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Shipping was quick and hassle free. The panel itself is well buit and easy to hook up. (Make sure you buy the MC-4 connectors)
Best of all the thing puts out a lot of power! Even after sunset and in overcast conditions it continues to charge (Long after my old panels stopped working) I am able to run alot of electric equipment for a lot longer than my old panels.
Bottom line: It was quick, easy, and it works extremely well. I highly recomend this product.
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It's refreshing to find a product that not only meets but exceeds all expectations. This panel works even in low light. Cloudy days don't keep it from operating. The frame is very sturdy which makes it easy to customize for challenging installations like mine. Combined with the MPPT controller the output is consistently high. Nice job.Best Deals for Instapark® NEW All Black 100W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel, 100
I have no complaints. The panel arrived in a timely manner undamaged by fed ex (I was most surprised by this). I had to build a rack for the panel. Since it had mounting holes in the aluminum frame this was a peice of cake. The monocrystaline panel is productive way past the peak hours of solar production. I have found that if the sun is out, it produces around 14 volts. During peak hours you're looking at 15.5 to 16 volts constantly, that is until the sun wanes.All in all I can't really find a downside to the Instapark product.
Honest reviews on Instapark® NEW All Black 100W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel, 100
The Application: I bought this solar panel to power a pump to move water from a spring fed well to my pond. The complete setup includes this panel plus a 12 VDC pump (which draws 3.5 amps), a controller, a 40 Ampere hour 12 volt battery, and a float switch. The panel, battery, and pump connect to the controller which directs power from the panel to the battery and the pump. The float switch turns the pump on when the water level is high and off when it is low. The battery provides power when the panel does not produce sufficient power (e.g., at night). When the panel produces sufficient power the controller directs power to charge the battery and to the pump when it is running. When the pump is not running the controller directs panel power to charge the battery.Shipping: With the free shipping option I received the panel in seven days. It was well packaged. The box had some shipping damage but the panel was OK.
Performance: The panel is well designed with solar cells packed densely so they produce 100 Watts of power with minimal overall panel dimensions. I set the panel in direct sun to test the no load voltage. (It was 8:00 AM local time.) The no load voltage with the cold panel was 21.6 volts. As the panel heated from the incident morning sun, the no load voltage dropped to 21.3 volts. This is to be expected. Later I moved the panel into my barn where it was not illuminated by the sun but only by light that scattered in from the barn door. I was surprised to see it still produced over 15 volts.
At 8:00 AM the next morning I connected the panel to the controller at the spring (with it laying flat on the ground). It produce sufficient power to charge the battery and run the pump. After sunset at 8:00 PM I checked the system and found the panel was still producing power sufficient to run the pump. I switched the pump off and the panel still produced charging power to the battery. So it is working better than I had expected.
If you buy this panel I recommend you also buy solar panel connectors and the connector disconnect tools which are also available on Amazon. Without the connectors you would have to cut the existing connectors off and replace them with other connectors. Obviously, this would void the warranty. The connectors are very difficult to disconnect without the tools. Together the connectors and tools cost about $25.00. Yes, its a ripoff, but best to pay it to avoid problems.
Conclusion: The panel works very well and produces more power at lower light levels than I expected. The only remaining question is how it performs after a long period of time. But based on these early results I whole heartedly recommend this panel.
Update 8/2/12: Have had this running the pump for a month now and is working perfectly. My recommendation still holds!
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I have two of these panels. The installation was easy although it does not come with any intructions. I would suggest a youtube tutorial if you are tackling a solar project on your own. Also suggest some splicing experience ;)Total setup:
2 Instapark 100W Mono-crystalline Solar Panel
Sunforce 11240 1000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter with Remote Control
HQRP Pair MC4 T-branch Solar Panel Connector M/M/F & F/F/M (1F2M & 2F1M) for PV / Photovoltaic System (connects solar panels together)
HQRP Pair 144 inches (3.66m) 1x4mm² Photovoltaic Solar Array Cables with MC4 Connectors (connects panels to voltage controller)
Sunforce 60032 30 Amp Digital Charge Controller
Cobra CPI-A4000BC 4-AWG Heavy-Duty AC Power Inverter Cable Kit (Connects the last battery in the chain to the inverter)
HQRP Pair MC4 Solar Panel Connector male & female (M&F) for PV / Photovoltaic System plus HQRP Coaster
Instapark® ZJ-02 Solar Panel Mounting Hardware Kit (mounts panels to roof. If you need to change the pitch of the panel do not get these)
Other stuff: Junction Box, 3 outlet boxes and plates, 3 conductor electrical wire (romex), wire nuts, conductor clamps and wire ties.
I have the panels going to a sunforce voltage controller, the controller is wired to three 12v marine gel batteries that are daisy-chained together. The batteries are wired to a pure sine wave 1000w inverter. I have a secondary system rigged up for when we lose power (winters are harsh). I have an outlet in the living room, guest room and master bedroom. I will have 2 more outlets added by the end of this project. The solar outlets have a different shape then my normal outlets to differentiate between what is grid electric and what is solar. (solar has square plates, electric has rounded corners). We had to put a junction box up to accomodate the lines going into the house (so from the inverter to the junction box).
We recently tested the system by plugging in our 48" flat screen tv and dvr. 5.5 hours later, it was still going strong but I was tired and wanted to go to bed. There were no artifacts (lines in the tv screen, scrolling etc.) on the tv at all. I switched the tv and dvr back to electric and went to bed but left the inverter on to draw any more power that the batteries had in them (we were trying to drain the batteries and see how long it would take for 2 panels would recharge 3 batteries.) but alas, when we woke up in the morning, the batteries still had 1/2 charge on them. The next day it snowed and the panels still charged the batteries to 3/4 full. I expect that they will be full today as it is sunny and clear.
Another great thing about solar backup vs. generator backup... no noise, no smoke, and no gas needed. Downside is that you cannot deploy the whole house, you have to be very aware of what you use... nothing with high amp draw like an oven, water pump or hot water heater. We bought three 8w lightbulbs that put off 40 lumens of light...expensive compared to a regular lightbulb but hopefully we will never have to replace them in our lifetimes! We also bought many rechargeable batteries so that we can spread around the power! Good luck to all.
