Progeny Portable Power Stations: Connect Any Solar Panel

Can I Connect Any Solar Panel To A Progeny Power station?

Progeny is a company that makes portable power stations among other things. They currently only sell one model, the Progeny 300W (299Wh) power station. A couple of years ago, they had a smaller model with a 280W inverter as well.

In this article, I am going to tell you everything you need to know about connecting solar panels to these solar generators. They do not include panels, but are compatible with a lot of third-party options.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will help you as soon as possible.

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Progeny Power Stations: Models and Specifications

In the table below, I have listed every power station currently being made by Progeny. If yours is missing, let me know by leaving a comment.

For a solar panel to be compatible with a power station, it must have a compatible voltage. That means the working voltage of the panel must be within the input limits of the power station. You can learn how to find the input limits of your power station here, or see the table below.

The solar panel voltage is a bit easier to find, and you can learn how to do it here.

Power Station Model	Input Limits
Progeny 280W	5.5×2.1mm: 15-18V Voc (60W max)
Progeny 300W (299Wh)	5.5×2.1mm: 13-22V, 3A

The voltage limit should never be exceeded. If you already have a panel with a voltage too high for the specific model, you can use a DC buck converter like this (click to view on Amazon). It’s an adjustable power supply module that lets you reduce the voltage from 10-65V to 0-60V, and up to 12A. It requires some tinkering, and I don’t have any experience with them, so if this is something you would like to do I am going to have to refer you to the product manual.

However, the max input wattage can be exceeded with most power stations. The charge controller will not send more than the amperage limit to the battery, but it’s able to regulate it. Note that you should always check with the manufacturer of your power station whether it is ok or not. You must usually exceed the amperage limit to reach the max input wattage. You can read more about that in this article.

Solar Panels – What You Need To Know

Now that we know the input limits of the Progeny power stations, it’s time to select a solar panel.

There are a couple of things you need to know before doing so, and these are true for all of the different models above.

Most power stations, and all Progeny models, have built-in solar charge controllers, which is why they are often referred to as solar generators. The charge controller regulates the electricity produced by the panel and charges the battery at a safe speed. Because of this, you should not connect a panel that has an external charge controller. You want to make a direct connection between the panel and the input, with nothing in between except for maybe extension cables. If you already have a panel with a charge controller, see if it’s possible to bypass it.
To make the connection between the two, you must either choose a panel that comes with a connector that is compatible with your specific model, or use an adapter. See what’s included with the panel you want to buy.
The 280W model does not include an MC4 to DC adapter, but the 300W model does. It includes an MC4 to 5.5×2.1mm adapter, so it’s ready to connect to solar panels that use MC4 connectors.
For the 280W model, you need to use an MC4 to 5.5×2.1mm adapter (click to view on Amazon). This is also the type of adapter that would replace the one included with the Progeny 300W.
If you have or plan to buy a panel that doesn’t use MC4 connectors, you’re going to need a different adapter. Please leave a comment and let me know what connector the panel has, and I will help you find the correct adapter.
I’ve mentioned it earlier, but the most important thing is that you find a panel with a compatible working voltage. Read this article to learn what to look for.

Solar Panel Recommendations

There are a lot of different type of panels, and I have written an article that talks about the pros and cons of each that you can read here.

Below I have listed panels from popular and reliable brands, but these are obviously not the only options you have to choose from.

Rigid Panels

Renogy 50W – MC4 connectors, 18.6V Vmp.
Newpowa 70W – MC4 connectors, 20.41V Vmp.
Renogy 100W – MC4 connectors, 20.4V Vmp.
Megsun 160W – MC4 connectors, 18.2V Vmp.
Renogy 200W – MC4 connectors, 19.2V Vmp.

Flexible Panels

Xinpuguang 50W – MC4 connectors, 19.8V Vmp.
Renogy 100W – MC4 connectors, 20.7V Vmp.
Eco-Worthy 130W – MC4 connectors, 20.05V Vmp.

Portable Panels

Renogy 100W – MC4 connectors, 18V Vmp.

Portable Flexible Panels

Keshoyal 60W – Includes different DC connectors, including 5.5×2.1mm. 18V Vmp.
Grecell 100W – MC4 connectors, includes different DC connectors, including 5.5×2.1mm. 20V Vmp.
EcoFlow 110W – MC4 connectors, 18.4V Vmp.
Renogy 200W – MC4 + USB A and C connectors.

Connect Two Or More Panels Together

To increase the charging speed, you can combine two or more panels. If this is something you would like to do, I suggest reading this article that go through the different ways to how that is done.

Extension Cables (Optional)

Here are my recommendations when it comes to extension cables.

MC4 – Geosiry 12 AWG Solar Panel Extension Cables

Here is a list of articles that answer frequently asked questions related to this. If you have a question that hasn’t been answered, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions. Share information about your specific setup, models and/or plans, so I can help you as much as possible.