Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit

2 February 2010 No Comment

Manufacturer: Sunforce
Customer Rating:
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $289.99
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Product Description

The Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit gives you several more reasons to love the sun. It provides the power you need, while helping you save money and protect the environment. This kit is ideal for cabins, recreational vehicles, remote power, back-up power, and 12-volt battery charging. It comes with everything you need to start producing up to 60 Watts/4 Amps of clean, free power in all weather conditions.

Sunforce kits are easy to set up and operate.

Convenient Power That Helps You Save Money and Protect the Environment
The Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit lets you harness the power of the sun, the most powerful and plentiful source of energy available to us. This inexhaustible supply of power is freely available wherever the sun shines, and gives users the freedom to power their homes, RVs, boats, batteries, and electronic equipment far from civilization or right in town. Solar power can help cut your energy bills by reducing your dependence on the main electrical grid, and can also provide back-up power during outages. Unlike nuclear and fossil fuels, solar power systems are clean and pollution-free, and they require very little maintenance to operate.

Sunforce Solar Panels are effective in areas of both high and lower
sun exposure, making them ideal for use in the United States.
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Everything You Need to Power Up
The Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit has everything you need to start generating power. It includes four (4) 15-Watt amorphous solar panels with durable mounting frames, a 200-Watt modified sine wave power inverter, a 7-Amp solar charge controller, and a wiring kit with accessories for easy installation.

With built-in blocking diode technology, this solar charging kit is designed to protect against battery discharge at night. You can also use this kit to maintain the charge on any 12-Volt battery for clean, silent operation of various electronics, such as deer feeders and landscaping pumps. The included charge controller features a built-in ultra-bright blue LED charging indicator, and is a great choice for automobiles, recreational vehicles, tractors, all-terrain vehicles, boats, electric fences, telemetry and more.

About Amorphous Solar Power
Amorphous solar panels are created by spraying silicon on to glass in very thin layers, and are commonly known as thin film solar panels. This process allows them to be better at generating electricity in all lighting conditions, including cloudy or shady environments. Sunforce amorphous solar panels are weatherproof and suitable for outdoor use. They have a maximum operating temperature range of -40 to 176-degrees Fahrenheit, require virtually no maintenance, and are also effective on cloudy days. They can even withstand impacts from one-inch hailstones at 50 miles-per-hour.

Solar panels convert sunlight into an electric current, they do not store power. Sunforce Solar Charging Kits are primarily used to recharge 12-Volt batteries (not included), which store and provide usable power. The included 200-Watt power inverter allows you to use traditional 110-Volt appliances with this system. The included Sunforce 7-Amp Solar Charge Controller must be installed to prevent any connected batteries from overcharging. Once fully charged, it is normal for the charge controller LED to turn off and on as the battery voltage fluctuates from the discharge/recharge cycle.

Product Details

Amorphous solar charging kit provides up to 60-Watts of clean, free, renewable power
Designed for RVs, cabins, homes, boats, back-up and remote power use, and more
Weatherproof, durable solar panels can withstand impacts from hailstones travelling 50 miles-per-hour
Includes four 15-Watt solar panels with durable mounting frames, a 200-Watt power inverter, a 7-Amp solar charge controller, and a wiring kit with accessories for easy installation
Built-in, ultra-bright blue LED charging indicator

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Customer Reviews

Recharges all our stuff

Review Date: August 13, 2008

Reviewer: C. Bayne, Phoenix, AZ United States

We bought this a few months ago. We live in Phoenix, AZ ("Valley of the Sun"), so this has plenty of opportunity to work. We have it plugged into 2 marine batteries (like car batteries, but bigger), and we have an inverter connected to those. The inverter is in the house, and the batteries are outside. The wire goes through the wall. We plug things into the inverter.

This was easy to put together. You have to buy the batteries, but this came with everything else.

I can run my laptop all day, as well as recharge the cell phones and Wii remotes. My husband can also run his laptop. If we only get on the laptops after work, we can run them well into the night. I've had to switch to grid power a couple of times if I've used my laptop all day, but I've never had to switch over if I've only used it during the evening. (This doesn't count the few rainy days we've had. Yes, once in a while it rains in Phoenix.)

This is not the most efficient solar panel set, but it's very good for starting out and learning about solar power. It's inexpensive enough to set up and charge all your rechargeable stuff whenever you need it, as long as you live in a fairly sunny area.

Oh, as an experiment, I plugged the vacuum cleaner into the inverter, which promptly started screaming for help. (The inverter has an alarm, apparently.) This whole set-up CANNOT handle this kind of power draw. You have to unplug everything and turn the inverter off and let it just sit a while and reset before plugging in your lower power things again.

You're not going off the grid with this set-up, but you'll save yourself a few bucks a month. And you get to be smug whenever anyone talks about going green. "Well of course, our solar array has lowered our carbon footprint considerabley. Shall we go for an organic smoothie now?"

Permanently installed on roof

Review Date: January 7, 2008

Reviewer: Michael, Athens, GA USA

The panels are installed on my garage roof, wired in to a battery bank and inverter which primarily functions as a very large (4KW) uninterruptible power supply for the house. So far, everything is working fine. They keep the batteries topped off without using power from the grid.
Like most manufacturer's specs, the 60 watt claim is hard to realize. The panels' current output is about 3.2 amps under bright sun, which yields only about 45 watts into a 12 volt gel cell battery at 14.2 volts. The panels can output about 20 volts which would indeed yield 60 watts, but not while connected with the included charge controller. A MPPT controller would achieve 60 watts, however.
The included controller is acceptable in that it works as advertised. One good thing about it is that it does not shunt the panels when the battery is charged, it actually opens the circuit, which means the excess panel output would be available for other uses. I intend to build another device for charging another set of batteries after the primary set is charged.
The included inverter works, but I did not use it in the system. Instead, I'll just keep it around for a portable inverter.
Also, I did not use the PVC pipe stand included with the system, instead mounting the panels directly to the roof.
The kit did include a variety of connectors allowing use with cigarette lighter plugs and jacks, alligator clips, and hardwire, but the charge controller is only usable if hardwired. I strongly recommend the charge controller be used, as the panels can easily overcharge most any 12 volt battery if a charge controller is not wired in.

Does what it says

Review Date: February 9, 2008

Reviewer: Jacx, Illinois USA

All you need is a battery, it comes with PVP stand, one leg was miss labeled and I put in on backward at first but it was an easy fix, has been charging well thru the winter , can't wait to see how well it does in the summer. Wish it had more watts but good deal with stand,inverter,cables and charge controller.
Update 06/24/09 Still working great, even got hailed on. I did notice when moving them to put on a gazebo to run pump for pond that the bolts that it came with are rusting. You may want to buy different bolts, otherwise still happy.

These work well

Review Date: October 4, 2008

Reviewer: Brian Freeman, North Chili, N.Y.

I bought three of these kits kits for a total of twelve panels. I use them to charge two 115 amp hour marine batteries. The panels seem to bring the batteries up to full charge (green light on) even though the panels are only in direct sunlight for about two hours a day. There are plenty of different connecters for a varity of hookups. The only thing I didn't like was the cheap plastic stand that comes with it. I threw mine out and made a good one out of 1 1/2" angle iron that is 14' long with twelve panels in a row, looks impressive too. Now I'm wondering what I could do with another twelve panels, these things are addictive!

Satisfied

Review Date: August 18, 2008

Reviewer: R. Russell, Auburn Hills, MI USA

My goal with this product was to take as many devices in my home off the grid as possible. I bought an electric mower for my 1/3 of an acre of lawn and an electric weed whacker and leaf blower. All of these items are charged from these panels. I also use it for my rechargeable vacuum, cell phone, bluetooth headset and laptop. I'm amazed how easy it is.

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