I'd recommend you read this
post on solar power first.
As for name brands... I'd recommend going with an MPPT charge controller. The two most commonly used brands are Outback, which is over kill for a lot of situations as the smallest unit they make is a 60 amp; and Blue Sky, which makes a nice 25 amp unit with integrated display.
If you're looking to expand to wind as well as solar, you'd probably be better off with the Outback, since it has the option for a dump/diverter relay.
As for solar panels. Lots of brands out there. Siemens, Kyocera, Sharp, Mitsubishi and Sunsei/ICP solar are fairly well known and well regarded.
ICP solar makes kits that are fairly reasonable buys, but they don't come with an MPPT type charge controller, which is an oversight IMHO.
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Sailingdog
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Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
If you're new to the Sailnet Forums... please read this
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Still—DON'T READ THAT POST AGAIN.