I’VE HAD THE GRECELL 200W PORTABLE SOLAR PANEL for six months. I’ve set it out a lot. It has been beaten up by the wind and gone through many rainstorms. I’ve given it a really fair shot, and it has held up well. It works just as well today as it did when I first set it up, so the durability seems good. I think it’s a good price for a 200 watt panel of this size.
Assessing the Panel’s Construction and Quality
Several things about this panel make it stand out. I think the quality of the construction is unusually good. I think this is going to be more durable than most. It seems to have a laminated feel to it. I think it’s better than nearly all the other fabric panels I’ve seen. I have questions about most of these because they’re just fabric. I think this one is going to hold up over the long haul. When you set this thing out every day for a year, it gets beat up by the weather.
In this video you’ll learn more about the GRECELL 200W Portable Solar Panel and how it compares to the ALLPOWERS 200W foldable solar panel.
Here it is set up. It’s a good-looking solar panel. I think the quality of construction is better than most. I would say the construction quality is slightly superior to most of these 200 watt panels I’ve tested or seen. It’s a good panel. I’ve had it accidentally get rained on, Cody’s walked on it, lots of dust has blown on it, and it’s just fine.
The MC4 Connector Advantage
As I always say, don’t buy a solar panel unless it comes with MC-4 connectors. This does. With an MC-4, if you lose or break a cable, you can just go to Amazon and buy a new one. The most common adapters from the MC-4 are Anderson, XT60, and the 8 mm or 5.5 mm. I know both the Bluetti and Jackery use 8 mm. So you’ll have a cable that goes from the MC-4 connector to an 8mm adapter with those. That’s a really, really good thing.
Exceptional 4-in-1 Cable
This panel really excels and stands out from the rest because it comes with an MC-4 to four-way adapter cable. It has all the adapters I just mentioned on the other end of the MC-4 connector. So this will plug right into your Bluetti and Jackery. Your power station may use the XT60. They are also becoming a very common adapter. Anderson is the oldest, I think, and not terribly common. The Aviation Connector is really uncommon. I don’t know why they gave you that. Maybe more and more of them will in the future. At any rate, having the three most common (and one less common) adapters in one cable, I’d spend a lot of money on it. I think it is a really, really, really exceptional deal to get this with the panel.
Power Output Analysis
So, how much power is it putting out? Well, it’s completely normal. I’ve just tested it, and it’s close to 5:00 PM in the afternoon. The sun’s getting lower on the horizon, and it’s putting out 140 watts, and that’s completely normal. People say, “Why doesn’t it put out the full 200?” because the manufacturers test under ideal conditions, and there are nowhere near ideal conditions here right now. At 140 watts, it produces an acceptable amount of power.
Is the GRECELL Solar Panel Worth Buying?
You may be surprised at what you can get for a little bit of money, and I think this GRECELL shows that. This panel has worked well for me and has been nothing but great. I would give it a 100% recommendation. If this comes to a buying decision, I think the better construction and cable might offset the higher price a little bit. If price is the highest priority, there are cheaper panels, although I’m not sure they will last as long as this one. You’ll have to decide if you want the best price or a little higher quality. It’s a great panel. I would buy it in a heartbeat.
In this video, I compared off-brand solar panels like this one to Bluetti’s PV200. Bluetti solar panels are fantastic, but they are really expensive.