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.
View Larger | 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.
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- 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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 sunforce solar panels |
| Review Date: July 4, 2010 |
| Reviewer: MrRzr, |
| I bought the sunforce 60 watt solar panels for my travel trailer to keep the trailer batteries charged and so far I have only had to use two panels. I used all four when I was camping and the panels did a good job in keeping my batteries up during the day. |
Slim down my electric bill :)
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| Review Date: July 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Valerie D. Beasley, ky, usa |
We have them on our black shingle roof. Gets sun All day. We have run a line inside the house. Hooks up to marine battery, then inverter. We can charge our lap top once a day, run fan for at least 6 hours, Charge a cell phone and blue tooth a day. Also have a 15 watt light on for at least 4 hours a day. I love this. I fell great giving less to the power company. I'm totally electric and my bill has been getting higher for the past 2 years. I hope to be getting a tankless hot water heater power with solar. This kit is a great way to start collecting your own energy!
I would toss the screws that they send and get better screws. That's it.
Valerie & Don |
Charging!
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| Review Date: June 28, 2010 |
| Reviewer: ocothboy, |
| I am using my panels for pumping water in a garden stream. After getting the angle right on the panels they charged my 12-volt, deep-cycle, marine battery quickly. The wiring and connections were easy and the regulator works fine. The inverter supplied with the kit is trash, never worked at all for me, and the support frame for the panels is pretty rickety. But, overall, not a bad deal for the money! |
It was a nice thought
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| Review Date: June 7, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Andy, Mobile, AL |
| The kit was a good idea, but lacked in the follow through. This would've made a very good cheap starter kit as it includes everything but batteries. Unfortunately only about half of the panels produced any real voltage. I tried once to have it replaced, and it was replaced with panels that suffered similar issues. I suppose I could keep getting them replaced until they get it right, but then how would it perform after being mounted to the roof and exposed to the elements? |
The sale pushed me over the edge to take the plunge...
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| Review Date: June 3, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Michael Pfaeffle, New York, NY |
| This was sort of an experiment for me. I have a remote pond that I wanted to run a small pump in and there was no way I was about to string cable almost 2000 ft. So I did some quick math and figured with a timer I could run that pump about 8 hours a day with this setup and a car battery (it's only a small Beckett pump). If I got more or less time, it was no big deal - I figured something was better than nothing. So when this setup went on sale, I thought I'd give it a whirl. Certainly more reliable than wind for me. Unlike others, packaging seemed pretty good (Each cell wrapped in bubble wrap first, then surrounded individually with styrofoam). But I can still imagine the box getting dropped/kicked/etc and something breaking. So.. your mileage may vary. But aside from the shipping, this was an easy setup. I would have liked a more rigid metal frame, but the PCV is acceptable considering the cost. I may still craft something myself down the road. The inverter is cheap - but I'm not trying to run a table saw here so it serves my need. The specs are well stated in the previous review and product description and I found similar results so far. I was impressed that even in heavy shade, it was still charging at about 20mA (I used an inline meter). In direct sun, the charge controller is pushing the full 7A. I'm curious if a larger charge controller can do more - that might be a test down the road for me. Note: It helps if you have basic electrical skills. The install guide is cheezy at best and I could picture somebody with no clue doing something completely backwards. Luckily, most of the connectors are polarized so you can't go "too" wrong. Go slow - read - make sure you undertand - and you'll be fine. Based on what I see so far, I like it - a lot. I'll try to remind myself to do a follow up review to let everyone know how much and how long I can actually run that pump. I think this is going to be ideal for my situation. |
This product has been grossly misrepresented
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| Review Date: May 10, 2010 |
| Reviewer: TommyCel, |
I purchased two of these kits (8 panels) and mounted them on the top of my RV. I have had them on the top of my RV now for approximately 8 months.
When I received the units, I tested each of them for the open voltage measurement noted in the instructions with a digital meter and found each to be producing 21 volts unloaded. Encouraged that the panels were working properly, I went ahead and took the time and expense to mount them to the top of my RV.
After 8 months, here's what I found:
First of all, the 15 watt, 1 amp peak output rating that Sunforce advertises is not correct. The peak output rating for each of these panels should have been advertised at approximately 750 milliamps per panel. The total peak output that one could typically expect from the 4 panels in this kit would be around 3 amps. 3 amps under perfect conditions.
I have noticed that the boards are extremely prone to large drops (upwards of 45%) in current output when they begin to heat up. In other words, the boards are VERY intolerant to high temperatures. But even under perfect conditions, the 8 panels that I have mounted on my RV only produced 6 amps, and I am in Hawaii.
Another problem: The boards shut down in lower light situations. In other words, early morning and later afternoon lighting, significant cloud cover, or other low light situation will be cause for either a total shut down of output, or the boards will be very poor performers - in the low milliamps for 8 panels in parallel.
Within a very short period of time (about 4 months) the output from the panels gradually decreased by nearly 50%. And right now I am getting about 40% of the advertised peak output in perfect conditions.
The plastic construction is very cheap, in my opinion, and I am now worried that the plastic may break away around the screws that hold down the panels and fly off the vehicle. Needless to say, I am removing the panels.
I'm out some money, a lot of time and effort, but I've learned a lot about solar panel technology over the past 8 months.
For just a few bucks more, I will purchase a decent monocrystilline, 36 cell panel that will far and away outproduce the 8 panels that I have on my RV now, and take up far less space and be much safer on top of the vehicle.
Don't waste your time or money on this kind of solar panel technology. You will be very sorry. |
Good set of panels
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| Review Date: May 9, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Dan F. Bauer, Pennsylvania |
| We were looking for a set of panels with the dimensions of this set. This set fills the bill, works as advertised, and at a very reasonable price. I had used a Sunforce panel before, so had confidence in the set. |
Great Buy for Starting with Solar
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| Review Date: April 30, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Bret H. Swanson, Normal, IL United States |
I hardly ever review anything but I am very pleased with this purchase. It gets 5 stars for the money and simplicity - it's obviously not the biggest baddest solar panel on the block and you won't be powering much in the way of household appliances off a 200W inverter, but you can't beat the price and I had zero problems with shipping. Everything arrived intact and working (I tested the inverter with the battery prior to hooking anything up). You will learn a lot in setting this up and using it to power a few things. I have it installed on the roof of my house and ran a wire drop through the attic vent and down into the main floor, where I keep the battery box (protected and using a sealed battery, relax).
A word on the frame: it's fine and very easy to set up, but it's nothing special, just PVC pipe. If you are trying to decide between this system and another panel which would require a more DIY frame, don't let this frame alone sway you. It's also made to be floor-standing rather than roof-mounted; what I did was drape the support legs over the apex of my roof and nail the legs to the roof with some PVC U clamps. I'm confident it's secure, and really the damn thing is so heavy it would take some hurricane winds to move it anyway.
If/when you expand your solar array you will inevitably need to upgrade the charge controller and inverter, but this isn't a total loss - the inverter, at least, you can hang on to for your car or tailgating truck or whatever, as it uses a 12VDC cigarette lighter plug.
Literally everything you need save the battery is included in the box, you won't have to make any trips to Radio Shack to pick up terminal connectors or wire twists or adapters or anything. This makes it ideal for the less-than-savvy electrician looking to get started with solar energy. I'd recommend to anyone. |
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