Getting into the whole solar panel thing back in the day, was expensive to say the least. But the technology has come a long way, and therefore, there are much more viable options nowadays.
What I mean by viable is better solar energy generating for a much cheaper price. Furthermore, it’s not like solar panels are made only for your home in a static location where they can’t be moved. There are solar panels that can be put on RVs, caravans, vehicles, in camps, and so on.
If you’re looking to get into solar energy harnessing, you might’ve heard of Zamp Solar, Renogy, and Go Power. They’re among the leading solar panel brands out there.
But solar panel research and picking the right solution can be overwhelming, especially if you haven’t dealt with solar panels before. What follows is a review of all three, and a comparison.
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Which Solar Solutions Are The Best?
For clarity’s sake, I wanted to get into the important stuff first, and that’s answering the most important question: “Which one is best?”.
For one thing, it seems like Renogy have the biggest customer base, while the other two do fall quite a bit short. That isn’t a determining factor though. What is a determining factor though is efficiency of panels, controllers, batteries, inverters, and so on.
It seems like Renogy takes the W though. Renogy has stellar rating for their quality and efficiency. Zamp and Go Power aren’t bad either, but we’ll get into the details of why we think Renogy might have the best solutions.
In Renogy’s review below, we’ll also run through some of the main complaints customers have with Renogy.
Side-By-Side Comparison
It is apparent that these three brands differ mostly on what solutions they offer. We compared them side-by-side to see how they’re different, and which solutions might be the best for your specific scenario.
Whether it be Zamp, Renogy, or Go Power, take a look at the table comparison below:
| Zamp VS Renogy VS Go Power! : Solar Solutions |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warranty | 25-year output warranty | 25-year output warranty | 25-year output warranty |
| What Solar Solutions Do They Offer? | RV Portable | Home RV Van Marine Portable Flexible Solar Panels & more. | RV Marine Fleet |
| Return Policy | 30-day return policy | 30-day return policy | Varies depending on the dealer. |
| Price Range | Expensive – $$$ | Cheap – $ | Middle – $$ |
| Shipping | Free on orders above $99 | Free on most products. Charges may apply on others. | No shipping. Dealer-bought. |
| Shop Solar Panels & Solar Solutions: |
Zamp Solar Review
Zamp’s marketing appears to make the case that this is the best ‘off-the-grid’ solution, in terms of electricity generation. And they might be right.
While Renogy has Zamp and even Go Power beat for overall performance, Zamp does make sense for enthusiast adventurers, or RV travelers. What’s great about it is- Zamp makes it easy to start living on your own terms.
Because of clever kits that the company has compiled, installation, shopping, and everything else is easy. You just get a complete kit based on your needs, and you’re halfway there.
Even if Zamp isn’t the one which is best for your scenario, your RV or caravan might be fitted with a Zamp system beforehand. It’s a pain to have it removed and use another system, and at that point, you’re better off with using Zamp.
I think Zamp is alright, but not everybody feels the same way. The main takeaway here was the fact that some RVs come pre-fitted with a Zamp solution, which means that you’ll most likely need to stick with Zamp. Otherwise, it can be a hassle.
So, all in all, Zamp is alright, but it’s more for regular travelers or off-the-grid adventurers. If you want it for your home, it doesn’t make that much sense.
Their solutions are RVs, vans, portables, and similar travelling kits.
If you’re going with Zamp, let’s review the pros and cons:
PROS
- Best off-the-grid solution
- Pre-made kits make shopping very easy for beginners
- Modern technology
- Very efficient
CONS
- No home solutions
- Not of great value
Renogy Review
I mentioned before that Renogy might be the best out of the three, in my opinion. I don’t throw around big words like “BEST” that often. I even refrain from that.
What started out as a small project with only a couple of university students has grown to be one of the most well-renowned and most reliable solar panel companies on the planet. Contrary to Zamp’s business model, Renogy has anything and everything.
Home kits, off-the-grid kits, RV kits, and so much more. It doesn’t end there as well. Their product catalogue is a bit over the top. They sell batteries, inverters, battery chargers, monitoring equipment, wiring, charge controllers, and more.
Basically, everything you might need for sustainable living at one place. That, and the fact that they’ve got the latest solar technology, in some cases even pioneering it is the reason why I think Renogy might be the best overall.
The only major complaint that customers did have with Renogy, and it is quite a big one, is the customer support. When offering solar solutions, there will always be questions, inquiries, and help needed with setting up.
If we look at the reviews, Renogy doesn’t really provide it. I would love to see Renogy improve this, and the documentation, along with the learning center, so customers can have an easier time setting up.
Anyways, it’s still among the top-leading companies in terms of solar solutions and efficiency. With that said, let’s take a look at Renogy’s pros and cons:
PROS
- Best overall
- A lot of products available
- Home kits available
- Innovative technology
- Good value
CONS
- Customer support
Go Power! Review
There are a few types of solar users, one of them being flexible solar panel users. Now, in some cases, you will need some flexible panels, particularly if you’re working with a curved surface, but most of the times, normal solar panels will do the job just fine.
The reason I bring this up is because Go Power has some of the best FLEXIBLE solar panels. In addition, Go Power is similar to Renogy in regards to how many products they offer, which is a lot. You can easily use Go Power as your main suppliers for all of your solar needs.
Anyways, many go as far as to say that Go Power offers more commercial solutions rather than consumer ones, but I don’t think that’s the case.
The other two focus on commercial solutions as well, but their whole website is consumer-oriented. You can though, get commercial solutions if you’re looking for them both at Zamp and Renogy.
Go Power does focus a lot on fleet solar systems, or at least much more than Zamp or Renogy. I think, Go Power might be the best for flexible solar panels, in my opinion. Other than that, I can’t shake the feeling that the technology is not there with the normal solar panels, but this shouldn’t be taken as fact, this is purely my speculation.
If you do decide to go with Go Power, these are Go Power’s pros and cons:
PROS
- Great flexible solar panels
- Huge variety of products available
- A lot of documentation and product support
- Fleet solutions
CONS
- Most products need to be bought through a dealer
Head-To-Head Comparisons
All that’s left is to see how each one fares against the other. Most of what is important we mentioned before, but the specific use-cases or which one of these solutions makes more sense in your specific scenario, we haven’t mentioned.
What follows is a comparison of each brand.
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Zamp Solar OR Renogy?
These two get compared quite regularly. While Go Power also comes up a lot for those looking for solar panels or systems, these two are more well-renowned, so they often get compared.
And as always, it’s a simple case of what you’re looking for. Renogy offers much more suitable systems for homes and cabins, and it has a big product catalogue. On the other hand, Zamp Solar is quite well-known for RVs and portable panels.
In all honesty, Renogy has some pretty killer RV solar systems and even portables, but there is an issue. Most RVs come pre-fitted with an arbitrary Zamp system of sorts.
If that’s the case, I recommend going for Zamp Solar.
On the contrary, I would recommend Renogy to anyone that doesn’t have a Zamp system beforehand, and anyone with little experience, specifically if you want some solar panels for your home. Basically, Renogy has amazing technology, and on average, it’s way cheaper than Zamp. I think that pretty much sums it up.
Zamp Solar VS Go Power – Which Is Better?
There is a big drawback with Go Power. I do really like their products, but one thing does it for me…
There’s no direct-to-consumer model. Meaning, if you really wanted to kit out your RV or marine with Go Power, you have to find a dealer closest to you. I would imagine that for commercial customers this isn’t that big of an issue, and even for some select few consumers, but for the average consumer, not many want to go through the hassle of shopping at a dealer.
Or it might just be the case that you don’t have a dealer anywhere near you.
It is in this cases that I recommend Zamp. And honestly, in terms of performance, you might get a little bit more with Zamp, but I would say that they’re quite matched in terms of performance, or at least, in the same ballpark.
So, to recap, I recommend going with Zamp just because it is more convenient. However, if you’re a commercial customer or want to kit out your fleet, Go Power might be the better option.
Renogy VS Go Power – Which Solutions Are More Superior?
The work that Renogy does is pretty impressive. It is nice to see how such a small team has expanded to such an extent to become among the industry-leaders for solar panels.
Renogy does both commercial and consumer-related stuff. They manufacture almost all of their products themselves, and in terms of product support, you will get a lot. Meaning, if your generator cable dies or gets sliced, chances are, Renogy has got a replacement on hand.
Plus, it’s really a lot cheaper than Go Power, with very little difference in performance. So, if Go Power offered something that Renogy doesn’t, I would say go with it. But in this case, in my opinion, Renogy might be a better idea.
That is not to say that Go Power’s solutions are subpar, but the overall deal is better at Renogy, and more convenient.
Verdict: Solar Panel Systems
All three companies have something unique to offer, and they’re fundamentally different in terms of what they offer. Like I said multiple times before, Renogy is probably the most complete offer of all.
Both commercially and consumer-wise. It is a pretty killer deal, offering great price-to-performance ratio. However, Zamp might be better for some that have RVs pre-fitted with its own system.
On the other hand, Go Power has some unique products that are only available there. But you do have to go to a dealer near you since there isn’t a ‘direct-to-consumer’ model.
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