10pcs x Sunpower Maxeon C60 Solar Cell 21.8% High Efficiency 3.34W Flexible New
28. Mai. 2016
Looks genuine but delivers as much as a pocket calculator cell.
I ordered a lot of 10 of these solar cells after I've read about them being the top cells efficiency-wise (and size-wise), and they would probably be, were they genuine. I even left positive feedback when I received them, cause they looked pretty good. They looked like they were not 'handled with care", they had a few stains probably due to fingers touching them but then again I have never ordered DIY solar cells before so I guessed it would be fine (and even if they weren't giving the promised ~21% efficiency, I thought that even 20% would be quite alright for their price).
I got to test them a few days later, by making a small 3x3 solar panel. I connected theim in series and tested them under direct sunlight. I almost smiled when I saw that the voltage (Voc) was ~5.6V which was as expected. But before I managed to get to excited, I measured the current (Isc) which was at ~250mA which was "a bit" lower than ~5.8A. I double-checked everything and even tried with another amp-meter with the same result. So, under perfect conditions a genuine cell produces 3.34W and this one produces ~0.15W which is totally useless and not worth the money spent.