Solar panel dimensions ?

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I have one 100 watt panel on the roof and want to fit another 100 watt panel.
My problem is that the space I have is 46cm by 170cm and I can't find a 100 watt panel that is 46cm or under.
The smallest 100 watt panel I can find is 51cm X 100cm which won't fit.
Has anybody come across a 100 watt panel that would fit.
TIA.
 
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Floydster said:
Measure your overall space (including existing panel) you may find you can fit one 200w or larger
Click to expand...
No, the 100 watt panel I already have is definitely the biggest that will go in the space.
 
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Start at the bottom and work your way up.
(They're cheaper at the bottom!)



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Thanks for the 2 suggestions so far.
Does anybody have any actual experience of these panels ?
They are very cheap, about half the price I would expect from a known reputable supplier.
Also I have read feedback for some cheap panels, not the 2 suggested here, where buyers have said that although they were rated at 100 watts the most output they had seen was 40-50 watts.
FWIW my present panel was fitted by Vanbitz and I don't want to pull it's performance down by fitting an inferior panel in parallel with it.
 
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I have five 100 watt panels of that ilk (cost about £75 each) and they seem fine. Don't they all come out of generic factories in China? The difference is branding and how many middlemen bung on their wack between China and you. Maybe there’s more quality control and easier warranty with ones from ‘proper’ sources. Unless it actually didn’t work out of the box, how would you know you had a dud - and prove it?

You could test the output before fitting and return it if it wasn’t similar to the one you have.

You could get rid of the one you have and put in two cheap ones :)
 
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wfdTamar this is the panel that had put me off.
It is 100 watts and 37cm so would fit but the feedback isn't good regarding performance or dealing with the seller.
Another eBay seller is selling the same panel and their feedback isn't brilliant either.
Both sellers appear to be typical Chinese sellers where the item is delivered from within the UK but any problems and you have to deal with China.
Ideally I would fit an identical panel to the one I already have but that would mean that I couldn't open my Heki hence me trying to find a smaller panel.


Screenshot_20230326_101734_com.ebay.mobile.jpg
 
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I would be starting with quality of the panel, brand and reputable supplier before choosing the size from their range.
 
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treblid said:
I would be starting with quality of the panel, brand and reputable supplier before choosing the size from their range.
Click to expand...
That is how I have approached this but unfortunately I cannot find a panel that will fit from what I would call a reputable supplier.
The narrowest I can find is 51cm and that is from Sunshine Solar who use the same panels as Vanbitz AFAIK so should be good quality.

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treblid said:
You tend to find semi-flexible panels in narrow sizes due to their applications. Here is an example: https://www.photonicuniverse.com/en...-solar-panel-with-a-durable-ETFE-coating.html

I have no experience with this particular panel but have a 180W semi-flexible panel from Photonicuniverse on our van which has been excellent.
Click to expand...
I have heard of a lot failures with flexible panels.
The one in your link has a one year warranty against defects where as a good quality rigid panel will have a 5 year warranty.
 
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treblid said:
The key issue with semi-flexible panels is how they are installed. They need to be fixed and bonded correctly with adequate ventilation and drainage under the panel.
Click to expand...
This new panel won't be fitted to the roof as there is no room, it will be fitted to the Fiamma roof rack.
 
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I ha ve a flexible at home just to play with. The cables are nearly falling out of the block on the back. The front surface doesn’t look great and it’s only been outside less than a year. I wouldn’t use them.
 
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wfdTamar said:
I ha ve a flexible at home just to play with. The cables are nearly falling out of the block on the back. The front surface doesn’t look great and it’s only been outside less than a year. I wouldn’t use them.
Click to expand...
You cannot tar all flexible panels with the same brush!
 
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Thanks for the suggestions 👍
I've just been measuring up again.
If I mount the Sunshine Solar super slim panel, which is 51cm, slightly differently on my roof rack to how I originally intended I can still open the Heki.
So I've just ordered one.
It has the advantage of being exactly the same specs as the Vanbitz panel I already have (AFAIK Sunshine Solar and Vanbitz use the same panels).
So it should pair up perfectly.
It has a 5 year manufacturing warranty and 10 years at 90% efficiency and a further 10 years at 80% efficiency warranty.
 
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Another way to handle dissimilar panels is to use a controller for each.

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wfdTamar said:
Another way to handle dissimilar panels is to use a controller for each.

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Click to expand...
Fortunately as both my panels are identical, and my MPPT is rated for 200 watts, then I can just plug the new panel into the existing roof wiring in parallel and my MPPT will just see one 200 watt panel.
I have already checked that the wiring both to the MPPT and from the MPPT to leisure batteries will handle the extra panel.
 
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