Description
- [Wide Application]400Wh daily output depends on the 4 hours sunlight availability.This panel is suited for applications that require a smaller footprint, making it a favorite for those with RVs, campers, and more.
- [Excellent Performance]21 percent High solar cell efficiency. Corrosion-resistant aluminum frame for outdoor use, allowing the panels to last for decades as well as withstand high winds (2400Pa) and snow loads (5400Pa).
- [Multiple Protection] Renogy ROVER is a 20A MPPT solar charge controller that automatically detect 12V or 24V DC system voltages innovative mppt technology with High tracking efficiency up to 99 percent and peak Conversion efficiency of 98 percent. It can prevent the battery from over charge, over voltage, discharge and short circuit, reversed polarity protection.
- [Easy Installation]: Pre-drilled holes and Plug&Play cables on the back allow for fast mounting. And it supports 3 types of batteries:lithium batteries, lead-acid batteries, gel batteries.
- [Warranty]: 5 year warranty and 24/7 technical support team,through Amazon whatever any questions or concerns you have.
Bobby –
I do need to note the first shipment I received of this kit only had the solar panel, everything else was missing, but Amazon did a great job of replacing it. Thank you!
Once I received my replacement, the kit included all the pieces and I was off to the installation process. Definitely read the instructions on the charge controller for setting up the battery, and a few Yourtube videos on ensuring your connecting everything accordingly. ALWAYS connect the battery first to the the charge controller, never the solar panel alone to it, otherwise you will fry it. And ALWAYS disconnect at least one one cable leading from the solar panel to the charge controller if you’re going to do any further work to the system. OVerall, this is a great kit to start your solar power journey with ease and has the bandwidth to expand for more power.
Cheers!
David R. –
Purchased this complete Renogy Solar Panel / Charging System as my first foray into solar energy. Paired with a Li Fe 30 am hour battery, this complete system powers the DC Blower on my air tight wood stove in the event of a Hydro failure. On a cloudy / overcast winter day in B.C. Canada, 2 100 Watt panels deliver a good 30 watts of usable power, enough energy for the blower and to charge the battery. Having a MPPT charge controller maximizes voltage and current from the two series wired solar panels. In addition, the Rover charge controller provides a great deal of information in regards to voltage, current, battery capacity etc., and the readout measures dead accurate against my Fluke multimeter. Very impressed with the value and performance of the Renogy Rover charge controller, plugs, cables and solar panels. A great deal IMHO.
Based on my experience so far, this inexpensive solar power system will likely be a stepping stone to bigger things in the future.
Keith Henderson –
Love it so far.
Bobby –
Great solar package looks to be good quality installation was difficult but that is no fault of the product only wish it would have came with the Bluetooth moduel time will tell on longevity also I tried to contact renogy once before I purchased this product and again after both times no reply I hope the step up there customer service and that’s why I give them 4 stars
Sophia –
This product is a nice condensed package for what was needed. The complete package with the panel, mounting brackets, charge controller and wiring all in one package made it convenient. Was able to install in a few hours and see it operational. I did go through the process of soldering the ends of the cable that go into the Charge controller. As of today the system is performing as expected that at times when the sun is at its peek the system was producing 92% of the rated power generation. So far happy with the performance.
K –
This is what I would call a starter package but they could make it lot better if they included small low cost items you need. There isn’t any overall instructions for someone who has no background in solar power I suggest do your homework and learn about off grid solar before you buy. I found if I had not bought this on impulse buy I would have gone a different direction.
Some of the upsides to this is the Renogy panels are lightweight about 10-13 lbs. Items Not included area fused link at the solar panel itself those are a plug that goes inline with the plug at the panel cost $10. Some ring terminals for the battery itself, fuses for the battery and the load I used circuit breakers all available on amazon but if I had known I needed it would have ordered it all at once.
You don’t have to use the load connection on the controller and it’s advised not to if you have heavy load or large inverter. It doesn’t take much to drive the current loads up at 12V example is I’m running a 18 watt LED strip light in my shed the current draw to my 400 watt inverter is 3.5 amps. When I measure current going to the light it is .3 amps at 110 V. If your planning on connecting a 2000 watt inverter connect it directly to the battery not the load connections on the controller.
The controller load connection works great for a light something you want to turn on when the solar power goes off example would be LED flood lights. IT has a few different settings I had to watch a video to learn how to program the controller the user manual is very basic.
Don’t plug in the panels without power from your battery. Also don’t use a lead acid deep cycle that ends in DC like 24DC or 27DC those are not deep cycles they will discharge very quickly. They are made for dual purpose like a fishing boat where you shut off run them on a troll motor or fish finder then start the motor and an alternator charges it right back up again these are basically start batteries . I made the mistake of buying a 24DC interstate from Costco for $78 I pulled 3.5 amps for one hour it went from fully charged to 11.9V under 50% charged.
You can find true lead acid deep cycles at RV stores, or a battery store for about $170 105AH. Auto repair shops like Autozone, and big box stores no longer carry true deep cycles they only sell those duel propose (DC) type which are junk. It’s advised not to drop below 12V on a lead acid battery and 10.5 or below will damage it. Repeated draw downs to 11 V range will shorten the life. I replaced mine with a 100ah lithium I found on amazon for $288. little more money but well worth it can draw down to 0 volts without damaging it and it will last years no water to maintain weighs lot less.
My reason if I had not bought this on an impulse would go in a different direction is once you buy a panel if you want to add to it you really need to match the voltage and current. This is because wiring in series or parallel they will reduce the total wattage to the lowest Volt or amp. Lets say you have Renogy panel 18V at 5 amps you pick up some used 225 W panels at $45 each from local solar installer those are 39V at 8.5 amps. If you wire in parallel the total voltage will be 18V at 13.5 amps which is 234 watts of power not 335 watts of power with one Renogy 100 watt and one 225W used panel. The same thing happens when you go series the lowest amp is the total and the voltage adds up. You want to start with how many panels you want find where you buy them from. Then they all match and buy a charge controller that matches the power you want to use.
DuckWhisperer99 –
Okay so first I haven’t used this yet. My plan was to install the system this weekend. BUT my charge controller has something rattling around inside like a screw or piece of plastic. I went online to Renogy and submitted a ticket two days ago. Haven’t heard anything. I don’t want to send back the whole kit because everything else seems fine… and I’m in a rush so I wanted to see if they would just overnight me a new charge controller… but I still haven’t heard from them. So that’s annoying. I left my name and phone number on the ticket too hoping to expedite this process. I also wanna get permission to pop it open and see what’s flopping around in there… but don’t wanna void my warranty. So I’m in limbo. Might try it this weekend and see what happens with it.
My other complaint is that I didn’t realize this kit came with the temp cord so I ordered a separate one. And that’s like a week out still.
So Moral of the Story is I’m kind of annoyed because I had a feeling there was going to be some type of issue/damage before I made this purchase… but I expected it to be the panel… the panel was fine so I started building my frame for it… and then started building a box to contain the whole system… and when I grabbed the charge controller out of the box I heard something rattle. By this time I’ve already had it a full day and we all know prime shipping isn’t a real thing anymore since covid… so this isn’t going to run for another week. We are trying to aerate a pond near our camp so we can swim and fish in it. Had everything planned out.. made sure I had the supplies in time… had help lined up.. and now I’m dead in the water for another week. (If I can get help lined up) So anyway I’ll update this if I hear back from them and also with what I end up doing.
Update: 8/3/20
I received an e-mail from Renogy customer service, still no call, but was told they were talking to a technician about it. Received an e-mail that the tech said to check to see if the terminal screws were loose…. Really!? I told them something is flopping around inside the housing, not that a screw was making a noise… I obviously checked that right away… ugh. So I responded and told them the screws were tight and that I ordered another Charge controller to speed this process up as I was trying to get this system running this past weekend. I would like to return the defective one in the new ones box and they can credit me back the money for the original or new one I really don’t care I just don’t want to pay for two since I only need one. I know a lot of you are thinking yeah this is pretty straight forward but apparently it isn’t because I STILL HAVEN’T HEARD BACK. So if I have to eat the seventy dollars on this second charge controller I can assure you that I will be going with a different company for all my future solar needs. I’m very disappointed in the way the company has handled this. SO RENOGY, IF YOU’RE READING THIS, it would have been nice to receive a call from an English speaking person who would say, that’s absolutely no problem at all… send it back in the new ones box and we will credit your account as soon as we receive it. WE APPOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE THATS BEEN DRAWN OUT FOR 3 WEEKS NOW and will offer you a nice discount if you choose to purchase from us again. Again we are very sorry. The bottom line is that you should have gotten back with me immediately one way or the other. I left my name and number and asked for a response ASAP as I was installing soon. Hoping this is covid related or something because it’s bullshit.
David R. –
I installed this on my RV. It was fairly easy for what it is, but wouldn’t recommend self install unless you are very comfortable with electrical install and drilling holes in your trailer. It works great for keeping my batteries charged while the RV is in storage and will maintain charge based on normal camping light and water pump usage. I added an inverter to the load side of the controller and that works great for charging cell phones etc. I bought the 20 amp controller and 12 v system means I can get 240 watts out of this inverter connected to the controller vs directly to the battery where I could get more. This watt level was sufficient for what I needed. Seems to stay on float most of the time when not in use which is at about 0.5 amps. Perfect trickle charge. I’ve seen it in normal charge a few times but the batteries have stayed topped off mostly this year and I’m not always looking at it. Instruction manual leaves some to be desired. Use YouTube for menu set up there are a few videos out there.
Avianmanor –
Keeps my two leisure batteries topped up nicely, if I use my diesel night heater, inverter and lights and navigation equipment overnight the batteries are charged up very quickly in the morning
Ron G –
Bought 5 of these packages to maintain battery charge for outdoor heated showers as well as incinerator toilettes. This package is very well thought out and works well. I am always aware of my charge status and power input. Love it!