Flexible Solar Panels One Year Later Should you Buy?

I'm all about long term reviews vs someone sharing "Its awesome" but hasn't even opened the box, let alone lived with, and logged data on the product. Thanks for sharing your real world experience and info.

Today, the panels available are better than years ago. Flexible panels are higher output and better than before.

I have EcoFlow 2/ 220 dual and I have to say they almost stay at 210-220 in the sun. Charges my delta 2 max and fridge/freezer , and 4 battery chargers all day at work in my van . Fridge ( Iceco) runs 24/7 .

Yes, good video and it does give me something to think about. Rethinking rooftop install.

This was a very useful video for me. I have an old 2001 Ford F350 mini bus and the roof has a curve. So putting flexible solar panels makes sense to me. Thank you.

The issue with the flexible panels, is the heat will kill them over time and you're transferring more of that into the RV since it makes contact with your roof. I'm glad yours are still working, but they have a history of failing. At least you chose the best of the brands of flexible panels. Renogy makes excellent products. I will say that the panel size for these is really convenient for RVs. It's so hard to find cheap panels that are the right shape for RV roofs.

Really interesting data Johnny. Good to see these held up so far.

It still looks good. Not much you can do about the heat soak though since they are attached directly to your roof. This is the main reason flexible panels don't last as long as rigid ones do. They should still last you 10 years or more though. When you're ready for your next upgrade, what I would do is remove both rooftop A/C units and put 2-3 more panels in their place. Then I'd put a couple super-efficient mini-splits on the back that both heat and cool - one for the front and one for the bedroom. I left my soft start equipped Furrion front rooftop A/C but removed my rear unit and replaced it with an EG-4 28.5 Seer-2 mini split heat pump that only uses about 1/3 the power as my rooftop A/C but cools just as well with almost zero noise. I racked my entire roof with 8, 550w state-of-the-art PERC panels that come with a 25 yr. warranty and only cost 51 cents/watt shipped to my door. Of course, this 4,400w array adds about 400 lbs. more to my roof than your panels do, but they produce over twice the power too. However, it's within the weight limit of my tag axle MH with no adverse handling effects. I don't worry about them getting loose or flying off as each of my rack's 18 feet have three 600 lb tensile strength toggle bolts, not screws, securing them, which are capable of withstanding a total of 32,400 lbs. of lifting force. Clearly my entire roof would rip off or the motorhome would become airborne before they blew off. A laminar airflow on your roof is important, which is why I dropped the front two panels of the array down at a shallow 9.5-degree angle to meet the roof. This reduces drag for more stability than the turbulence created by my original roof's numerous drag producing protrusions. Racking them 15" off my roof not only lowers their operating temperature for higher output, but provides a nice shade for my motorhome too, reducing the heat load on my A/C units due to all the cooling airflow underneath. I now have solar powered heating and cooling 24/7 and can run everything in my RV just like I'm plugged into a power pedestal at an RV park. BTW, I also have another 620w liftable array on the side of my MH to charge my 560ah 12v battery for all my RVs 12v power needs plus an additional 1,000 watts of inverted ac power as a back-up should I ever need it. This lets me dedicate the rooftop array to charge my 16.3 kwh, 48v battery with my Sungold Power all-in-one 48v, 5,000-watt PSW inverter, 100a charger/charge controller.

Thanks for a real-life comparison. Made sense!

I went the same route on my NorthStar 850sc. I used the Yuma CIGs 200 watt (X4) 2 panels in series (50v/9a) x 2 going into a Bluetti AC200MAX. I have gotten 500 watts from 200 watt panels, trust me I was surprised too! Great video and will be doing one with mine as well. Aero + weight + performance = smart choices. Nice set up!

Great video brother. Thank you

Great video thank you

The benefits of ridge panels in addition for the better performance is longevity and reduce heat inside the RV. Ridge panels also cost less per watt.

Output fell after that plane flew on your head with the Chemtrail..

I thought one advantage of SIGS panels was to provide some protection/efficiency against shading, do your current panels not have this feature/efficiency advantage(?) Thanks for sharing, was looking forward to this video all year, huge Thumbs-Up/Like!

With the solid panels, there's a one inch gap between the roof and the panel that allows for air flow, so it won't be near as hot as flat.

Great video mate really informative 👍 sub btw

I've just started RVing my roof is the same but not as long, I don't YouTube, my plan is especially boondocking is to run a micro water line underneath the solar panels to empty my shower water and cool down the solar panels.

Great level of education! I like it, hey what would you recommend for a coachman clipper. I mean solar panel set with the whole stuff to successfully operate an rv with a lil bit of AC and basics Respectfully Chewy Ps: I recently purchased my RV this year in February

Right on JW