ELECAENTA 120W Portable Solar Panel for Power Station, 25% High Efficiency (3rd Gen 2024 Release), PD 45W USB C/DC/QC 3.0, Foldable Monocrystalline ETFE Solar Charger for Outdoors Camping Off Grid

Oct. 10th, 2021 Update, see below, photos added - DO NOT ASSUME that the 79 watts shown in the photo is the limit of the panel - the Bibene Portable Power Station's MPPT charge controller is limited to about this wattage (85watts +/- 5 watts), and the Bibene did show 80 and 81 watts early in the test.Others have noted the weight and size, not good for back-packing, but fine for use at campsites not too far from a vehicle. It could be carried in some distance as part of a larger amount of radio equipment handled by several people, rather than a solo event. I don't evaluate it against the very light, small or flexible panels, more expensive per Watt, so I do not remove points for size or weight.On a 103+ degree day, around 2:15-2:30 PM PDT, July 16th, in the Mohave desert, I was not in the mood to set up a lot of equipment and make detailed measurements of the panel in use. Instead, to verify basic operation, I deployed it in the sun, aimed it fairly accurately, noting that the built-in supports had it angled very well for the sun at that hour, allowed it to warm up for a few minutes (while I was inside keeping cool!), and then measured VOC (Voltage Open Circuit) and ISC (Current Short Circuited). These numbers indicate the limits of the panel's performance. It will produce slightly less current at operating voltage than into a short, and the MPPT maximum power operating voltage can be guessed, so a MAXIMUM LIKELY power output can be estimated, for my test conditions. Note that solar panels always lose some efficiency when they get hot, so it would likely perform somewhat better with lower air temperatures to keep it cooler.The open circuit (no load) voltage was 21.2 Volts. Short Circuit current was around 6 Amps (5.9 to a bit over 6 Amps). Assuming an MPPT voltage of 16 volts (conservative, it could be higher), and 6 amps of current (optimistic), that gives a likely maximum power output of 16 A x 6 V = 96 Watts. Other reviewers have seen power input to "solar generators" with MPPT charge controllers of around 90 Watts - entirely consistent with my estimate based on simple measurements. My particular panel appears to be typical, not defective or notably under-performing.I did not try any of the USB outputs, only the "12V" charging output, as that will be my primary use.Testing for loss of power with partial shading, a 6" x 10" rectangle of cardboard was moved around on it (sometimes with the added shadow of part of my hand and wrist, etc.), to form a movable area of deep shadow. Short Circuit Current dropped to around 4.5 Amps (4 to 5, depending on position and angle of the board). Then, flopping over the far end (away from the electrical ports) shaded two of the panels (of the four) and produced almost exactly half the current (3 Amps).Why is this panel so resistant to partial shading? A further test suggested the answer. Shading a strip about 3" wide across the bottom of all 4 panels suddenly lowered the Short Circuit Current to around 0.1 Amps (1/10 of an Ampere). Evidently, each panel is a "12V" panel, on its own, with all four connected in parallel. Completely or partially shading one panel knocks it completely or mostly out of the mix, but the others continue to contribute their full power. If you need lower power, say to directly charge a modest-sized battery without a charge controller, just shade as many panels as needed, and get power from only the completely insolated (illuminated) panels. Note that two of these complete panels CAN be paralleled, though you will have to provide your own cable to do so - another result of how they are wired internally.Finally, I moved the whole array into the shadow of my balcony, while affording it a view of a good deal of the nearly cloudless sky (there were a few very small cloud whisps, covering a fraction of a percent of the sky, that did not interfere noticeably with my tests). In direct shadow, but getting scattered sky light as well as some scattered from the ground (concrete), it produced 0.4 to 0.5 Amp (around half an Ampere). I'd expect it might well produce enough power to charge a small device like a cell phone under bright cloudy sky or partial diffuse shade, as some have reported.The supplied Anderson Power Pole connector is wired "correctly" for amateur radio use (look into the end of the connector - see "Red Right/Tongue Top", tongue is the metal contact, red is positive). Anderson connectors can be assembled either way, but this polarity is essentially standard in Amateur radio. Still, ALWAYS test polarity (not just physical assembly, but electrical polarity) of any Anderson Power Pole connector - trust but verify! This applies to any DC power source, with any connector, used for any purpose. Many people have suffered equipment damage from reversed polarity on connectors they have trusted. Cables with some connectors (e.g., SAE) can easily be stacked to create reverse polarity.Some have noted that the far panel (away from the power connector) is poorly supported by the two built-in props and tends to sag. I plan to use the grommet holes on that end to attach some kind of simple prop.Performance Update (Oct 10th, 2021):I tested the Elecaenta 120W folding panel with a new Bibene 500 W / 614 Wh Portable Power Station ("Solar Generator"), available here on Amazon. The panel came with a DC5525 adapter to match the input of the Bibene, which arrived 83% charged. Starting at that charge condition, and at about 2:30PM today under a clear sky, about 75 degree air temperature, the Elecaenta panel initially provided 80 or 81 watts to the Bibene. NOTE: the Bibene's MPPT charge controller is LIMITED to 80 watts +/- 5 watts, so this is entirely consistent with the panel providing full power to the Bibene. It is possible that a panel with a higher peak MPPT voltage point could have boosted this by a few watts. After a few minutes, the power delivered reduced to 79 watts, where it stayed without variation until 3:42 PM, when the Bibene was 99% charged and I stopped the test. The photos were taken at 2:50 PM, when the Bibene showed one hour to full charge (which turned out to be about right). Slight misalignment of the panels with the sun made no difference - a clear indication that the Bibene was maxed out with this panel, and the panel was not the limiting factor. This panel and the Bibene make a good combination, with the panel maxing out the Bibene's (admittedly modest) charging rate even under less than perfect conditions.End of Update.Second Update: A second panel has been purchased, and tested briefly at ~80 degree outdoor temperature, ~ 1PM, Oct 28th 2021. It gave similar performance, though the Isc (short circuit current) was even higher, at exactly 7 Amps. Perhaps the cooler weather benefited this second panel, or slightly earlier time of day. Now I am at two good panels, well constructed and performing. This one had a "deal" for a "free" 12V battery charging clamp set with a 5 LED charge controller, tested briefly and successfully, reviewed separately.This panel appears to be typical in performance for this type, based on reports by many reviewers, yet is (currently anyway) attractively priced and of solid construction, with a good selection of included connectors and a decent power cable. It may, or may not, be the absolutely best Watt per Buck with solid construction, but it is a worthy contender at the least.Based on my preliminary testing, and consistent reports from others - recommended.

I am overall very satisfied with the solar panel, it's portability and it's performance. The PD USB C output is very convenient to quickly charge cellphones and tablets, provided the device supports the PD charging algorithm and is not too hot as it will reduce the charging power to avoid cooking the battery. I've measured up to 104W charging power during clear skies in the early afternoon which is the max input power my power station will take so it performs as expected for my use case. In mid November I started having a bit of issues with the charging capacity though, it crept down to 60w at most during perfect conditions, I compared it to another panel brand rated at 100w as well during the same day and got 92 watts so I know the time of the year in Texas was not all to blame for the lower output. I even went ahead with my infrared thermal camera and noticed a few of the solar cells were a few degrees hotter than the rest so I suspected they must have shorted out or something. I went ahead and contacted their customer service department and after some back and forth explaining the issue and one video later showing it in real time, a customer service representative (Thanks Anna!) decided to send me a brand new one free of charge, amazing! I've tested the replacement panel and I'm back to getting 100w output, yay! Side notes about portable solar panels in general (Except CIGS cells), do not grab them by the cells, bend, press or exert forces on the rigid part of the panel in any ways, they are delicate, not flexible and will crack. Dead cells will appear darker (colder) on an infrared camera, I've learned it the hard way a few years ago. TLDR, Panel performs as described, had issues after 2 months but the company stood behind their warranty.

I picked up two sets of these panels for use with the assortment of solar generator batteries we have. We already have several 80 watt panels as well as 100 watt Sun Power panels but you can only charge so many batteries at a time and I needed (or, wanted) a couple more panels.The quality of these panels is very good although, not absolutely perfect - I would say about 8.9 out of 10.0 points on the perfection scale. Of the two sets I bought, one set has a small surface coating imperfection on the panel which appears to slightly impact the power output. However, the output is still acceptable. The overall durability of the materials used to built these units appear to be on par with what one would expect from a quality soft-sided "suitcase-type" portable setup. They should last a long time given proper care and not overly abused. These are not cheap "budget" specials that will fall apart after a dozen uses. And, the bonus here is the cables and adapters that are included.With regards to the output power, all I can say is WOW! I've been using them on my Jackery 1000's in both parallel and single panel hookups. Obviously, it's overkill to run these in parallel on a clear sunny day since the Jackery is limited to 126 watts solar input but it's great on those overcast and cloudy days. The one panel that has the surface coating blemish averages 84 watts in clear blue skies with peaks in the mid-nineties. That's pretty good. The second panel with no surface issues averages 95 watts in clear blue skies with a noted peak of a whopping 114 watts! That is absolutely astonishing. With both panels combined in parallel in medium to heavy overcast skies I can pull an average of 70-80 watts. And when full cloudy conditions occur I see an average of 30-40 watts when combine in parallel. That is still very impressive - at least it is for me.As far as portable solar panels go, you cannot go wrong with these guys for the price. They're constructed well, use solid materials, include bonus cables and adapters, and perform above and beyond competitor portable panels in the 100-120 watt category. The only issue I have other than the small blemish on the one panel is that these units only have two kickstands. It's not a deal breaker, but three would have been the icing on the cake.