Grape Solar GS-S-100-TS 100 Watt Monocrystalline Off-Grid PV Solar Panel

Heads up people. As of 6/10/2012, this item or something very similar, Grape Solar 100W monocrystalline PV solar panel, is on Costco.com for $189. The panel spec sheet says the model number is GS-S-100-Fab36.

These are positive grounded panels and are not compatible with Morningstar TriStar MPPT Solar Controllers(TS-MPPT-60).

These controllers have panel (-) and battery (-) in common.

The panels are great they just need special grounding requirements.

Buy Grape Solar GS-S-100-TS 100 Watt Monocrystalline Off-Grid PV Solar Panel Now

If you are going to get an off-grid solar panel...THIS IS IT. I have looked high and low for the right panel and this thing out does every stinking single one of them. Mind you, this is before I even got the thing. This is just with research alone. For example, solar cells have a module efficiency rating that is anywhere from 7-18%. Pretty crappy ones have around 12%. Average ones have 14-15%. Really good ones have 15-16%. THIS ONE HAS 18%. This is the ONLY solar panel you will find out there that has a TRUE module efficiency rating of 18% (basically, how well it turns sun energy into electricity). A lot of them will try to claim that they get around 18% and such, but when you look at the actual manufacturer specs, it's only around 14%.

It also comes with a kind of glass that reduces reflection so that it can absorb as much of the sun energy as possible. It is specifically designed for some pretty heavy weather. It has MC4 connections which are easy as cake to deal with (you can get MC4 splitters and such to run these in parallel which is also easy as cake).

Believe me, I did a lot of math before purchasing this as well such as price-per-watt compared to module efficiency rate in relation to panel size, etc...and every single time, it pointed to....the Grape GS-S-100-TS. THEN, I receive it. After having some polarity "issues" and getting them fixed, I finally get this thing up and running. Well, On a really cloudy day (I live in WA...) I was pulling in 4-6 amps (not AH mind you) for two of these panels (200W total) before the MPPT controller upped it a couple more amps. That's not too shabby. I could charge about a 90AH battery in about a day or so. Then I wiped down the panels (they were getting dusty and dirty from all the rain), and a sunny day happened to emerge and wow...I'm pulling 15 amps on two panels. As long as I keep these clean, and it's at least somewhat sunny (somewhat even!) I can literally charge two 100AH batteries in parallel within 3-4 hours. I couldn't believe it. I put two 100AH batteries on it before I went to bed one night, and by noon the next day, they were both not only fully charged, but fully equalized (the controller bumps up the voltage to 15VDC to give each cell in the battery equal charge and to hit any cells that might have gotten "skipped over" so to speak).

All in all, if you are going to get any type of off grid system, or just a couple panels to have backup power, and you're willing to spend a little more cash, THESE are your panels. They are amazing. The numbers impressed me immensely, and when I received them, their performance impressed immensely.

Read Best Reviews of Grape Solar GS-S-100-TS 100 Watt Monocrystalline Off-Grid PV Solar Panel Here

I have two of these panels in a four panel system on my boat. I use a Blue Sky 2000e MPPT 20A controller. There are no special grounding concerns. Grape Solar indicated to me that positively grounding the frame is not necessary in an off the grid system. The instructions that came with mine indicated otherwise but I am told the new instructions have been corrected. If you are concerned I would call Grape: they were very helpful.

That said I find the performance and build very good. I would say that their low light and off axis performance is especially good so that even on cloudy bright days or early morning sun I am still getting quite good outputs. Far superior to and much smaller in size than my 10 year old Siemens 85W panels.

I heartily recommend them.

Want Grape Solar GS-S-100-TS 100 Watt Monocrystalline Off-Grid PV Solar Panel Discount?

Grape Solar has two 100 watt panels. The GS-S-TS at Amazon has 32 cells. The GS-S-100-Fab 36 at Costco has 36. Otherwise quite similar. In marginal conditions the 36 will beat the 32 every time. Check the specs. Both good panels but if price is close go with the GS-S-100-Fab 36.

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