New February Products

Maybe you've taken a look at our old Complete Kits and felt that they were…well, incomplete. Here at Renogy we can understand why you felt that way, so we've redesigned the components of our Complete Kits to include a Renogy Pure Sine Wave Inverter. Renogy Pure Sine Wave Inverters come in 500W and 1000W sizes, and really make an off grid project “complete.” The kits will also come with an inverter cable that serves as a connector between the battery and inverter. Other components of the new Renogy Complete Kit Line include mounting Z Brackets, MC4 Connector Cables, a 30 Amp PWM Charge Controller, and Branch Connectors (for kits greater than 100W). Stop by our online store to check out the new line.

Renogy Supplies 1.6 Megawatts of Solar Energy Products to Japan

Renogy signed a sales contract to supply 1.6 Megawatts worth of polycrystalline solar panels to two factories in Japan, helping the factories become cleaner and more energy efficient.

Winter is slowly coming to an end and RNG Group Inc., “Renogy” is in high gear for their busy season to begin. Many US based solar energy companies like Renogy have their peak sales season(s) in spring, summer, and early fall (March-September) when weather conditions in the United States are favorable for outdoor building and home improvement projects. To kick off the start of this exciting new season, Renogy has entered into a 1.6MW sales contract with two factories in Japan. One factory is located in Shimizu, Shizuoka and the other is located in Yasu, Shiga. Both factories reportedly chose Renogy as their supplier because the company has widespread brand recognition in their country. Each factory plans to fulfill about half of their total power needs with solar energy from these panels. This is not Renogy’s first big project in Japan; they have also acted as a supplier for several other large-scale projects in Ishioka, Saga, and Nishiki, Japan. Nearly all of Renogy’s projects in Japan have been located in prefectures (Japanese states) that border the ocean; an unsurprising fact since Japan is an island nation. Weather conditions in these prefectures include high winds, light snowfall, saltwater splashing, and mostly moderate temperatures.

Renogy is scheduled to deliver panels for these factory projects beginning on February 3^rd, with several other shipments taking place until the order is fulfilled on March 3^rd. The factory projects will consist of Renogy 250W Watt and 300W Watt Polycrystalline Solar Panels, a popular industry choice for commercial grade projects. Each panel comes with a 25-year performance warranty and 10-year materials warranty. These larger panels (250-300W) are a great choice for working within a budget while still getting a high efficiency panel. Taking a step back to 2012, Renogy supplied these same panels for the 2.1MW power farm project in Saga, Japan, and also supplied 290W Polycrystalline Solar Panels for a 2.8MW project in the seaside town of Nishiki. Each Renogy Solar Panel comes with a sturdy aluminum frame, durable tempered glass, and a TPT backsheet that is ideal for withstanding high seaside winds and saltwater splashing.

“We are excited for another great opportunity in Japan. Renewable energy demand is surging across not only the US, but the entire world. Our mission is to make clean energy products such as solar panels and LED lighting accessible and affordable. We look forward to more factories choosing alternative energy products,” said Renogy CEO Dr. Li.

About Renogy and RNG Group Inc.

Renogy is a brand of RNG Group Inc., a company incorporated in California. Renogy is a global producer and supplier of superior quality solar panels, LED lighting solutions, and battery charging products. Being vertically integrated from solar ingot to solar modules, the company specializes in the development of turnkey photovoltaic or “PV” projects that deliver the most reliable and cost-effective solar energy solutions. Renogy LED began in 2011 as an innovative company involved in research and development, manufacturing, and the popularization of LED lighting. To learn more about this company and their products, please visit www.renogy.com and www.renogy-store.com.

Renogy Facebook Contests

Admittedly, we all like free stuff- especially the kind that we find useful in our daily lives. Did your cell phone run out of battery charge? Is your tablet about to turn off? You wouldn't be worried about these things happening with a Renogy Portable Battery Charger. The Renogy 10000mAH Portable External Battery Charger can hold up to 5 full cell phone charges and the Renogy 2200mAH Portable External Battery Charger can hold 1 full cell phone charge. Renogy will be holding a giveaway contest on their facebook page: www.facebook.com/renogy through February 24th, 2014. Enter for your chance to win one free portable battery charger! Signing up only takes a few moments- well worth the time if you win. Please see the giveaway facebook app for more details.

Product Flash: Renogy E-GO Mini 2,200mAH External Portable Battery Charger

Do you love your electronics but hate when they lose power? We've all been in a rush at some point and forgot to charge our favorite electronic device before leaving home. Next time, you don't have to sit next to an electrical outlet at a crowded airport or bus terminal. The Renogy E-GO Mini 2200mAH Portable Cell Phone Battery Charger can store a single full cell phone charge and is small enough to fit in a pocket or wallet. Its rubber textured surface avoids scratching other items and it can also be placed on a keyring. This item is available on Renogy-Store.com for only $14.99- below the cost of many other brands. Don't leave home without one!

What Do I Need For an Off-Grid System?

While this question is one that appears far too often, it is nonetheless one of the most important you will ask when shopping for a solar panel for an RV, boat, or cabin. An off-grid solar panel system is one that does not connect or tie to a power grid, and thus will only charge a battery bank. The battery bank will in turn provide power for your favorite electronic device(s). The first step in solving your off-grid needs involves figuring out which electronic device(s) you would like to power with your off-grid system, and how many watts it uses per hour. Other important pieces of information to collect include the amount of sunlight hours in your state, how long you plan on running the electronic device(s), and lastly, which charge controller you wish to purchase. Once you collect all of this information you can enter it into the Renogy solar calculator located in this link: http://www.renogy-store.com/solar-calculator_a/253.htm. Please note that Renogy-Store does NOT carry batteries but can order them from another supplier upon request.

The next step in solving your off-grid needs involves determining which kit is right for your budget and watt usage. Renogy has four types of off-grid kits: RV, Starter, Bundle, and Premium. Renogy also carries two solar panel briefcases that come without other accessories. To begin, we can discuss the components of the Bundle. The Solar Panel Bundle is by far the most basic kit that Renogy sells. The Bundle comes with a basic PWM Charge Controller and MC4 Connectors. The Bundle has no mounting components or tray cable and is not recommended for a beginner. The PWM Charge Controller is very basic, sometimes not the easiest to use, and will probably not be a top choice if you intent to expand your solar panel system in the future. The bottom line is that the Renogy Solar Panel Bundle is probably not appropriate if you are a first time solar user, but may be perfect for someone who is looking to expand on a system.

Beyond the most basic of kits come the ones that contain more components and thus are more expensive. The Starter Kit and the Premium Kit are both great choices for new solar users. They both feature our best selling 100W Mono or Poly Solar Panels, MC4 Connectors, mounting hardware, and charge controllers. The only real difference between these two kits involves the efficiency of the charge controller. The Starter Kits come with a standard PWM Charge Controller that has an 82% charging efficiency and may not be the best choice for expanding the system in the future. The Premium Kits, however, come with an MPPT Charge Controller that is easier to use, utilizes Maximum Power Point Tracking, and has a 92% charging efficiency. The bottom line here is that the Starter Kit may be perfect for a new solar user on a strict budget, but we would always recommend the Premium Kit for its excellent MPPT Charge Controller.

Last but not least is the Renogy RV Kit. The RV Kit is designed specifically for off-grid applications in which the solar panel and the battery will be a long distance apart.  The RV Kit comes with 100w Mono or Poly Panels, a PWM LCD Display Charge Controller, mounting hardware, MC4 Connectors, and a 40ft long tray cable. Despite its name implying that this kit can only be used for RVs, it is actually quite useful for many different applications such as longer length boats, garages, and sheds. If you have any other questions about the Renogy Off-Grid Line, just give us a call at 800-330-8678.

Monocrystalline v. Polycrystalline: What Difference?

Once you’ve browsed through a few stores to look for new solar panels, you will notice that there are two varieties of solar panel cells: monocrystalline and polycrystalline. At first glance the only apparent difference between the two cells are color; monocrystalline cells have a black hue, while polycrystalline cells have a blue hue. The difference in these panels, however, goes far beyond color and deep into scientific explanation. A monocrystalline cell consists of a single crystal ingot, whereas a polycrystalline cell consists of a growth containing multiple crystal structures. Both types of cells are made from silicon ingots, but the purity requirement of the silicon is higher on a monocrystalline base. Therefore, monocrystalline panels are more efficient, and thus, more expensive. By using a single cell, monocrystalline based silicon allows the electron greater freedom to move, so less energy is lost and higher efficiency is created. Most monocrystalline cells peak at 22% efficiency, whereas most polycrystalline cells peak at 18% efficiency. As polycrystalline cells are less expensive, they are often the top choice of large-scale contractors working within a budget. Monocrystalline solar panels, on the other hand, are usually the top choice of consumer solar users. Browse the full selection of solar panels on Renogy-store.com to choose which panel is right for you.