Must-Watch Before Buying a Portable Solar Panel

0:00 Hey guys, welcome back. I'm Johnny. Today we're going to be talking about some of the most popular solar panels and also some of the best portable solar panels that are on the market right now. So, if you've been looking for a portable solar panel and you're interested in one of these brands and

0:13 stick around for a few minutes and hopefully this information will help you out. Now, I brought seven different solar panels to test throughout the day. But, we're also going to talk a little bit about managing these because it's not always about what's bigger and better. It's also about setup, not to

0:27 mention takeown and also storage, especially if you're using these in an RV because sometimes when it comes to solar panels, bigger really isn't always better if you don't have somewhere to put it. So, now let me introduce you to the solar panels I brought and then we'll kind of get started with the

0:41 testing. Now, this is Reney's 220 W semi- rigid solar panel. Now, even though it looks the same, this is Reny's brand new 300 W solar panel now using end type cells. Now, this is Pecron's 300 watt solar panel, and even though it is kind of flimsy, the performance isn't horrible, but it's also just not very

1:00 fun to move around, and it's something I don't recommend. Now, this is Reny's 400 W panel, and as you can tell, there's a little bit of consistency here because this type of panel is becoming very popular, and it's becoming a really good seller. So, if you take a look at this 400 W panel, and then if you look at the

1:16 300 right next to it, not to mention the 220 that's right next to that one, they're all the same style, just a little bit different in size, but you can tell there's not too much difference between the 220 and the 300. And now we have this big 450 from Zup. Now, this is something that's also becoming very

1:34 popular because again, it has that same style that we saw with the Reny solar panel, which has new end type cells and 16 bus bars and so far has already been a real popular seller. And then we have this thing, which I get it and I like the fact that they're trying to be different, but it just doesn't perform

1:51 that well when it's in this configuration. I've taken this apart and just put it on a long straight rod and I actually found that it performed really well and I was able to get almost 500 watts out of this particular solar panel. So, I'm not really sure what the idea is behind this but hey, I get it.

2:08 You want to be different that's okay. And then we also have this which is EcoFlow's 500 W kit that you can buy which this is a bfacial solar panel which this is also becoming very popular but there are a few drawbacks on it that we're going to talk about. Okay, so let's talk setting up because that is

2:25 part of the solar panel experience when it comes to portable solar panels. Now when it comes to this ZOP and also the three Renigies in the back, obviously those are all going to be pretty much the same. The only thing that's going to differ is going to be the size. Obviously, this 450 is relatively big

2:43 and takes up a decent amount of space and is over 30 lbs versus the 400 is just slightly smaller, but this 300 is definitely a lot more manageable along with this 220. And of course, it all depends on what you want. If you're power hungry like me, I like the big power, but after I've been using these

3:00 for a little bit, I've been coming to find out that, you know what, these are kind of big. But when it does come to setting these up, if you look how easy this is, setting up one of these panels is all the same. They just simply flip right open. You kick the stands out in the back and you lay it down and then

3:17 you are done. So that is one reason these are becoming so popular is just because of that reason alone is setting them up and the performance is decent out of these. Okay. Now, when it does come to this one here, again, I said this was kind of a flippy floppy thing. It is super thin and not all of them

3:33 that look like this are actually this thin and this floppy. It actually didn't do bad throughout the test today, but just kind of setting it up and moving it was something that I didn't particularly enjoy because it was just very finicky and it's just not as quick as those over there. But as you can see as I'm trying

3:52 to move this around, it just takes a lot more finesse to kind of get it right. and it just is a little bit more annoying after you've used something like these and it's so quick and easy. So, that's one reason I don't like this particular panel. And I just think there's better options out there. Now,

4:08 when it does come to this Jackary Saga 500, this is actually not a bad panel when it comes to setting it up. You can just kind of open it up like an accordion and then you lay it down and that's it because that's how they tell you to do it. There's not really any direction you face it. North, south,

4:23 east, west, it doesn't matter. you throw it out there and then you just kind of hope for the best. Now, when it comes to the EcoFlow panels, these ones take a little bit more to set up because you get two in each bag and so then you'll have to set up one individually and then the next one and the next one and you'll

4:40 plug them all into each other. So, later this ends up becoming a problem which you'll see. But another thing, too, is that these are glass. And believe it or not, I already know a couple people who have already broken these. And I honestly thought that I broke one of these in my travels out here. So, I was

4:57 a little bit worried, but it was actually okay. This is not a crack. That's just a spiderwe. But so far, they're still holding up. They have fallen already once. Um, and so far they they did okay with that. But others have not been so lucky. But performance-wise, these do pretty darn good. Okay, so now

5:15 when it comes down to performance, I took three recorded measurements at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and also 3 p.m. That way I could get the best numbers I could. And I also would line up each solar panel as much as I could to the sun. Now, I would still use just the stands that are included in the back.

5:33 So, I wouldn't be getting them perfectly aligned with the sun, but at least I would line it up as much as I could using basically the shadow technique where you just make sure that the solar panel is square on the ground as far as your shadow goes. Now, the conditions are sunny today with a haze that's

5:48 lasted pretty much throughout the day, but all of these solar panels are on the same playing field, so pretty much I tried to do it as quick as I could to get the numbers at each given time. Okay, so when it comes to this 220 watt from Reny, as I did my 9:00 a.m. test, I was getting about 155 watts out of it.

6:07 And then as the day became later and I got to 12:00, I ended up seeing about a max of 178 watts. And this was about the most I saw out of it all day. And then as the day went, the temperatures did rise. So all of them would suffer from heat soak. And so 177 watts was the most I was able to get out of this on the

6:26 third attempt as well. So now when it comes to the Reny 300, the first test ended up giving me about 245 watts. And then when noon came around, 270 watts is what we ended up seeing. And then on the last test at 300 p.m. about 259 watts after everything was completely heat soaked. And it ended up being about a

6:47 87° day as far as the peak temps. Now when we go to this 400 W rey, the first test ended up bringing me 285 watts. And then as noon rolled around, 330 watts was about the peak that I would see. And then 3 p.m. rolls around with another measurement of 325 watts. Now, when it comes to this Peekron, honestly, I'm

7:09 just not a fan of this. It's just not something I really recommend when there's other options out there, unless the price of this thing really drops, but even then. But you know what was odd is that the solar output was super consistent. In the morning at 9:00 am I ended up seeing 225 watts. At 12 pm I

7:28 ended up seeing 221 watts. And then again at 3 pm 222 watts. Now being that it is a 300 W panel it was actually consistent just to kind of get the same output no matter what time of the day it was heat soaked or not. So I thought that was just kind of interesting. Okay. So now this Jackary unit, which again I

7:47 have already used this several different times and the performance is definitely there but not in this configuration. You could honestly put this on a pole. You could hang this on a fence or do something else and you'll get much better results. But for today, the first test ended up bringing me about 230

8:05 watts just laying on the ground. Then around 12:00, I got 380 watts out of it. And then the last test at 3 pm ended up bringing me about 330 watts. So again, it's just kind of an oddball configuration, but there are some advantages to this thing, which you will see in just a little bit. Okay, now the

8:24 super popular ZUP 450 solar panel. Now, this is becoming one of my favorites for a couple reasons. One, because the output, the new end type cells. The only thing I I'm kind of thinking now is that it might be too big. If you're doing home backup stuff, definitely. Or if you have a real big spot in your RV, sure.

8:43 But as we take a look at these numbers that we got today, it ended up providing 375 watts on the 9:00 a.m. test. And then for the 1200 p.m. test, I ended up seeing 415 watts. And then, of course, as heat soak sat in, it was getting 415 watts again on the third test. So nice and consistent. But that was the max I

9:05 was able to get out of it on a hot day like today. All right. Now, these EcoFlow Bfacial solar panels, which being bfacial, there is a little bit of an advantage, but it's in the same price range as some of these other ones, just a little bit more. But again, we are talking about

9:19 premium panels today. Now, on the first test at 9:00 a.m., the EcoFlow was showing right about 410 watts, give or take. As I ended up getting the second reading at 12:00 p.m., I ended up seeing a max of 485 watts, which that so far is the best today. But again, it is a 500 W panel and the only other 500 W panel is

9:39 the Jackaryi. Now, when it did come to the 3pm test, even though I do have these little alignment dots, which I decided because the stands are pretty adjustable, I ended up lining up the dots that way I could try to get another peak number out of this. But for some reason, after being completely heat

9:55 soaked, I ended up only seeing about 348 watts out of it, which I thought was a little bit strange. But I have already used these a few times and this is actually the second day I've been using all this stuff. My day yesterday actually had just a little bit more clouds in it. There was a little bit

10:10 more of an upper haze, so my numbers were slightly lower during some parts of the day, but the numbers were pretty consistent for all of these panels throughout yesterday and today's test. Now, as we take a look at the average watts overall, I did find out with the asterisks around the EcoFlows because I

10:27 found one connection that wasn't plugged in. So that means one whole solar panel was not providing anything. Hence the low numbers that we saw on that last test. Now as we take a look at the highest percentage of rated watts, technically that EcoFlow should have been in first place due to the fact that

10:42 I made an error in not checking connections. But regardless, the Zoop did very well along with that Reny 300 W solar panel. Now, when it does come to pricing, I did take a look at average pricing at the time of this video, but you will also find discounts down below in the description. and comment section

11:00 if you're interested in any of these solar panels that you saw today. Okay. Now, when it does come to putting away the Pecron, this is actually not too hard of a panel because one, you don't have a case and it kind of just simply folds right up and boom, you are done. So, it's not that bad. But again, it's

11:16 just not something that I prefer if it's something that you find on maybe a superale and you want something. But I also don't like ribbon solar panels that much because this is a fail point is in between here. So, I'm just not a fan of those, which is why I like these. When these came out, this was something I was

11:33 definitely on board with. When it comes to the Jackaryi now, you know what? This is actually super cool when it comes to setting it up again because it's an accordion. So, when it comes to also putting it away, it is also something that doesn't take long and it just goes right into the case and it will fit

11:50 lengthwise in most storage compartments in an RV. So, this is actually not bad when it comes to that. And if you wanted to buy it and put it on a pole or something to straighten it out, that wouldn't be bad. But the price on this thing is insanely high. So, it needs to drop down a lot before it's even

12:08 something that you can kind of consider. Now, when it does come to the Zoop solar panel, this was a top performer today along with the EcoFlow and that 300. These three panels are definitely, I think, best buys if you're going to be buying something because this one comes with a cable with a lot of different uh

12:25 connections, so you can plug it into a lot of different power stations. And it has this design that I like, which again, it simply just unfolds, and it really makes it easy to set it up. And not to mention, it also makes it really easy to take it down when you were done with it. And that is one of the reasons

12:41 I really like this design when Reny did it. And now that Zupe is doing it, which obviously you can see a lot of similarities there, so I'm not going to get into the logistics part of that, but you guys probably pick up what I'm throwing down. Now, that 400 back there, it seems like I have two of those and I

12:58 only brought one with me. And normally I would see 340 to 360, but most of the time when I was using that one, it was on cooler days. And now that we are on a warmer day, I'm getting probably the more realistic. But this new end type cells um on this 300, this is actually not bad. This one performed really well

13:17 throughout the day. But that little 220 over there just never really seems to do that much. It always seems to be short of what it kind of should put out. Now, the only problem with the Zupe though, if you wanted to buy this, it is extremely big. So, if you're going to put this in an RV, you will have some

13:34 storage compartment problems because even though I have a fifth wheel and it's a relatively large compartment, there are others that are bigger. There's some that are smaller, but I found that having one or even just two of these, it does take up a lot of space. Now, Ze did come out with a brand

13:49 new 350 that I'm hoping to get soon, which I assume it's roughly this size. It's probably right in between these two. Um, so I'm wondering how that compares as far as size, but same technology, end type cells, 16 bus bars. So that might be something else. I can leave some information below. You can

14:07 check it out and check the pricing cuz these were on a superale and they're very competitive as far as a price with these other ones. Now, you do have Reny that's been around a long time. So, that might be something to consider when it comes to purchasing something because I know some people like companies that

14:23 have been around for several years versus Zupe is a little bit newer. But, you know, I think so far their customer service is okay. I can't really quote too much on that because again, they're still kind of new. Um, but they do have a great product as far as this goes. All right, so now let's talk about these

14:38 because I have a small lovehate relationship with them. One is that they are glass and so they are fragile and again somebody broke a couple. Now, one of the things that would be cool is if they made a screen protector that you could put on there and it would just make them so much more durable. But a

14:54 friend of mine had a crack from the backside and then I saw somebody else on a forum post that he had his crack as well. And being that these are kind of skinny yesterday there was a little wind that kind of kicked up. One of them actually did blow over but you know it kind of landed in some of this kind of

15:08 mossy grass stuff so it was okay. But that was also something else I was thinking about. Now, another thing, too, is transporting these these inside of an RV. You know, if things are shuffling around, that's something else I was thinking about, you know, because they do fit nicely in there. But RVs tend to

15:24 have a lot of stuff inside that can shift and go back and forth. And if you don't have these completely covered with those foam pads, well, then eventually you might open up one of these bags and it could be in trouble. And then you may have glass everywhere. Who knows? But that's one of the things I'm a little

15:39 bit worried about. I think these are better for home use if you don't want to worry about transport. Now, another thing, too, is that when it comes to moving these, you have to move each individual panel. So, that's something to think about. And also the setup, you have to set up each individual panel,

15:55 plug each individual one in, and then do the reverse. So, you have to unplug each one, which only takes a second, but then you have to move each one as well. So, when it comes to setup and takeown, it does take just a little bit longer. It's not a real big deal, but that might be

16:10 something that other people might want to know about. And again, if you're one of those people who like to move solar panels during the middle of the day to try to get the most amount of output, this one I actually tried to move and I had to disconnect them all because it was just easier to do it with them all

16:26 separated and then plug them back in. Well, now that all this is over, I will leave the information down below. If you guys buy anything, I definitely appreciate it. Helps out the channel. Now, which one of these would you buy? Let me know down in the comments.