Description
The Renogy 30-Watt Solar Power Starter Kit is perfect for new customers wanting to get a start in solar. The Starter Kit is great for off-grid applications. Adding a polycrystalline or monocrystalline solar panel kit can extend your travels further than ever before. This solar kit comes with the tools necessary for a new system: one Renogy 30-Watt 12-Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel, one 5 Amp PWM Charge Controller, a pair of 57 in. Ring Connectors, a pair of 55 in. Alligator Clips, and one CIG Connectors. Start your solar adventure with a Renogy Starter Kit.
Andy –
Recived the solar panel yesterday and was chomping on the bit to set it up, unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs. But it’s a other day so the sunshine is great.
I’m at my shed on my farm and I have installed a few light but no power, that changed today.
Installation was very easy. 20 minutes tops. The instructions booklet is a bit small but straightforward and easy to understand.
Tomorrow I will make a swivel for the panel so I can adjust the angle in relationship to the sun as that will optimize the efficiency of panel.
I think it’s way better than working in the dark, very happy.
GoodDeal –
The Renogy 30 Watt Solar Power Starter Kit has everything needed to set up a basic solar charging system. It came with a 30 watt panel framed in aluminum, a 5 amp charge controller with indicator LED’s, and three different cables: one with alligator clamps, one with 3/8” ring connectors, and the last one with a male cigarette lighter plug. I hooked this up on a camper battery that registered 12.67 volts before starting. Within a few minutes it was running at 14.7 volts. I wasn’t able to measure the current but I am assuming it was about 2-2 ½ amps. This should help keep a battery like this topped off nicely. My plan is to add a couple of folding legs on the panel to be able point it toward the sun when camping. I am impressed by the quality of the Renogy panel and kit! The only fault I could find was that the booklet for the charge controller measured about 2″ x 3″ and the font was almost impossible for me to read. Not a major but just a note.
I would definitely order it again!
Shawn –
This is a good quality solar panel starter kit. Everything you need to get you started on an RV or vehicle installation is included in the kit. If you are planning on using this in a shed or off grid use, you will need to purchase a battery and the hardware to secure the cables separately. The charge controller is innovative working with many different battery types. I tested this solar panel kit on an overcast day and was very impressed that the panel was still outputting 18v while charging my dead lawnmower battery in my shed. The charge voltage was 14.4 v at about 1 amp. That is appropriate for a small battery in that state of charge. I was also able to charge my IPhone with the included charge controller via the USB port at the same time! I’m very impressed with this kit however one improvement the manufacturer could make to it would be to clearly label The included positive and negative battery and solar panel cables. I could see these easily getting mixed up.
Prosecutor –
I still get excited over solar energy. It’s been around so long and it’s kind of commonplace. I don’t care, It gets me pumped up. I was happy to get this solar panel and controller, along with the mounting brackets. I was intimidated at first. There were no instructions, only a paper that said if you wanted a manual send them an email or phone them up. So I did that. Only upon further investigation I found instructions in the box with the controller. Their are 2 leads, positive and negative of course but they are not marked. I had some red tape so I marked the positive, or what I thought were positive cables. I knew it was positive because it had a red O ring on it. So I took everything out to my little camping trailer and hooked it up to where it would charge the battery. Looking at the digital readout I was shocked to see error code “13”. Looked it up in the controller’s manual and it was,”reversed polarity”. Looking closer I learned both cables have a red O ring. Swapped the cables I was off and running, or rather charging.
This is wonderful. In the past I had to plug this trailer in once a month or so to keep the battery maintained. Now I can do it using solar power.
I have dreamed of the day I could solarize this trailer. I have studied solar panels and a name that comes up consistently as a quality solar panel is Renogy. I plan to add to my solar potential. This was a perfect way to get a toe in the water and eliminate some of the worries that it was too complicated.
I connected everything for the purpose of this review, and to “try it out”. Of course I’ll mount the controller on the wall and dress the wires later. Wouldn’t this make a great gift for a youngster interested in science or anyone who camps?
edrey69 –
I have just started trying out this solar panel charging kit. Let me tell you I am very impressed of how good this solar panel work. I made a special car to pull out stakes out the ground. And where I need power there is none. So I tried this 3rd I want solar panel kit and a charge is my battery right and my job site. It keeps me from buying a larger inverter to charge my battery back at the truck and to carry the battery all the way back to the job site. I am very impressed with a solar panel kit I’m getting ready to upgrade to the next larger size. Now gonna try this solar panel on my Jon boat with my electric trolling motor.
HomeDepotCustomer –
I recently installed a gate opener with a 10 watt solar power panel. In planning the install and looking forward to winter in western WA (many cloudy wet days) I discovered that the 10W panel did not project to meet the needs of winter. After a little research I chose the Renogy 50 watt solar kit as an upgrade. I have had the Renogy installed and working for about a week. It has been working flawlessly. Overall the components of the kit are of good quality and installation was not difficult. The panel with the Z brackets seems to be designed to mount on a roof or other flat surface. In my case I needed to build a surface to mount the solar panel. I attached it all to a fence using hinges so I can easily change the angle of the panel as the seasons change.
With panel and charge controller (in a weather proof box) connected, the system started charging as soon as I connected the battery. Thus far the Renogy panel keeps the battery fully charged no matter how often the gate opener cycles. I have one 12 volt battery specifically designed for this type use. The solar charge controller was easy to setup and provides all the data I need to know the panel is charging, the rate of charge, and the status of the battery. With this combination, I have plenty of power so I added a 12 volt LED light with motion sensor that lights the gate area during darkness.
Bottom line … the Renogy 50W kit is a very good solution for my needs. I might have gotten by with a 30 watt panel but with all the components of the Renogy kit – it was the best deal and I got more charging capacity. All I needed to add was the battery and wires to connect battery to charge controller.
Anonymous –
Great except it lacked mounting brackets. A “kit” should have had them. But works well and good buy. Nice employees and customer service reps too. Oh, both my kits were missing owners manuals, but they emailed it to me. Good company. 🙂
charlie –
30 Watts isn’t nothing to charge a battery or to keep one maintained and yet this thing maintained my battery all day with barely any sunlight I am very impressed with this
john –
I put the panel on my trailer with a winch and hydraulic tilt. This keeps the battery charged and reduces the load on the trucks electrical system.
Ronaldo –
Quality solar panel with a charge controller and a good assortment of charging attachments.