We have had our 50 Watt Solarex SX-50 running for 5 years. BP Solar bought Solarex shortly after we purchased our panel. We are in the process of revamping our PV controller from this article, and decided to measure the voltage and current on the panel, as well as take some pictures of its general condition.

It is the first part of July in Washington State, and the sun is pretty high and bright:

We measured 3 amps on our ammeter, and 17.5 volts with no load:

We used some white, flexible roof patch along the top edge of the PV panel when we installed it, and it is holding up well:

Click above picture for a close-up.


Click above picture for a close-up.

The cable that connects to our panel is resistent to sunlight, and it is also holding up quite well:

We plan to install a new PV controller and battery to our system to give it new life. More on that in future articles. We have ordered the controller and battery, and they are on the way. We'll do some more measurements under load at that time.