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The 4 Best Flexible Solar Panels for Boats
Solar panels can be a great option for keeping your boat’s batteries charged up on longer sailing journeys. We’re going to look at some of the best flexible options that can be fitted conveniently in places such as on top of your bimini cover or on side rails. Solar technology has really come on in leaps and bounds over recent years, while the price has dropped to the point that it’s quite affordable for the average cruising sailor. Let’s jump in and check out some of the best options for your boat.
Check Our Comparison Table:
| Product Image | Product Name | Key Features | Star Rating | Buy Now |
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Renogy flexible solar panel |
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Check Price & Reviews | |
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TP-solar Flexible Solar Panel |
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Check Price & Reviews | |
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Renogy Wanderer |
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Check Price & Reviews | |
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Renogy 8 ft 10 awg solar cable |
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Check Price & Reviews | |
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Renogy 10 ft 10 awg solar cable |
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Check Price & Reviews |
Table of Contents
Types of Solar Panels
So there’s three common types of solar cells; Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline and Thin-film.
Monocrystalline: The most expensive but also the most efficient option. Basically they’re made from a single silicon crystal, which requires a pricier manufacturing process and more material waste. They can reach efficiencies of 20% or so. They typically have black coloured cells.
Polycrystalline: Less expensive than Monocrystalline with slightly reduced efficiencies, typically around 15-17%. They’re made of many fragments of silicon rather than one piece. This reduces the manufacturing costs significantly. These panels typically have a blue-ish hue to them.
Thin-film: This is the cheapest and least efficient type of solar cell. As the name suggests, these cells are much thinner than other types. Typically, they reach efficiencies of around 11%. They can have a blue or black colour hue.
Are flexible marine solar panels any good?
When it comes to efficiency, flexible panels have actually pretty much caught up with fixed versions. The difference now lies in the price, with flexible versions being about 40% more expensive than their fixed counterparts.
Then the other big difference is in weight and mounting versatility. For example, the 100W Renogy rigid panel weighs 16.5lbs whereas their 100W flexible panel only weighs 4lbs. So if the mounting location is weight sensitive or you just want to minimise extra weight then flexible panels offer a great advantage here.
Overall, yes flexible panels are now very good and may be the perfect option for trickier mounting spots such as onboard sailboats.
Can you walk on flexible solar panels?
This is an important question to ask as it defines where you might be able to mount the panels on your boat. The answer is basically; it depends on the panel but for the most part no, you shouldn’t walk on them.
Renogy, a manufacturer of one of the panels on our list, specifically says that you should not walk on their panels as it could damage them over time. Overlander and TP-Solar actually don’t specify if you can or not but given their similarity in design to Renogy, my view would be that you likely shouldn’t walk on them either.
There is one panel on the list however that is designed to be walked upon. Solara actually specifies that their semi-flexible panel that we cover here is designed with a dimpled surface which provides grip for foot traffic.
Charge controllers & additional equipment
So in order to hook up your panel to your boat’s battery you need to connect it through a charge controller. Basically, this prevents the panel from overcharging the battery. They’re pretty small and relatively cheap units which are normally mounted indoors alongside electrical switch panels.
You’ll also need appropriate cables to connect the solar panel to the charge controller and the charge controller to your battery. It’s especially important for sea going boats to choose cables which are of high build quality and waterproof to prevent degradation in harsh salty conditions. So this is an area where you probably wouldn’t want to go for the cheapest option since they may not be well protected against these conditions.
Some charge controllers even have bluetooth add-on devices which allow you to check the charge level of the battery and the power production of the panel from your phone.
I’ll run through a couple of good options for this equipment later on in the article.
Best value flexible solar panels
Renogy Flexible Monocrystalline Solar Panel (50W - 175W)
Renogy is a well known US manufacturer of solar products, originally started by students at Louisiana State University. This is a superb flexible panel option at a really competitive price from Renogy.
Available in 50W, 100W, 160W or 175W options to suit various needs.
Overview of features:
A lot of flexible panels are actually rated as semi-flexible, being capable of bending up to 30 degrees. But this is a truly flexible panel, it can bend up to 248 degrees, allowing it to adapt to even the most unusual of surfaces.
It’s a monocrystalline panel which as we covered above has the best efficiency of any solar cell type. For this type of panel it’s surprisingly reasonably priced as well.
It’s super thin, being only a 1/10th of an inch tall and the 50W option weighs just under 3lbs. This is a great advantage over traditional rigid panels for boats as it avoids weighing your vessel down with extra weight. The junction box is waterproof rated to IP68 and there’s six metal grommet holes around it’s outer to enable fastening down.
Warranty:
This is one of the most impressive warranties I’ve seen in a while. It’s got a 25 year warranty on power output, with 95% efficiency guaranteed after 5 years, 90% after 10 and 80% after 25.
Then it’s standard warranty on materials & workmanship is 5 years. Pretty good!
Mounting:
Renogy recommends mounting it with structural silicone adhesive for ‘mobile’ applications and using the grommets for non-mobile applications. This is probably aimed more at people mounting the solar panels on road vehicles due to the high speeds. I think that you could get away with mounting using the grommets on a sailboat due to the much slower speeds.
The key numbers:
Data for 50W option
Cell Efficiency: 21%. This is a superb efficiency for a flexible panel.
Optimum Operating Current: 2.71 Amps
Optimum Operating Voltage: 18.5 Volts
Maximum Power: 50 Watts
Opinion:
To be honest if I had to choose one flexible solar panel right now and I was on a limited budget, this would be my go to option. The efficiency is great, it’s got a rating of 4.4 on Amazon US with 344 reviews and the price is pretty reasonable in my view. Plus the warranty is a solid insurance policy.
Renogy also makes a range of charge controllers and connecting cables that suit this panel perfectly. I’ll run through them in a later section.
TP-solar Flexible Solar Panel 50W
If you’re on a tight budget, this panel from TP-solar is about 15-20% cheaper than the equivalent Renogy panel. TP-solar seems to be a Chinese manufacturer selling directly on Amazon so this is likely why they’re a bit cheaper. It’s a bit of a trade off between price and customer service / reputation here. It’s worth bearing in mind though that most US solar brands have their panels made in China as well.
They only offer a 100W flexible panel option.
Overview of Features:
So this panel can only bend to 40 degrees, this likely covers most surfaces but if you need more flexibility than this then I’d say consider the Renogy panel above with 248 degrees of flex.
Like the Renogy, it’s a monocrystalline solar cell type which is great.
They state that the panel and the junction box are waterproof but they don’t specify a waterproof standard.
It’s got 4 metal grommets on the edges for mounting and it’s very thin (2.5mm).
Warranty:
Unfortunately no warranty is specified by TP-solar here. Amazon does offer pretty good buyer protection if something was to go wrong in the first few months though.
The important numbers:
Cell Efficiency: They don’t specify their cell efficiency.
Max Operating Current: 2.10 Amps
Max Operating Voltage: 24.2 Volts
Maximum Power: 100 Watts
Dimensions: 42.3 x 20.4 x 0.1 inches
Opinion:
If you’re looking for the lowest priced panel that still has good performance then this is the one. They have a rating of 4.9 from 12 reviews on Amazon. I think personally I would opt for the Renogy Panel over this because of the solid warranty and reputation of the manufacturer though.
Best High Performance Flexible Solar Panels
Overlander 160W Semi-Flexible Solar Panel
Overlander is a really cool US brand that was founded in 2007. They offer a handful of high quality solar products aimed at off grid adventurers. All of their panels are built in the US as well.
Overview of Features:
So it’s semi-flexible but they don’t specify exactly how much it can flex, their images suggest that it flexes a pretty decent amount though. It’s a rectangular panel of dimensions 22×58 inches and it also has six metal grommets along the outside for mounting.
The key selling point here is efficiency, it’s got a cell efficiency of a whooping 23.7% ! They say that this should offer 30% more power than a cheaper panel with 18.5% efficiency.
It’s also regarded as super durable, having been used for adventure expeditions in extreme conditions such as the South Pole.
Warranty:
They have a super warranty here which is a big selling point for me. 5 years on materials / workmanship and 20 years on cell efficiency.
The important numbers:
Cell Efficiency: 23.7% The highest I’ve seen.
Weight: 6lbs (2.7kg)
Optimum operating current: 5.86 Amps
Optimum operating voltage: 27.3 Volts
Max power: 160 Watts
Opinion:
If you want a sturdy, high performance panel that provides a significant amount of power then this is the panel. It’s clearly designed to perform even in challenging conditions and the company’s reputation and warranty are solid.
Solara Semi-Flexible Solar Panel S220P43M Series – 55w
Solara is a well regarded German manufacturer of solar panels which has been operating for over 20 years. This panel is available in 12, 27, 41, 55 and 80 watt options, we cover the 55 watt options in this section.
Overview of Features:
This is the only panel that specifies it can be walked upon. It even has a dimpled surface to improve grip. So if you know that you’ll need to walk over the area you’re mounting panels then it’s worth considering this option.
It’s coated with a special shock resistant and sea water resistant coating which is ideal for rough marine use.
Also, it’s designed for good low light performance which should help on cloudy days. Then it has built in protection from cell overheating and hot spots. In terms of flexibility, it’s rated as semi-flexible but they don’t state the exact flexibility.
The important numbers:
Cell Efficiency: Not stated
Daily output in summer: 220 Watts
Rated Voltage: 22.88 Volts
Optimum Current: 2.4 Amps
Max power: 55 Watts
Weight: 2.8kg
Opinion:
This is a really high quality panel from a reputable manufacturer and that does make it a bit pricier than the other options. Once you can handle the higher price, it’s a really great option especially if you need to be able to walk in the area that you’re placing the panels.
Charge controllers & cables suitable for solar panels on boats
Charge controllers are the connecting point between panels and your boat’s battery. They’re pretty inexpensive, the one we’re going to look at is only about 30 USD at the time of writing.
Renogy offers a great range of charge controllers which are suited for use with the panels we’ve covered. They’re rated by Amps. Make sure to double check the compatibility of the charge controller and cabling with your chosen panel before making a purchase.
Renogy Wanderer
This is a simple best-seller from Renogy at only 30 quid. It’s available in 30 amp or 10 amp ratings and designed for 12V battery systems. Compatible with Deep cycle sealed, Gel, Flooded, and Lithium batteries.
It has some pretty cool optional add ons such as a bluetooth module which sends charging information to your phone and a battery temperature sensor which adapts the charging based on the recorded temperature. These are additional separate items to be purchased which work with the charge controller.
Connecting Cables
Here’s the appropriate cables to connect your battery to the charge controller and your panels to your charge controller. The solar panel cable is 12 ft long and the battery cable is 16ft long. These work perfectly for the Renogy panel and I believe the fittings should be the same for the other brands of panel but do double check yourself before purchase if your panel isn’t from Renogy.
Conclusion
Hopefully you now have a decent overview of some of the best flexible panel options out there at the moment. They are really a great way to keep your boat’s batteries topped up on longer trips or for extended periods at moorings/marinas.
Which one would I go for?
If I wanted the best bang for my buck, I’d go with the Renogy panels, likely the 100W version combined with their 30 amp charge controller and cables. It’s a great panel from a solid company and the price is pretty reasonable.
If I had a larger budget, I think I’d go for the Overlander 160 watt. It’s a really heavy duty and powerful panel which would likely provide sufficient power on it’s own to keep the battery topped up for a regular cruising yacht. Plus, Overlander’s warranty and reputation is great.
I encourage you to make your choice based on your boat and requirements. If you have any questions or feedback please leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!