Flexible Solar Panels

The portability of flexible solar panels has made them great favourite with both campers and 4x4 enthusiasts. Easy to pack and store, they appear ideally suited to the outdoors and perfect for capturing the sun’s energy and instantly transferring it into keeping the beers cold.  Well, unfortunately, not so....

Firstly, by virtue of their design, they are not too efficient because of having to be rolled up or folded and thus, unless you angled them fairly accurately to the sun, facing the equator, you will not get too much out of them.  Secondly, as they are usually ‘paneled’ in cloth, or other hardy outdoor materials, their surface area is concomitantly reduced. 

If you are looking to charge up a laptop or TV, which only consume a few hundred watts per hour between them, then I can see the attraction.

However, the average small fridge will use from 500-1000 Watts, depending upon many mitigating factors such as: ambient temperature, age, content, make and model and just how many times the door is opened.  You will thus need a minimum of an 80W panel, and preferably more than that to keep the fridge from draining more than is being replenished by the panel.

You cost per watt of energy produced is really expensive compared to the rigid, framed, version. If we look at 100W of panel ,as an example, in S.A. today you will pick up an ‘A’ grade panel from around R25 a watt – so R2,500+, add another R750 for an ‘A’ frame and 10M of panelflex wiring and you end up with R3,250 – so R32 per watt , depending upon make. If we take 100W of flexible panel – well, you have to find one first, as they don’t appear to make these panels in sizes much above 70W. The average price per watt in S.A. appears to be in the region of R150.00 per watt – that is some 4 times the price per watt of a similar solar rigid, and more efficient, panel!!  Your call.....

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