Cheap Solar Panel Skimps on Active Area

Twin circuits mentioned cuts. It is amazing... if you look closely you see that it was one solar cell cut into four and spread out. The patters on each cell continue onto the next adjacent cell. Probably the vendor saved some money and paid someone almost nothing to cut the cells. It is really once cell spread out. Amazingly cheap Chinese junk.

In response to: Cheap Solar Panel Skimps on Active Area
jUNK IS JUNK NO MATTER HOW YOU ADVERTIZE IT.

I have a bucket full of "cheap" solar cell powered lights with a single NiCad battery and a skimpy solar array similar to this. They have been in use for four years now, summer and Indiana winter. In the summer I plant them vertical and in winter they are horizontal so the cell faces south. Winter light after a sunny day lasts from 5:30pm to 10:00 pm at least. In summer the light lasts from 9:30 to 12:30 am. The problem in summer is that the sun rises in the ENE and sets in the WNW. Tree shadows move a lot in the summer. The biggest problem I have had is cars running them over.

While I do not disagree with either comment, try thinking about it in a different way. As someone selling a mass produced cheaply made item, you would want return business. Even if it breaks after a few months of use, most people will go out and buy another one. When they should do some research up front and buy a good quality made product in the first place. As long as people will buy cheap crap. some one will make cheap crap.

Each solar cell with give you 1/2 Volt no matter what size it is. It will give you a greater current the bigger it is. The sad part about this is each time you cut a cell it cost about $0.10 / cut. So the manufacture paid lots of money to make this product. This array would give you 2 Volts max at about 50 mAmps in direct sunlight. Not much.

To add insult to injury, the resin encapsulant will degrade in the sunlight in no more than a year or two, becoming yellowed, rough, and essentially opaque. Obviously not designed for a service life of much past a few years at best--pretty sad.