20 Watt Silver Frame Monocrystalline Solar Panel and
April 14, 2010 by SolarInfo
Filed under solar panels
| Brand: | Siemens | ||
| Average Rating |
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This is a 20 Watt Mono-crystalline Solar Panel and 12V Charger. You could be eligible for up to $2000 of energy rebate in California and some states for converting your home power to solar. Please check with your local utility company. The solar panel is waterproof. The working voltage for charging is 17.2V. If you need to use it to charge a car battery, you may need a charge controller to prevent the battery from overcharging. Connections included: alligator battery clamps. There are three types of Solar Cells on the market. All our Solar chargers are using the best - Mono-Crystalline Solar Cells. Amorphous or Dual Junction Solar Glass are the cheapest but are only 7% energy efficient and have 5 years of service life. They are big and heavy. Poly-Crystalline have 25 plus years of service life under direct sunlight and are 13% efficient. Mono-Crystalline have 25 plus years of service life and are up to 20% efficient. This is the same type used in solar car racing. This type of solar cells is now in a worldwide shortage because only a few companies can manufacture this solar cell. more info
20-watt Solar Panel
Rating:4 out of 5 stars
This panel appears to work as advertised. The frame is fairly rugged and has six holes drilled for mounting. Ratings stamped on back of unit are: Rated Power: 20W +/- 5%, Isc: 1.24 Amps, Vcc: 21.5V, Im: 1.15 A, Vm: 17.2V, Test Condition: AM1.5, 100mW/cm squared, 25 degrees Centigrade. Inside the junction box on the back, there is a diode in line with one conductor to prevent reverse current flow. The plastic corner protectors are a bit thin, and two of them were cracked when I received the unit, but this was not an important enough feature to me to cause me to return the unit. Would I buy more ? I intend to buy a second unit as soon as one is available.