Lixada Solar Panel 7.8 W Ultra Thin Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Panel Charger USB Port for Mobile Phone

For the price & performance, this unit will be hard to beat. Perhaps their 10W unit would be a better choice for faster charging / smart phone charging.Will be using this with a USB Rechargeable 200 lumen closet light in a shed. Even under direct cloudless sunlight (roughly 11AM - 2PM) charging a cell phone, the solar panel did not get warm. It appears to be fully sealed against rain except for the USB port. I used a 100% silicone sealant to permanently attach a USB cable to eliminate any possible water intrusion.For my test charge, there was 100% cloud cover & it was raining, but still managed to charge two smaller closet lights in about 5 - 5.5 hours each. I will be picking up 1 more of these & probably 1 of the 10W version as well.

Do not buy one of these and just expect it to charge your phone or whatever. You may be very disappointed.I purchased three of these in succession and each one was a dud. I tested them with a Drok USB V-A tester connected to an Anker 10,000 mAh cache battery. Their output ranged from 0.09W to 0.22W. I also plugged my tester and battery into two known good panels for comparison, a 5W Renogy and a 6W Eceen. These output 2.5W to 3.5W. All testing was on sunny winter days in Phoenix, AZ, 33 degrees north latitude. 50-60% of rated output is reasonable in these conditions. The Lixada panels were making about 3% of their rated output. That's dead.These panels are worse than worthless because the red LED lights up, indicating that the panel is working. But it is not. The trickle of power it is generating will _never_ charge your phone, battery, or anything.Also, the rated output of 7W defies physics. Other panels this size are rated 5W, and will realistically top out at 3-4W at mid-day on the surface of Earth.The panels are super light, and if they worked they'd be great for backpacking. I may wait a few months and order a few more. Maybe the ones I got were from a bad batch. But for sure I will test their output.

Great charger. Use it to keep batteries charged in a driveway alarm. It’s been in the rain and snow and hasn’t failed yet.

PowerOne needn't go any further than the product description to know that the Lidexa Solar Panel Charger's advertised 7.8 Watt capacity is false. The cell area is about 8.5 x 4.875 inches, or about 0.2875 square feet. Even the most efficient commercial solar panels only get 20.91 Watts per square foot, or 6 Watts for the area of this device. A more common panel is 13.84 Watts per sq. ft. or around 4 Watts for this one. That's theoretical best case.When I actually measured the output of the panel pointed at the Sun under various load levels at 11 AM on a bright sunny September day in Virginia, the output was much lower. I used a commercial voltmeter and ammeter with a variable resistive load. Increasing the load resulted in the panel providing more current, but when I exceeded a current of 0.7 A, the voltage started dropping rapidly. So my best measured energy output was .7A at 4.09V = 2.86 Watts. Let's be generous and call it 3 W.3W is actually quite a lot. To achieve maximum charging rates on devices like mobile phones, you need special charging protocols anyway.The low power output of the panel compared to the advertised output is why I only gave the product 3 stars, because otherwise I really like the panel and am glad I bought it.ConstructionI like the construction. It's one unified laminated panel that appears to be weatherproof (except for the USB connector). It looks sturdy and it does not appear that it will come apart or degrade over time, or that it would break if dropped 6 ft. to a hardwood floor.The weak spot, if you could call it that, would have to be the USB connector. While some reviewers found it poorly attached, mine was solid and firmly attached. You have to treat any device with a USB-A connector with some respect, but I have no special concerns about this panel.Some reviewers said that the suction cups don't fit the panel. All I can say is this is probably just inexperience in getting a large rim through a hole. I had no problem, but if a user finds it difficult, a little soap will help slip it right in and afterwards it fit's snugly.This solar panel will charge a phone, a tablet PC a radio or a battery pack. It won't take the place of an AC outlet, but it will get you through a power outage with necessary services. It certainly makes sense for rechargeable outdoor lighting, a trail camera or something like that. Just don't expect 7.8 Watts.

One of my summer jobs put me outside under a tent through a southern summer - we used this to run a little usb fan, and it was great for morale, even if the output was highly variable due to clouds, leaves, etc. As other users have noted, there are a lot of variables in using a solar panel for anything more complex than a simple motor - I'd use this to charge a power pack, but I wouldn't plug it directly into my phone without more technical knowledge.The price is also great - just make sure you carry it in a padded sleeve, since it's thin and probably pretty breakable.

This is lightweight, effective, easy to use. I put it on top of my backpack and it keeps on top of my phone charging needs when I'm in the wilderness.

I bought this to charge our wireless door bell on the outside of our gate. I first bought one of these usb portable solar chargers before but it turned out that you can’t use those to get a continuous charge. I bolted this to the post where our doorbell is and even though it only gets about 3hours if sun in the winter, it’s keeping out doorbell fully charged. Keeping my fingers crossed that it will last a good while.

The only thing going for it is the size, other than that better use a peace of cardboard!The suction cups do not even fit the product.It does not charge at all! You can leave it all day facing the hot summer sun, it might melt before giving out any sort of power.