Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel Starter Kit with 2 Pcs 100W Solar Panel and 30A PWM Charge Controller for

10 reviews for Renogy 200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel Starter Kit with 2 Pcs 100W Solar Panel and 30A PWM Charge Controller for

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Justin Whitty – July 30, 2023

   
   I bought this to get started and after realizing these two panels will max out around 150watts and more consistently put out 25-50 watts I added more panels. Im currently running a total of 700 rated watts of panels off this 400 watt controller from the 200 watt starter kit. I bought the BT controller so I could monitor the output of the panels. The panels are hitting 400 watts at times and the controller doesn’t have any issues handling it. I will probably upgrade the controller at some point, but so far this one works great and it seems to do a good job of keeping the batteries healthy. I would buy this 200w kit from Renology again in a second! We are using this to run a 36×72 barn off the grid. For our scenario Solar is a cheaper and better option.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   BT – August 7, 2023

   
   I was finally able to use these panels where we had no shore power. I have a teardrop camper where the only DC load is a Norcold cooler, a vent fan, and some LED lighting. The vent fan seems to pull the largest load. These panels kept the battery charged well. I was camped in a semi-shaded spot, so it was nice having a portable system where I was able to move the panels into the sun.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   David k rasmussen – August 13, 2023

   
   RV was pre-wired and installation was easy. Just nervous about putting holes in my roof.

   
4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Martin bare – August 12, 2023

   
   Like this product easy to use and set up charges battery

5. 

   Rated 1 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – December 30, 2022

   
   Anyone who has ever dealt with a Cable TV company knows that their service is the worst. I would put Renogy in that category.I purchased my starter kit from Renogy for the reason many people buy computers / Iphones from Apple. I was a newcomer to solar and wanted to deal with a large company who sold all the components of the system for better integration.. The price was higher, but I thought worth it due to fewer potential problems. I thought the complaints about their customer service were just malcontents as the majority of the complaints were positive. I was wrong on all accounts. Renogy is probably great…. until something goes wrong.My issue was that I had a Renogy 200 watt starter kit where the controller would at times show PV over voltage. I knew it was a charge controller issue because when I covered the panels with a blanket, the charge controller STILL registered as PV over voltage. When I disconnected the panels and immediately plugged them back in, the charge controller went back to normal.I contacted Renogy via email so I would have an electronic record of our discussions. There first tactic is to request a lot of information just to send an email. I filled out the information requested and explained my problem. The next day a Renogy rep responded with a request for more information. The information she asked for clearly showed the charge controller was the issue. The next day I heard again from the nice rep. Not with a message saying my charge controller would be replaced, but with a message that said “Have contacted technical support”. No timeline and no commitment for follow-up. I was polite in all my emails. Being a customer rep is HARD (I have been in that position). The rules are the rules and most customer reps don’t have much authority. Being nasty (which is often tempting) is putting the blame on the wrong person.In my opinion, in dealing with Cable TV like companies such as Renogy, you have to explain the business consequences of their actions. My 3rd email to Renogy was that if I didn’t have a new charge controller within a week I would 1) Return a Renogy product I had recently ordered (cost more than a new charge controller) 2) Buy a new charge controller from a different company 3) Never buy a Renogy product again and 4) Write a review on Amazon of my experience. This is that review as not surprisingly Renogy never responded.The Cable TV companies were able to survive with poor customer service because they were basically a monopoly until streaming services. Renogy doesn’t have that luxury. The only way they will ever change is to impact their business by stop buying their products and by sharing any bad experiences with others.REVIEW UPDATE=============Nine days after posting this review, Renogy contacted me and offered me a new controller for free and also offered a discount on a future purchase. I will leave it up to you to determine if these two events are related.I turned down Renogy’s offer for two reasons:1) Renogy positioned this offer to me as an “exception”. I found this incredibly arrogant. A company should honor their warranty as a rule NOT as an exception. Any company that uses a criteria other than a broken product during the warranty period to accept or reject a claim is not a company you want to deal with.2) I had already purchased another generic, “Amazon Choice” charge controller with more features, at a lower price, that I liked better. Though not without issues, the distributor, Werchtay, has a better customer service reputation than Renogy. One of my issues with this charge controller was the documentation. Barely readable. Now, on their Amazon product page, there are very easy to read instructions. Also, it is advertised as a new type of MPPT technology, but I don’t have the knowledge to confirm or refute.

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Nancy Paulman – June 20, 2023

   
   When using LED lights and these solar screens they take very little voltage from battery

7. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   myamazon1360 – May 21, 2016

   
   I was a little nervous to get these, being on the less expensive side but I’m happy I got them and if I get another one, I will buy the same thing again. I wished there was a better way to connect them to the roof of my trailer house. The brackets are reasonable for general installation in all locations, but for a trailer house roof, it was hard to have them land on the beams all the time and I ended up having to put a lot of white goop stuff (got at local trailer supply) in them to keep it sealed ok. I have not had any leaks yet, but I’m not so sure they’d stay on the trailer if I got in a crash… 🙂 we’ll avoid that one hopefully…Install was a tad nerve wracking when it came to the wiring. I saw people bought fuses and fuse cases with it and got he same thinking I needed them, but I ended up using just what it all came with. It seems to do a good job keeping things charged up and I’ve run the heater and everything for a while to see how it did.I do not plug in my trailer any more and sold my generator (Honda 2000)… I was glad to get rid of the noise (very nice/quiet generator by the way) and gas smell.I was very surprised how well the panels did in the winter. It kept it charged even thought we had a fair amount of snow. That was interesting.Controller is a bid hard to wire to, feel like you are going to break the tiny screws with those big wires. Seems like a little stronger setup could be worked out there. The controller is kinda a self handler though after you get all that done. Haven’t done a thing with it. Just look at the lights.Was relieved when it was over and seemed to work and nothing had smoke coming out of it! haha 🙂 And that it keeps running like a charm (so far).Again, I would / will buy more of this one if I get more. I’d like 3-4 panels on my 30′ trailer… its a biggy. I did get all LED lamps in this order as well and replaced my entire lighting. Very happy with that decision also.I’d love to get a tesla power wall and install a bunch of these to keep that charged. Not an environmental nut case, just like to get off the big bills. Not sure if they’d be the best for that though.

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   J. Bowman – August 29, 2017

   
   Installed this system on my Toy Hauler RV. It is keeping the two batteries charged very nicely. We can watch a movie at night, and the batteries are fully charged by the next evening. I suspect we could watch a couple of movies, but I haven’t done this yet. We use LED light bulbs throughout the RV to reduce consumption. I wish more people would go solar and use their generators less. Solar won’t power the microwave or air conditioner, but it powers everything else.Some people complain about the controller, but I think it does fine. The complaint is that it doesn’t have a meter to show voltage or current. In my opinion, you only want this in the beginning to see how efficient your system is. The controller has LEDs that show when it is charging and when it is in maintenance charge mode (batteries full). I have an inexpensive volt meter that plugs into the 12 volt outlet. Good enough for me.Do not buy the huge fuse holder and 100A fuses that appear as “Items other people bought with this.” The correct fuses are 15A and 30A, and you can use standard automotive fuse holders. There is an inexpensive meter that appears when you purchase this, and I recommend that you fully read the instructions and develop a plan before buying it. This meter can only tell you what is happening at the point of installation. For example, some people install this between the panels and the controller (shows panel output), between the controller and the batteries (shows controller output), or between the batteries and the load (shows what the appliances are actually using from the battery). In my opinion, the last application is the only one I care about on an ongoing basis, and the installation for this application is independent of the solar install.Also, take the time to look up the recommended roof attachment procedures for your type of roof. I have an EPM roof, so I looked at the manufacturer videos for attaching a fan to an EPM roof and used those as a guide. I was surprised to learn that butyl tape is the first line of defense and the self-leveling caulk was the second line of defense. If the roof leaks, dry rot will likely follow, and that can be expensive at best or ruin the RV.Some people commented that the connectors are difficult to separate, but there is an inexpensive tool you can buy at checkout to make this easy.The instructions say to hook up the solar panels last or cover them so they don’t produce a charge until after they are connected to the controller. I cut cardboard covers from the shipping box and taped them to the panels. This allowed me to lay out everything before the final attachment.

9. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   jer – February 6, 2023

   
   need to add storage battery. very heavy as delivered. requires 2 strong backs. pay attention to the product description when ordering. best to have someone home for delivery

10. 

    Rated 4 out of 5

    Sluggo – August 4, 2020

    
    Set these up on a trailer. Supplies adequate power to keep a fan and 30ft of LED string lights running as needed. Battery never really drops below 50% and that’s with the 5w fan running all day throughout all of hot July. Noticed the charging dip a little as it got covered with dirt and leaves from the trees, but still not enough to cause concern.If I kept the trailer out in pure sunlight, away from under trees, and in more mild temperatures, and set the fan to a bit higher tolerance (had it at 80%), than there’s no doubt I’d be running them at their most efficient and my battery would stay topped off (single 100ah battery).I gave it 4 stars because I’d like to see the cost come down on these systems a little more, and I think that can be achieved with their construction. I gave “light weight” 3 stars because I’m surprised they’d even ask. They’re not exactly “light weight”, but I think if they actually cheapen the construction a bit (plastics instead of aluminum) to ACTUALLY reduce the weight, putting more of the protection responsibility on the user, then they can drive down cost AND get away with calling it “light weight”. 99% of the time someone is installing this on a roof, so the need for the heavy duty aluminum frame is just not there. Either drastically reduce the aluminum, or move to bioplastics, relocate the terminal to the end so it can be thinner and mounted closer to the surface.Anyway.. these are good. Tough. Durable. Easy to install. Worth it.Cheers