Customer Reviews

Sunforce 50032 15 Watt Solar Battery Charger

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I purchased 6 of these for a backup system for my home. Two Northern units and 4 Sunforce units all 15 watt. ( these are the exact same units btw, northern's are cheaper). With two inverters, a 2500 watt, and a 300 watt pure sinewave for computers and such. Hooked through a 7 amp charge controller to a pair of 110 amp hour deep cells in parallel for a total of 220 amp hr's.

I first hooked two panels up to see how they did, they worked well in very low light but couldn't ever get the batteries to "full" on the controller. I then hooked up a third panel and that gave enough to bring the batteries to full after a full day. With six panels hooked up, it will bring the batteries to "full" in a very few hours from a 30% drained condition.

These units are less then optimally placed and rarely get full sun, but do very well even without that. Two panels in full sun may very well have been able to bring the batteries to "full" but location is a problem for me. One other product of note is the P3 international "Kill A Watt" electrical useage meter. Doing a survey of electrical useage in my house to get ready for this project was an eye opener to say the least.

Great panels, at a good price, that do what you pay for...all you can ask for.

No problems with delivery (of two panels). Worked right out of the box, getting great wattage out of it. Only nit is I would have preferred a seperate power cable, vs. attached.

Mounting holes made it easy to build a PVC stand.

Haven't found another panel with these specs at this price.

I put this on top of a metal storage container with 3 LED lights inside. I put in a controller and a 12 volt deep cyle battery, and I have lots of light.

Just for grins I put in a 400 watt inverter in case anyone wanted to run a battery charger for a DeWalt cordless drill. Great job site problem solver.

Got mine undamaged from northerntool for $92.40 (with shipping and tax). A quick DVM reading (laid out flat on ground in full sun at 2PM June 19th 2007 in Minnesota): 21 volts and 0.8 amps = 16.8 watts. Now $92.40 for 16.8 watts works out to $5.50/watt, which is a very competitive price these days (note that they only warranty up to 80% of rated output). I plan to use this to drive a 12V fountain pump. According to the specsheet, "Yes, this panel is fully weatherproofed." Nevertheless, I wish it came with a plastic hail guard, as the glass feels delicate. Looks like the same product as the Sunforce 50032.

It was simple to install on top of my RV. I was able to put a cover over the panel and keep getting the sunlight to charge the batteries. It charges even through glass on the inside of the RV.

It arrived quickly and in perfect condition. It produced the rated open circuit voltage and short circuit current in full sunshine per the specifications. It was a good buy, very good for maintaining a battery, but you must use a charge controller. You need several along with a charge controller if you intend to produce enough power for useful work. I use 5 (similar) together with a 100 amp/hour marine battery to power my laptop. I'd like to add a few more! Great for the hobbyist who wants to play with solar without a large expense, also useful for low power off grid applications. It has been outside during several large rainstorms and had no problems.

It comes with a nice long cord which was long enough to reach from the corner of the room of my RV down the refrigerator vent where I connected it to my 7 am charge controller and ran a wire underneath to the battery. This cord has a plug on the end to connect to one of several connectors included. (No wire splicing necessary). It comes with connectors for connecting to a cigarette lighter, alligator clips for connecting directly to battery posts, as well as a connector that just splits off two wires with the insulation already removed for you in case you need to wire them directly into something, or extend them with more wire. It also includes a LED test light that can plug directly into the solar panels cord to test whether the panel is working.

I have attached two of these solar panels to the roof of my RV camper. They keep the battery fully charged even with the propane detector still using electricity. I was able to screw the panel directly into my rubber roof with the screws provided with no problem. They are very secure and they were a great investment.

Puts out 24 v in Sept PA sun @ 15 w power. With voltage regulator and deep cycling storage battery with or without inverter will keep your house/ shed/ workshop low amp tools and lights running from sundown to bedtime. I have cut my electric bill $10 per month with this unit so in two years it will have paid for itself including all accessories. Great panel, great shipping.

Got this panel for under $70 bucks. The panel came in a very securly packed package. It generate more than it advertised. I measured over 20 watts while it's in direct sun light. One thing that's should improve is that the core could be longer.

I got a set of 5 panels for $65 each when I saw them on sale. I've had no problems (with arriving broken or such) & I'm pretty sure they put out the energy I expect when the sun's on them. (Update 7-08, I tested these panels for output on a july sunny day. Aiming the panels & watching my fluke meter for max amps output, I only got 0.4 amps max on more than 1 of them even with a drain on the battery to be sure it's not fully charged. With the label saying I should get 1 amp, a 40% output with my giving the ideal conditions seems very poor).

Also after I got these I ran some math on the cost for them and their output versus the utility power rate. With power billed in kiloWatt/hours (or 1,000 watts at a time) these panels can suposedly produce 15 watts (~1/60 of a kiloWatt). Assuming they give me the full 15 watts output for ~8 hours per day constantly, it'll take 15+ years for them to pay for themselves. Since cloudy days & such reduce the output & benefit, it will likely make it take a lot longer. Whether of not the plastic construction will hold up that long I wonder about too, so I'm not sure it was really worth it now. How to fully utilize the power I get & not just be keeping a battery fully charged is another thing I'm not sure of (I don't want to leave something running that drains the battery overnight, but not running anything means I get nothing out of it). The actual output is just enough to maintain a battery charge, not give a lot of extra.

So if you want to power something in a remote location that can run off of minimal power or has a high draw but for only a minimal time, this may be the way to go. Just remember that the panels only give you power during sunshine and you need enough of them to be able to recharge the battery they feed during your daylight hours. The set of 4 panels & more for ~$300 sounds like a better deal than ~$100 each (unless you see these on sale). Also being able to use them with existing things (like in a RV that runs off of 12V power anyway) can make it easier to utilize them as well.

But if you are thinking buying these will help you save on your energy bill at home, you might want to think again. To produce 1 kilowatt of solar power will cost you ~$5,000 up front (and that's almost regardless of who's name brand you choose). To collect up the DC power they produce and convert that into household power requires a car size battery & a power inverter as additional costs. I saw a TV show where a guy in California made himself independent of utilities with a farm of panels & other equipment needed, but it cost him over $500,000 to put it all together. If you can afford such and like the comfort of being energy independent, go for it! Otherwise a utility bill as little as $0.10 for each kilowatt hour seems more cost effective to me (not to mention quality of power, available 24/7, etc).