Product Description and Photos

The Powerfilm F15-1200 20W Solar Charger is a compact unit constructed of 12 panels adheared to a nylon fabric.  When folded the unit measures 10.5"x6.5"x.6" (267mmx167mmx15mm) and weighs .9 pounds (.43kg).

• Retail Price - $500
• Weight - .9lbs  (.4kg)

When folded, the Powerfilm makes a fairly compact unit.  The model seen here has already been field tested and will show some signs of wear.  Attached to the outside is a clear label indicating which model you have and a power connector.  More on that in a minute.

Lift the velcro strap and you start to see how this unit is not as hard as a map to put back together.

Fully unfolded the unit consists of 12 panel in 3 columns and 4 rows.

The connector for the unit has a gasket to help keep out water.  Why the custom connector and not just a simple cigarette lighter conneciton?  My guess: it helps keep the unit compact and extendable.  Powerfilm also sells a daisy chain cable to connect multiple units and this is more easily accomplished with a small connector.  The unit comes with a standard cigarette lighter female end that connects to this adapter.

Here I have connected a Merkury Universal Canon Battery Charger via the cigarette lighter.  With a reverse blocking diode in the Powerfilm unit, you don't have to worry about batteries draining into the panel when the sun goes away.

Grommets in each corner make tethering the unit to the side of a vehicle or some other object easy.

The Powerfilm F15-1200 has many uses and can charge any device with a 12V cigarette adapter.  It is shown here charging a Xantrex Powerpack.

Review

You'll get two opinions on use of the Powerfilm in this review section.  The first is by Peter, who's used the unit around the house to test and the second is by Kim, who used the unit on a 3 week trek through the Khumbu Himal region of Nepal.

Peter:

    I have found the unit very easy to transport and set up.  Weighing less than a pound makes it an option for longer hiking trips when battery life might be an issue.  It's easy packability also makes it easy to include in an Emergency Preparedness kit in between trips.  One drawback of the light weight is the tendency of the unit to act like a kite.  The grommets work well in this regard and make it easy to get the most out of the unit by facing it towards the sun more directly.

   To give an idea of power output, on a bright, full sun day in January in the Puget Sound region of Washington State, the unit is able to put out 19V laid flat as you see in the pictures above.  This equates to aproximately 1 amp of DC power.  This is with a soalr index of 425W/m² at the time.  Higher W/m² values accomplished in summer have yielded around 1.6 amps of output but I do not have hard numbers at this time.

   So, what can you do with it?  Well, first, charge just about any small device.  It will charge a laptop, camera battery or just AAs for your headlamp.  As mentioned before, it can charge A Xantrex Powerpack as well as a normal car battery while you are camping for the day.   Also, the unit can power an Engel 45 freezer/fridge when kept out in direct sunlight, even in winter.  You need to keep adjusting the angle of the panel to track with the sun for optimal power, but I was able to keep the fridge below 40F with some effort.  I could, however, hear the motor or the Engel strain to keep an even tempo if the panel caught too much shade.

   Some considerations are in order.  First, after my wife's trip I noticed some of the panels had started to become unstuck.  This is due to the high heat generated from all the black surfaces.  Some air bubbles started to form under the panels but these were easily squished out.  Simply pressing down on the panels got them stuck back in place.  At no time were any in danger of actually coming completely off the nylon fabric, just corners and air bubbles here and there.  Second, at least 4 bungee cords are highly suggested.  To keep the panel at an optimal angle to the sun requires usually mounting closer to vertical in the winter, while a horizontal orientation is needed in summer.  As mentioned previously, the lightweight means the unit can be picked up by a 8PMH wind.

Kim:

Coming soon!