Sunflare 180W Flexible Vehicle Solar Panel
Made for expeditions, this flexible solar panel for car roofs is made for living off-grid for longer periods of time. With the highest charging rate of the three—it allows enough power to stay away for a while. Easily our favorite, we’ve put it on our Landcruiser 80.
Sunflare modules are more flexible than silicon-based solar panels for cars. That makes them easier to install and eliminates the micro-cracking that silicon cells experience after the flexing of sport and recreational driving. Micro-cracking compromises the electrical integrity and reduces the power output of the panels over time. In addition, the Sunflare panels are better in partial shade. Each cell has a bypass diode so that only the shaded cell turns off. Other panels are set in strings so that if one cell in a string is shaded, the whole string goes out. Depending where the shade is hitting, the whole panel can be knocked out.
NOTE: DO NOT attempt to peel off the top sheet of your solar panel. This is protective top layer that is not meant to be removed. OK4WD installer techincians recommend using adhesive A1W01790893. Please contact an OK4WD sales agent to order today.
RUGGED TOUGH
Our individual solar cells aren’t made from brittle glass solar cells, which are prone to micro-cracking during transport, install, and long term wear. Micro-cracking can cause shorts within the solar panel itself and can lead to hotspots, burns, and even fires at its worse. That’s not what you want in a solar panel.
BYPASS DIODES ON EVERY CELL
Bypass diodes on each individual solar cell means we don’t have the shading issues present in other panels. Usually, if you shade a cell or two in other solar panels, the cells are tied to a series of cells in a string. The entire series goes out and doesn’t generate electricity. We don’t have that issue, and that’s perfect for being in a mobile environment.
LIGHT AND FLEXIBLE
Our solar cells are made from stainless steel. Not only are they light, they’re also flexible. They are laminated with industry-leading 3M plastics instead of the bulky glass and metal frames found on traditional solar panels. Overland rigs have a ton of heavy parts equipment and accessories — XPLOR solar panels won’t be one of them.
EASY INSTALL
We’re sticklers for making things easier. Most solar panels install with mounting brackets and other hardware. We have simplified it to using adhesives. Double-sided adhesives keep Xplor panels held on tight, even while going 85 mph down Route 395. XPLOR solar panels come with the adhesive on the back and ready to be installed.
CERTIFIED
Safety is key. We’ve spent countless hours working with different testing agencies to ensure our solar panels are electrically safe and approved for use in both off-grid and on-grid solutions. While there aren’t any standards for off-grid solar panels, we follow the strict standards of on-grid solar panels for our manufacturing process.
25 YEAR WARRANTY
We know that they will last; we even test them out to the industry standard of 25 years. But in the off-chance they don’t, we offer a 25-year warranty for power output to give you peace of mind.
WHICH PANEL IS FOR ME
It’s all about your next adventure. Taking a misty week-long trip up the coast of California? Or maybe a sand-in-your-shoes trek into the majestic Grand Canyon. We want to go where you want to go and it all starts right here. Your battery capacity determines how long you plan to be totally off-grid.
Caught in a blizzard for three days in the mountains of Colorado? Might want to get a bigger battery to start.
Live in a generally sunny climate? The 100Ah battery may be perfect. Of course, you have to think about how many things you plan to power though, that’s pretty key.
Did you go with a Dometic CFX3 35? We did too. The 100Ah battery from full will run it nonstop for 3 days. We paired it with our 180W flexible solar panel and it’ll charge that 100Ah puppy up in roughly two days of sunshine. We did take a trip up the coast of California and not once did we worry if the battery was low, because it never came up!
You’ll need a charge controller to keep things level in your battery and an inverter if you plan to run 120VAC things like laptops, tablets, lights, and camera batteries. I’m sure you guys have even more creative uses for these things than we do.
Simple enough. Battery. Solar Panel. Charge Controller. Inverter. Where will you go next?
