Why will only "dumb" vehicle devices work with my setup?

[chrisdem]

But when you look at the cost per watt and the lifespan of those panels you will find out you paid way too much for a cheap "practice" system.

really? what comparable system can you get for less? if you can get something similar for considerably less money I am defiantly interested in adding to my setup the cheapest 100watt solar pannels by themselves ive seen are $83. really I would be very happy with a second 100w, that would meet all my mobile and rural power needs perfectly.

[littleharbor]

You're comparing apples to oranges here. What is the warranty period on the HF kit? A real solar panel has, typically, a 25 year warranty, and should last quite a bit longer than that. I've seem HF panels fizzle out in 3 - 4 years.

[SunEagle]

really? what comparable system can you get for less? if you can get something similar for considerably less money I am defiantly interested in adding to my setup the cheapest 100watt solar pannels by themselves ive seen are $83. really I would be very happy with a second 100w, that would meet all my mobile and rural power needs perfectly.

As littleharbor stated, most HF panels are cheaply made and will not last more then a couple of years under direct sunlight. You can now find panels > 200 watts for less then a $1 /watt which will last for over 15 years.

It all comes down to what you want to spend and how long you want it to last. If you are not pv savy then you can go with a "kit" but at least be aware that you will be paying for someone's else to build it for you so it can be a simple plug and play. It more than likely will be over priced and short lived but again it is your money to spend.

[chrisdem]

I don't believe I require a kit just an extra 100 watts or so I most likely will just use the direct output from the pannel without battery. A specific Voltage is not paticularly important for my use case. Are we talking purchasing cells and assembleing my own pannel or what? I would consider doing this, I already know how to wire it.

[SunEagle]

I don't believe I require a kit just an extra 100 watts or so I most likely will just use the direct output from the pannel without battery. A specific Voltage is not paticularly important for my use case. Are we talking purchasing cells and assembleing my own pannel or what? I would consider doing this, I already know how to wire it.

Building your own panel from cells may be a fun (or not) experiment but no one can build one that will last very long for less then what you can purchase a new factory built one.

If you just need one more 100 watt panel you need to make sure it is compatible with your existing panels and charge controller. My guess is the 100 watt HF system is made up from 4 x 25watt panels which will probably not work well with a single 100 watt panel.

The reason you can't always mix and match different panel wattage is because they will have different Vmp & Imp ratings. Based on how you wire them (series or parallel) the voltage and current ratings need to within 5% of each other.