Sunflare solar panels are constructed for rugged expedition. Sunflare starts with a flexible, stainless-steel substrate and adds a layer of semiconductors less than one micrometer thick. Then, the modules are covered with a polymer top sheet. Rigid silicon panels are covered with glass and can shatter when hit by rocks or branches.
Peel and stick flexible panels perform better than silicon and are easier to install
Traditional silicon solar panels are also heavy and thick. They must be mounted with hardware and require multiple penetrations to attach them. Sunflare comes with adhesive pre-applied on to the back, so installation is a breeze. Just peel and stick. Wait 48 hours and that panel can withstand gale force winds.
Another benefit of Sunflare solar panels is they do not micro-crack. Micro-cracks are minute cracks in silicon solar cells that are impossible to see but impact the performance of a panel. Micro-cracks can be caused by the flexing and vibration of a vehicle during off-road or rough road travel. It can also be caused by mishandling in the delivery process, or in the installation process.
Sunflare is also better in partial shading vs traditional silicon panels. Sunflare has bypass diodes at every cell so that if one cell is shaded that’s the only cell that turns off. Other panels have a bypass diode per string (or per 2 strings). That means if one cell in that string is shaded, the whole string is knocked out. Depending on where the shade falls, for example, if a branch casts a shadow across a row, the entire panel could be totally knocked out.
Sunflare Flex solar panels are available in 3 sizes for recreational installations: 180 watts for $749 (about 66 x 39 inches), 126 watts for $549 (about 49 x 39 inches) and 105 watts for $449 (about 47.5 x 32.5 inches).
The Flex panels can be purchased at https://ok4wd.com/brands/sunflare-solar. For more information, visit: https://www.sunflaresolar.com/recreational#Individual
