
Absolutely!
Looks like it could toast a dozen Vegemite sandwiches.
Nice 👍 tests sir.
I am surprised the 120W panel was able to produce 100W. What will you say, if I told you that a typical 380W solar panel in Nigerian market produce a maximum of 170W (Tested with elejoy WS400A).
Are these new panels or used ones?
That is likely a 190W panel sold with double the rating. You can know for sure if you have the size of the panel. A 380W panel should be at least around 2m x 1m
@@OffGridGarageAustralia they are sold as brand new panels.
The 72 mono cells on each panel are 5BB type.
@@electrodacus the dimensions look right (about 980mm by 1920mm). I am 8f the opinion that they maybe selling refurbished solar panels to us, in name of brand-new.
@@neduodumbu1969 There should be significant cracked cells (visible) or at least one for the 3 bypass diodes damaged (short circuit) but then that will be reflected in the max power point voltage when testing with the WS400A.
I will expect around 34 to 36V max power point and around 8 to 9A. If voltage is significantly lower then you have damaged bypass diodes or shading on the tested panel. A single shaded cell will take 1/3 of the panel out. If voltage is OK but current is half say under 5A then you have some cracked cells (can be due to improper shipping/handling).
There is no reason for a 380W panel (seems to be that based on size is likely 72 x 6" cells) or if is made with half cells then there will be 144 half cells and is possible that one of the halfs had a small shade even just a line covering 6 half cells on one end that is 7 or 8cm wide and 1m long shade one one side of the panel will result in half the panel being disabled (not producing anything).
Hinges rule!
How can you be sure the S.P.A.T on that thing is properly calibrated?
I rather do the calibration the traditional way instead of using this new-fangled thing....
Well, yeah, we don't know. The approved method is better in many ways 🍺
Is there maybe any electronics between the PV-cells and the output you have used for testing?
In this Box must be some kind of charging electronics - i guess it has only a PWM Controller for the USB outlets
Wouldn´t it be cool to have a look inside?
Also they are advertising a "Cell efficiency" of 23% NOT a "Panel efficiency" - these are different things - but anyway i don´t think the will reach 23% cell efficiency anyway
Grüßle 🐸
Nope, nothing in between. Otherwise the Bluetti (with built-in MPPT) and solar panel tester (also MPPT) would not work correctly.
Cell efficiency. Should I cut one out of the panel and test it again 😉
@@OffGridGarageAustralia
Would be really interesting experiment 🧪 🥼 🤠
I just wanted to point on the fact, that It's just a marketing thing to name the cell efficiency on the 120w panel instead of the panel efficiency
🐸
USB-C laptop charging not working probably means the panel doesn't deliver the required 20V.
i think you are on to something. tell these companies that want your opinion that you will share what they can do to double their sales. you need to patton it first so you get your share in the profits. The beer can calibration tool. tell them to include six tools per panel and sales will double.!
Hahaha, a portable solar panel with a six-pack of beer! I like this idea. And there are cheap re-fills available! 😄🍺
Sad they put fake values on things. Then you not feel happy about there products. If it had said 100w 😁, now 🙁.
Good you test a little different things.. Well..diffent maybe I should take back 🤔😂👌🏻
Thumbs up 👍 ok yes 🙌 well ok 👌 understand but ! Ok the time is now! Thanks. Build in ?
Powerness is just powerless by 17%
POWERMESS not NESS
cause too much missing from the ridiculous promises.
I am happy when the panels achieve the specs of the datasheet but that means I have to adjust things cause Azimuth is not perfect south like 20° more west and slope is also 28° and not the usual 35° which all means that peak power can be barely achieved and only with a total cloud free sky.
But at least I can compare the new ones with the old ones and their results which looks promisiing cause the 2019 panels with 265 Wp still deliver what they had been promising based on spec sheets and the new 2022 models of 535 Wp are about the same, which means they deliver twice the power and energy based on a panel comparison but the old one is about 1 x 1,66 m versus the new one 2,26 x 1,13 m
The bigger the cheaper per kWp and also tco cause mounting costs of the big ones are roughly 55% of that for the small ones cause you only need 113 instead 100 cm alu profile or by adding the gaps of 2 cm 115 cm to 102 cm.
Right now the price for 540 Wp was about 169€ per panel if you take a palette of about 40 panels.
Prices really come down, eh?! I want more solar as well, already planning on the next upgrade.
Na ja
Why do you insist on a 30-minute video that will limit your viewers
Oettinger Bier😁 Schwabe?😅
Nope. Nordhesse.
Manual claims 23% efficiency in outloor LOW LUX conditions (>40,000 lux). That right there is the grey area. No one can agree on the conversion between lux to luminance (w/m2). I bet this is the marketing loophole like those petrol saving gadgets that may save you more fuel and if it doesnt, conditions aren't perfect yada yada...
Yeah, very shady claims they make there. I have never seen a portable panel performing better than a decent quality panel form a manufacturer with long time reputation.
🐸🐸🐸
FIRST!!!
😂😂
Never happened before. Saturday, 5am AEST is another chance
Honestly folding and flexible panels are just useless and people who unfortinatly don't know better get ripped off buying them
Thanks Andy- another typical portable panel- always telling “porky pies” about the power output.
They seem to do this always. In my experience …. NEVER believe the published ratings, they’re rubbish.
Do you use such panels as well when out and about?
@@OffGridGarageAustralia Sorry, just noticed your question Andy.
Apart from 1kW on the roof of the caravan, I always carry portable panels too, which can be very handy with a lot more “bang for buck” than fixed panels. (I have a pair of lightweight folding panels.)
I changed my folding portable panels from parallel connected to series, and use an Anderson Plug to connect to a separate Victron regulator. That works MUCH better with much greater efficiency than the almost useless PWM regulator glued on the back of the panels.
Andy get out your marker pen. Rename it from POWERNESS to POWERLESS.
That little panel is totally useless. Much quicker and easier to align the panel with a SPAT.... I mean you can actually see what you are doing, without having to stand on your head.
After this I can no longer follow this channel anymore.
At the start of the review 3 min you threw away an empty can, Solar Panel Alignment Tool, (S.P.A.T.).
Then, at the end of the video 24:22 min mark you say "use our old ice cold S.P.A.T. to align our solar panels"
I find this comment horrid and offensive!
The fact that you would be deliberately with calousness place your ice cold beer in direct sunlight defeats the purpose of having ice cold beer.
Hand in your D.A.M. (Deutsche/Australian Man) card immediately, do not pass GO or collect $200.
Look like the electronic inside consume 20% of the promised power.