BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel – good, but (off-grid review)

01/03/2025
By Ray Shaw
In Reviews

The BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel is good, but as anyone who understands solar will tell you, it has practical limitations.

Those include a clear view of the sky, the right panel pitch for the area, east-west orientation, and what happens during rain, clouds, or snow. The short answer is that solar charging is a bonus when it works.

The ideal placement is sun-facing (east to west) with a clear, unobstructed sky view at the optimum pitch (panel angle is basically your latitude below).

If you are camping, you might find such a space, but it is increasingly hard to find in suburbia. Placing them flat on the ground substantially reduces the power output (see tests later).

The four panels are serially connected. This means the wattage output is only as much as the lowest wattage produced by any panel.

The other issue is that solar efficiency depends on the time and the length of the day. The example below (using Viridian 405W solar panels with DC/AC Enphase microinverters) shows typical generation patterns over a day.

On a good day (left), solar power (Blue) starts at sunup and continues to build until around noon, then slowly reduces. The 10kW battery (Green) charges in 2-3 hours. On a bad day (right) solar generation is minimal, and you use grid power (or a car charger) to top up the battery.

The same principles apply to portable panels, except that you can shift them and alter the pitches to get maximum charging.

This is not meant to diminish the BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel because it is as good as it gets. It is a well-designed, well-made folding panel that can top up portable power stations when the sun shines and grid power is unavailable.

Other BLUETTI solar panels

BLUETTI have 120, 200, 350 and 420W folding panels up to 2675 x 975mm x 14kg. They all share the same efficiency, so you should buy the biggest panel to match the power station’s DC input charge.

Australian Review: BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel

Website	Range Product page User Manual
RRP 27/2/25	$489 Free shipping
From	BLUETTI Online, Harvey Norman, Bunnings, and approved retailers. Beware – do not buy internationally sourced products, as they will not have RNZ C-Tick certification or local warranty.
Warranty	Five years ACL – above industry standards
Made in	China
Company	Established in 2019, it is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. BLUETTI stands for BLUE Sky. Tomorrow. Technology. Innovation. It is owned by the Chinese company Shenzhen PowerOak (Established in 2013). It now supplies over 70 countries.
More	CyberShack portable power station news and reviews CyberShack Bluetti news and reviews

We use Fail (below expectations), Pass (meets expectations) and Exceed (surpasses expectations or is the class leader) against many of the items below. We occasionally give a Pass(able) rating that is not as good as it should be and a Pass ‘+’ rating to show it is good but does not quite make it to Exceed. You can click on most images for an enlargement.

First Impression – compact and not too heavy

The four-fold panel is reasonably portable at 500 x 500 x 45mm x 5.36kg (folded) and 500 x 1760mm (unfolded). It produces 24.6V/4.87A/120W wired in serial (30W per panel).

The panels have adjustable 15-45° pitch struts, an integrated carry handle, and a zippered bag for MC4 cable storage. They are ETFE laminated (Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene has high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range), are IP67 water resistant, and have a 12-month warranty.

We tested on the BLUETTI Handsfree 2 700W/512Wh backpack power station, which has a built-in MPPT (maximum power point tracker – a DC to DC converter that optimises the match between the PV panels and the power bank battery). This allows a solar panel to plug directly into the two-pin XT60 DC input socket. You can use any compatible solar panel from 12-45V DC at up to 8.2A for a maximum of 350W input.

Tests – Pass

Solar panels (in this case, 4 x 30W) only generate the lowest volts/amps panel’s output. For example, when correctly sited east to west and angled, the panels produced 108W at noon (that is fair for a 120W panel under ideal conditions), but the moment one had a shadow on one corner, it reduced to <10W when laid flat, reduced to 11W.

Any part in shadow: <10W
Flat on ground: 11W
15° 20W
35° 85W
45° 108W

The moral is that you need to find an open sky, orient it east to west and use the correct angle.

If we could have maintained 108W output, the charge would be 512W/108 = 4.74 hours plus some system overhead, so let’s say approx. 6 hours.

BLUETTI advertises 2 hours using 350W (700W), which gives a 73.14% charge efficiency, on par with quality solar panels.

Caveats

Take care in windy conditions, and anchor the panels to the ground (using spikes and built-in eyelets).
Flat placement enormously reduces efficiency
Most portable power stations are not IP-rated and need to be charged in the shade. The inbuilt MC4 connector cable is approximately 3m, and the MC4 to XT60 DC cable is approximately 2m. You can buy longer cables.
Remember to change orientation when the wattage drops off.

CyberShack’s view: BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel is good as long as you understand solar

Folding solar panels are a real benefit for campers, especially if they are used optimally to maximise solar production.

Over several tests, we could not reach the theoretical maximum nor sustain output without occasional alignment improvement.

BLUETTI PV120D 120W folding solar panel ratings

Note: This is not the older PV120 design.

Features: 85 – an improved design with stronger prop legs and an integrated handle over the earlier panels.
Value: 85—At $489, it is fair in comparison to panels of similar quality. However, many 12-18V Asian generic cheapies use composite panels with lower efficiency and incompatible PWM controllers (MPPT is the safest and best). Also, avoid solar blanket-style panels.
Performance: 80 – 120W maximum but more likely around 100W.
Ease of Use: 85—Beware that it can be hard to handle when unfolded. It requires a power station with an MPPT controller.
Design: 85 – Excellent design and build quality.