Eco Worthy 100 WATT Solar Panel vs Harbor Freight's Thunderbolt

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As of this post I have 2 different solar installations meaning two totally separate systems. After having semi-decent success with the harbor freight solar panels I decided it was time to take the plunge into a new solar project - after-all I needed night-light for my street sign. Both solar panels really are quite similar with a few delimitation's between the two.

I used some of the same components between the two installations like the same DC pigtails, same soldering gun, and same LED lights. Both solar installations can in-fact power my lights with absolutely no problem, all night long. On my Harbor Freight system I utilize sensors for the lights whereas the eco-worthy system I just run the lights all night long. There are a few notable distinctions about the ECO-WORTHY that I liked.

The biggest advantage to the eco-worthy solar panel is cost. I paid $50.00 on eBay with a coupon, normally $57.00 for a 100 WATT solar panel where as the harbor freight thunderbolt was $119.00 at the time of my purchase. Granted the harbor freight purchase was years ago now and there have been some improvements since then and harbor freight now offers the thunderbolt on sale quite often.

Harbor Freight 100 WATT Thunderbolt

• Wattage: 100 WATTS
• Voltage Advertised: 24 Volts
• Cost: $99.99
• Voltage I Found: 19 +/- VOLTS
• Connector: SAE
• Cell Type: Monocrystalliene
• SIZE: 36" (3 ft.) WIDE by 27" (2.25 ft.)LONG by 1.4" THICK

ECO-WORTHY 100 WATT Solar Panel

• Wattage: 100 WATTS
• Voltage Advertised: 12 Volts
• Voltage I found: 24 Volts +/-
• Cost: $57.00 WITHOUT coupon
• Connector: MC
• Cell Type: Monocrystalliene
• SIZE: 18.1" (1.5 ft) WIDE by 39.8" (3.3 ft.) LONG by 1.4" THICK

Size Differential

The ECO-WORTHY is a more efficient use of space, in my opinion. Although it is slightly longer than the harbor freight solar panel it is 2/3 the size and produces the same amount of electricity. Both solar panels are the same thickness so anyone crunched for space like in my sign install the eco-worthy is definitely the better option. In my case however the solar panel will not be moving anywhere so legs that are on the harbor freight solar panel are not necessary.

Quality Analysis

It would appear the ECO-WORTHY from eBay wins in terms of quality. The frame is much thicker than that of the thunderbolt. Although the frame is better on the eco worthy it would appear the actual solar cells themselves are basically identical.

Cost Analysis

The ECO-WORTHY is a much more affordable option compared to the thunderbolt unless coupons are used in conjunction with the thunderbolt. I paid $120.00 for my thunderbolts at the time and I feel that is a fair price the ECO-WORTHY was only $50.00 with FREE shipping!

Portability

The HARBOR FREIGHT thunderbolt has built in legs making it ideal for on the go use scenarios like in camping or outdoor events. Reach your destination, find a spot with sunlight and setup your temporary solar array. All thunderbolt models come with such legs. The ECO worthy solar panels come with no such built in legs however it would not be hard to prop them up on the go.

Connectors

I prefer SAE connectors to MC connectors although MC connectors are better weather resistant than SAE connectors. As written in other articles the SAE connectors are fairly common and used in other industries. Being an amateur radio operator, I happen to have SAE cables laying around which are useful in SOLAR installations and Motorola radio installations.

Read about the differences of MC connector vs SAE connectors. Both of them have advantages and disadvantages.

Mounting The Solar Panels

I mounted the harbor freight thunderbolt to my shingle style roof via silicone caulk adhesive, which has worked fine so far however I had to drill additional holes into my new eco-worthy solar panel to mount it for the sign implementation. The eco-worthy 100 watt solar panel only comes with 2 holes on the side and does not come with collapsible legs like the harbor freight solar panel.

How my ECO-WORTHY Could Be Mounted Better

As a solar panel owner, it is my responsibility to mount the solar panel such that it can maximize the most amount of electricity. It is a balancing act between mounting it somewhere that it can maximize electricity AND be close to it's needed application. In my sign installation I mounted it off a telephone pole, which is good however I wish I would have mounted it off the top of the sign as opposed to on the side of the sign.

Going forward I will be mounting it off the top of the sign, totally separate from the telephone pole or just like it currently is as of this post however the one side will be off the top of the sign itself. The way it is currently mounted does block some light. :(

Normal Day Power Production

A normal day is full sunlight, not to many clouds in the sky. These are the days when solar is at it's best production. Here are some of the outputs I have found on nice days. Amperage is going to be the most fluid factor based on how much sunshine is available.

	THUNDERBOLT 100 WATT	ECO-WORTHY 100 WATT
TIME:	After 10 AM EST	After 10 AM EST
Production VOLTS	19.5 VOLTS	24 VOLTS
Production AMPS	5+ AMPS	5+ AMPS
COST:	$120.00 USD	$50.00 USD

Power Production - Gloomy Day

The numbers on gloomy days after a full rain storm are obviously lower on both brand solar panels. It would appear the bigger size of the harbor freight solar panel has a plus side, on gloomy days. The additional size allows for a higher amperage on gloomy days as opposed to the eco-worthy. On normal days both solar panels can easily achieve 5.0 + AMPS however on depressing days the harbor freight out performs the eco-worthy coming in at .78 amps where as the eco-worthy is only at .52 amps. While charging a battery all day these numbers may seem small however they do add up over the period of a day.

	THUNDERBOLT 100 WATT	ECO-WORTHY 100 WATT
TIME:	4:00 PM EST	4:00 PM EST
Production VOLTS:	18.2 V	23.4 V
Production AMPS:	0.73 AMPS	0.52 AMPS
COST:	$120.00 USD	$50.00 USD

As noted in other articles the solar panels are mounted differently and in different locations. This may affect the overall statistics reported here however both are mounted to maximize power production.

NEXT Project Pick

My next project for building off grid communications repeater system will consist of two ECO-WORTHY 200 WATT solar panel AND Harbor Freight 100 WATT solar panel to create a 500 watt system. I already have an extra harbor freight solar panel so might as well use that.

Final Thoughts

Although I am overall happy with both solar panels, they are basically the same thing, I will be choosing ECO-WORTHY for future projects. The eco-worthy offers better quality, cost, and consumes less space than that of the harbor freight thunderbolt. My harbor freight thunderbolt's are over a year old and will continue to produce power for years to come - powering lights, an access point and more.