Cloudy Day Follow-up to the Harbor Freight 100 Watt Solar Panel Comparison.
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ต.ค. 2024
- Comparing the current output of the 100 Watt Amorphous Solar Kit, and the 100 Watt Mono-crystalline Solar Panel from Harbor Freight, under cloudy conditions.
Here is the link to the original video under full sun conditions:
• Harbor Freight 100 Wat...
Thanks for doing this.
i sent back a newpowa 200w panel.. and replaced it with 2x 100w thunderbolt panels.. i am getting 105% out of the 100w pair .. vs the 200w newpowa (150-158w) vs 203-208w those harbor freight panels have got to be the best bang for the buck on the market for solar panels 99.99 on sale 107.41 after tax in here in eastern NC
Great comparison. I'm wondering if all that extra cable and connections on the 4 amorphous panels has something to do with the output difference in the two types of panels. I noticed the connection to the mono panel was much shorter with one connection. Also the wire gauge was different I'm guessing. Thanks for posting.
While wire length can have an effect, it doesn't really apply to lengths this short. According to a copper wire resistance chart, my 18 gauge wire only has.0651 ohms of resistance for every 10 feet of cable. That's low enough to ignore.
@@kevinrepass4210 I agree... I'd be interested in the individual panel output at the first connection as compared to the final output with all the wire, connections, and junctions.
Perhaps I'll check on it myself. I was always taught that the cleanest shortest connection of a properly sized wire gave you the best result on flow.
Thanks again for posting. I very much enjoy your content!
The amorphous panels appear to be using a thinner gauge wire than the monocrystalline panel. That right there would affect the current output.
I'm using 18 gauge wire at a distance of around 10 feet. If you check the charts, you will see that for a copper wire, that only has .0638 ohms of total resistance. That low of a resistance is totally negligible. A bigger wire would be overkill.
@@kevinrepass4210I'm referring to the wires that came with the amorphous panels. They appear to be much thinner than the wire that the monocrystalline panel is using. If that is the case then that is why they are not doing as well. It is acting as a choke point for the current. The wiring gauge from the rest of the system won't make much of a difference in this case. Although the monocrystalline panel will be able to take full advantage of the 18 gauge wiring. The amorphous panels won't if the gauge of wire it is using is smaller. I have the older amorphous panels from Harbor Freights that are 15 watts each. They use the O ring terminals. I hooked up my own wiring to them. These newer 25 watt ones appear to be using the newer mc4 connectors. Either get 18 gauge mc4 wiring with the appropriate connector on the other end or cut the wiring on the panels and crimp on some O ring terminals. Then get wiring with O rings on one end and the appropriate connector on the other end.
@@emuhill , if you look back at the video carefully, you'll see a connector inline with cable to the monocrystaline panel. I'm using an extension cable that is a bigger gauge than the factory cable attached to the panel, which is also 18 gauge. Both panels use SAE connectors, which are satisfactory for this application. As an Industrial Electrician and Electronics Technician for over 30 years, with an education in Electronics, trust me. The cable size for these lengths and current ratings is sufficient.
@@kevinrepass4210 Ok so it has been established that everything you used and had the panels plugged into was 18 gauge. So what is the gauge of both the monocrystalline and the amorphous panels?
@@emuhill all panels came with 18 gauge wire attached.
For both your battery is almost full. It would be a better test if the battery was below 13 volts.
The battery in the camper is lithium so full would be between 13.6 and 14.6 volts. I've loaded the battery by running several items inside the camper. For these conditions, it's doubtful that the MPPT charge controller and panels would produce more current, given that it's set for charging lithium. The PWM controller might produce a little more current since it doesn't have a lithium setting. But it was close to what the MPPT controller was producing anyway.
@@kevinrepass4210 cool.