Thomas Smith

Renogy 100W Solar Panel Review. We Built an Off-Grid System With It.

Introduction

I’m Tom from Do-It-Yourself Home Automation, and I’m here to give my review of the 100-watt solar panel from Renogy. Renogy is a fantastic company that makes solar panels at relatively low prices. This solar panel is part of an off-grid system that I’m building for renters, apartment dwellers, and others who want to install solar panels on a small balcony or other limited spaces.

Slim Design and Size Variations

The Renogy solar panel comes in a couple of different sizes—one of which is this slim design. The slim design is longer but skinnier in width than a standard solar panel, making it great for those thin spaces found on balconies.

If you want to install this on a balcony or have limited space on the roof of an RV, these slim panels are an excellent fit. In addition to the slim design, Renogy offers regular-sized panels and a compact design. They also have polycrystalline and monocrystalline versions of this panel, providing various options to suit your needs.

Easy Connections and Compatibility

The Renogy solar panel comes equipped with MC4 connectors on the back, making it very easy to plug into your solar setup. The sides are made of nice aluminum, and the overall construction is pretty good on these panels.

The panel outputs at 12 volts, so it can easily plug into your 12-volt system. Alternatively, you can hook it up in a series with other 100-watt panels, like those included in Renogy’s kits, to achieve 24 volts or any other voltage desired for your system.

Performance

Although my panel is placed in sun and partial shade, if you position it in full sun, it will usually output about 5 amps when measured with a multimeter. At its higher panel voltage of around 18 volts, this is fairly close to the solar panel’s rated voltage and wattage when placed in full sun. My solar panel is connected to another 50-watt panel, and, when connected on its own, it outputs close to the wattage expected of a 100-watt panel.

Mounting Options

Renogy’s solar panel offers various mounting options. You can get Z mounts for connecting it to a roof, tilt brackets for better angle adjustment, or even pole mounts for added versatility. This flexibility makes the Renogy solar panel the standard baseline option, allowing users to combine these panels together to create higher wattage or voltage systems.

Summary

Overall, the Renogy 100-watt solar panel is an excellent product, which I highly recommend. I’ll continue to post videos about how I’m using it in my off-grid system, so stay tuned for updates. If you found this review helpful, please subscribe to my channel.

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Key Takeaways

  • Renogy is a great company that makes solar panels relatively inexpensive.
  • The 100 watt panel from Renogy comes in a slim design, normal sized, and compact design.
  • The panel has MC4 connectors on the back and outputs at 12 volts.
  • The panel can be combined with other panels to make higher wattage or higher voltage systems.
  • Renogy offers different mounting systems such as Z mounts, tilt brackets, and pole mounts.