BougeRV CIGS thin-film Solar Panel Review and comparison ~ This 200w flexible solar panel is crazy! 

I have been using CIGS panels daily for 4 years for RV - panels are ground deployed and have been stepped on by many cows - blown and banged around by wind etc and have been durable / reliable - my panels made by MIA solar 17 inches wide and about 7 ft long - have 6 x 125watt that i store /transport rolled in a plastic 55gallon barrel cut to 4 inches taller than panel width - has enough extra space in center of panels rolled for 7 gallon water jug

Solar seems to be getting better every day!

Thanks, I bought 2 from the link. They will work great for augmenting my fixed solar array. In the winter, there is never enough sun so, on cloudy days/ weeks, I can quickly lay 2 of these on the ground and tie in using the MC4 connectors. I also have a few solar generators (my "gold" investment) to charge, and these solar panels (my other gold investment) are lite and portable like the solar generators. I think these panels will last 20 years because I am not leaving them out in the sun for 20 years - I only need to roll them out to charge the solar generator, once that is done, I will roll them back up. As for the price, there are expensive thin film panels out there so this compares to other similar products. I can justify the price because the power to weight ratio is very high, and I need portable solar panels to be easy to handle and not bulky. The not bulky part is important to me - the neighbor's tree drops a branch on my fixed array, smashing it, lucky (or planning) I have 400 watts of panels rolled up in the basement, ready to go.

Great video, Jeremy! I imagine other solar panel companies will jumping on this band wagon! I have a Tab 400 teardrop camper and I’d have to pass on these, for lack of storage. I have two Bluetti units with panels, but I bet a lot of people will like these. Especially at their home. Maybe I need to rethink this 🤔 they would be nice and light to put on a drain on your roof. Hmmm!

Agree, great video. I recently installed a single 100 Watt stick-on CIGS panel on the roof of my Bushwhacker 12 SK on the driver's side and it clears the AC vent pipes and power ceiling vent. I plan on installing a second one on the camp side if I need to. My older EchoFlow River Pro wouldn't work with the panel's voltage, but the EchoFlow River 2 would work with it as you noted in your video and solar battery packs not all being the same with the higher voltage of the panel. The panel adheres very well to the teardrop's roof and removal will be a significant challenge as it really sticks to things. Need two people to do a good job. I also put some Gorilla Patch & seal tape along the leading edge and a couple of points on the panel and used it to hold down the wires as well. I'll know more after my next trip on well it does in the mix of things. I have a 200 AH AGM and a 40 Amp MPPT controller that it connects into. It mostly will just run the built-in fridge and keeping a float charge on the battery when I'm not camping in it. I also have 400 Watt portable panels that I can deploy as needed.

More air flow would boost output too, keeping them cool really helps!

I just saw this technology the other day on RU-vid. And my first thought was this would be perfect for a retractable awnings on the side of an RV or on one of those retractable awnings for your porch at home.

More expensive and much bigger than other commercially available 200 watt flexible panels. Also, maximum fuse rating limits use of parallel strings to eliminate needs for NEC required fuses. Relatively high Voc means potentially more expensive MPPT controllers downstream. The one main benefit is the lower weight.

1st time watcher, excellent video my Man!...

Thank you for reviewing the exact two I was considering purchasing. The CIGS are really nice. But the warranty isn’t great and you would have to be really careful with them so as to not lose them to the wind or scratched due to twigs, sleet or hail. Perhaps building a frame for the CIGS using a glass cover may help as well. Thanks for the detailed review!

Wow, over $500 for one 200w. Flexible and lightweight is nice, good if you're using it in various places like that, but if you're securing them permanently somewhere, definitely worth getting something else.

Jeremy!! Great job on the review. I may bit up one of these for the top off my popup camper.

Sadly they only have an 18 month warranty. That does not say much for longevity, and at $529.00 per panel is a lot for such a short time of protection.

I have a rounded wooden RV roof, it would be good for that application if not for my two folding 100W Jakery panels I already bought. Thank you for sharing!

They need to section these to fit a bakflip truck bed cover so you can open up the truck bed.

Thank you Sir. God bless.

Because the holes are so small could you put zip ties in a loop that laps off the screen, twist to make a circle the size you want?

Nice thorough review. Thanks!

Could you explain why others are more concerned about current then Watts

Another design a panel of solar inside a parabolic silver that in turn turns 360 degrees like a wind vane. Parabolic like a DISC used in Disc-TV. PARABOLIC design increases energy 100 percent. But you must store the energy inside a solar generator. Or use parabolic solar energy directly to run appliances.

How about flex solar in cylindrical shape that could turn 360 degrees like wind vanes? Cylindrical means like a "can" shape. As wind vane all sides will be heated.

Can we get more info on these, cost per watt, performance vs glass panels, life expectations and warranty?

Excellent review!

These would great to use on my steel roof if they had magnets like you were suggesting.

real practical review test, nice thx

Another good video just having sun in the fun

Fantastic Panel and Video. Thank you. (Spoolbox)

So cool 👍

Thin flexible panels are only useful if they are not in use all the time. They are handy to have as backup if they are mostly in storage, but they are kind of expensive for that. Great for camping now and then and maybe power outages. They travel well because they are light. In hot sun that plastic shit will break down in a year or less.

Very thorough and helpful Thanks much !

its seems to have abit of a low energy output in reguards to its size being 2 metres and 20 centimeters when compared with similar sized panells ,that are the rigid panels,i guess there is the weight ,vs output thing

Hobotech was getting 165 watts from one panel laying on the ground, even after shooting it 4 times.

Bravo.....flexible........the only problem ........application........can't screw.......sticky glue on back......and how do u remove if panel go bad......no answer........cheers

We were probably all asking about the link if you had one

Looks sexy and minimalist but from almost all solar panels experts. Flexibles really sucks in dissipating heat which degrade their life cycle or lower output within a short period of time. Of course, could have them as disposable contact lenses, if they're cheap enough. Tough choice which way to go for RV systems 😢.

what are the specific connectors you're using to connect the solar panels to each other and to the power station? I'm considering buying a flexible 100W solar panel x2 and the bougeRV power station, but before then I'd like to try to buy all the needed cables ahead of time, if possible.

I heard flexibile solar panels don't last nearly as long as the hard ones, and that they are a fire hazard from over heating too. Have they improved them them yet? I just love how light weight they are!

Please test based on temperature. Panel temperature really makes a difference. The advantage of hard panels is that you can leave an air gap below them for cooling to improve efficiency.

The texture etfe coating does not show off the scratches as easily... Each cell is itself a 'tiny solar panel' all in parallel...

Pretty impressive all said and done, and noticed despite the lower efficiency, the size is similar to the bluetti portable. The durability of the coating is concern though, especially since I plan on using it on a roof top tent

Can you stick them to round objects like big pipes, trees etc? I have some really tall trees...

That's wild

When they start making bi-facial thin film I would be all over that for the top of my small green hose

I love your videos! Can I have more details about the panels?And what is the main the difference between using some smaller power panels and one panel that have same power as the total of smaller one's?

Been thinking about making a frame for these with carbon fiber tubes, and having the mount points for the grommets to make a larger array with 2x200w panels, keeping the carbon fiber tubes in the center for storage, and making a radiused container for the panels to slip into to protect from damage when not in use. We have a need for some electric when we lose grid power, and having 400-800w of power that can be stowed away nice and small, or even moved easily would be really useful, could run the refrigerators indefinitely and provide basic telecoms power as well as lighting. Would love to see costs come down on these cause at $500 for 200w is abut out of my budget, I have 2 100w panels with a hinge and controller/battery already that can do the minimum to keep some items functional for 12h but wouldn't make it till the sun came back up.

Thanks!

Will the heat from the body it sticks (car) kill the panel? And reduce the output. Many flex panels in the past have had such problems. Which causes the panel doesn't last long.

Very nice

I love your content.

Thanks for the excellent review. Could you please share the name of the scale you are you using? I've been looking for a good scale with a detachable display for a very long time. Greetings from Germany!

Where too bay farm?

Hi. May you please share the link for buying these panels? Thanks!

Rolled up, how small a container could they safety be put in?

Can you walk on it. Say you have it on top of your RV. But need to walk around or just want to watch the stars from high above

Ypou ever heard of using a grinder? Be very easy to make them magnets work

How about solar polycystelline for indoor energy?

The efficiency rating is only 16%?? The bluetti is over 23%.

The question is how long it will last

Nice but very cost prohibitive ATM

Can you fold this without cracking it?

Not a fan of the dimensions of these panels. Would rather see these squared up a bit , something like 54x43 I feel would more useful for mounting on an rv which I see as the main market for flexible panels.

Just like your ebike hill test is much too thorough. Wait, too thorough is impossible. You answered many questions. Great intelligent, common sense testing. Would two of these panels be enough to charge an ebike and keep it charged if you were living off grid in an emergency?

This company really chose a great name. Bouge basically means snooty arsehole, someone who is bougey is one who sets themselves apart from others by overtly displaying opulence. Smart name choice.

I bought CIGS panels 5 years ago. 230w 75v. It's far better that the usual poly on mono panels giving up to 26% better efficiency. Price is higher almost double... But if space is an issue its the way to go... If you want to protect these panels for a long time... Build an aluminium frame with glass and stick it. Or fix it to whatever. The sticky protective film perish over time. But perhaps things changed over the last few years. Do some homework in the history of these CIGS panels they have been around some time

Quiet optimistic review, why are these expensive flex panels always under performing? On top of that ,their life cycle is less than half of glass panels. I would be careful with the bending of them , even more as they get older and brittle due to UV detoriation

This panel dimensions tell me please

Why not a damned word about the heat output from these in contact with surfaces? Other flat/ flex panels have caught things on fire in extreme cases, so why avoid discussing that factor on these?

One thing you need to know about panels) electricity is wattage is volts time amps. Telling me wattage doesn't tell me how well they work. A 12v batti should charge at 14v. A 14v charge at noon is a lame panel. It will only charge decent at peak sun. A 20v panel will charge most of the day. How many amps is how fast it will charge. Wattage means nothing as the panel may not produce much if it only works good for 3 hours of the day.

Crazy technology? What's the first thing you have to do to make this panel actually useful ... attach it to a flat surface.

How about you try and blasting it with a mirror

The biggest drawback to these panels is their price and lifespan. It will only take about 6 months of throwing them around to destroy the clear film. At 3x the cost of large panels it’s still not a good buy.

But, can you test and report how "these things" perform over the years? Or are you simply " gilding the lilly" and making them seem better than they actually are? Can they give us 25 YEARS of performance? Or 20 minutes?

Over 500.00 for a 200w panel. Lol 🤣. I'll stick with 139.00 for 2 100w panels. It costs me less than 500. for my 400w system to charge my solar chargers and it's all plug and play

3 bucks a watt is just way too pricey

was only a matter of time....

They are just to long... 👀

Quintillion and quintillion dollars business in space electricity store batteries on moon or mars

These are a easy skip for me , just way too expensive and cheaply made

the price on these are stupid expensive. hard pass

The size is a joke. And this company is shady

That film on that solar panel looks horrible

Watch your hands !!! Nobody cares about them.

Ridiculous, the size is way too big for the low 200watt output. Good they're flexible but most setups, especially for a van takes up way too much roof real estate. 🤔

Made in china?

Question: assuming you have the panel set away from the dwelling .... do you lose wattage over the longer distance wire?