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370 Watt MonoCryistilline Solar Panel Brand Recommendations.

Jeffaguadulce6931

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Joined
Oct 31, 2019
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Hello All,
I need your help in sourcing 370 Watt Monocrystilline solar panels per the guidance from the guys at Battleborn to provide me 3K-4K
Watts for the system I will be purchasing from Battleborn (see components in attachment) for my home which will be connected to my 100amp
electrical panel rear of my home.
 

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Hello All,
I need your help in sourcing 370 Watt Monocrystilline solar panels per the guidance from the guys at Battleborn to provide me 3K-4K
Watts for the system I will be purchasing from Battleborn (see components in attachment) for my home which will be connected to my 100amp
electrical panel rear of my home.
You can purchase any watt size panel that you desire as long at you connect them so the open circuit voltage is safely within the limits. Smaller panels, you will need more to get the total watts. You should look at the manual for the MPPT charger and determine exactly what you need to do to keep the voltage in the proper range before picking a panel, as different type panels have different open circuit voltage. That matters on how many in series you might want to connect and then how many parallel strings you need to get your total watt goal.

SanTan Solar panels listing
Signature Solar panels listing
 
DThames,
Thank you very much for your technical expertise and guidance.
My plan is to Gound Mount the panels.
Would you happen to have a source for the Ground Mount Frames and Hardware?
 
DThames,
Thank you very much for your technical expertise and guidance.
My plan is to Gound Mount the panels.
Would you happen to have a source for the Ground Mount Frames and Hardware?
Google "Iron Ridge Ground Mount". They have a configure application and "where to purchase" links there. I got Iron Ridge and am happy with it. There are others out there.
 
I used Unirac ULA large ground mounts.
I like the bottom-mount clips (you have to adjust rail positions to line up with holes in panels.) Top clamps are the other option.

You can also DIY with various assemblies of U-channel, pipe, even lumber.

Select a method to ground frames. You can get clamps that bolt to each panel frame, allowing wire to drop in and be held with a set screw. Objective is you can remove a panel without interrupting ground of others. "WEEB" is another type which bites into aluminum to joint parts electrically.
 
NwCali - I was just going to pull the trigger on 10ea Renasola 370 watt mono panels from Signature Solar in Texas speaking with James, and it concerns me that you have had difficulty in receiving credit on a shipping claim over the last 30 days. I prefer not to buy used Solar Panels from SanTan (thank you DThames). Could you provide a source for 370 watt Mono panels. I live 35 miles North of Downtown Los Ángeles?
 
DThames,
Thank You for the referral of “Iron Ridge Ground Mount”

Hedges,
Thank You for your information also.
 
I prefer not to buy used Solar Panels from SanTan (thank you DThames).

He carries used panels in large quantities, also smaller amounts of new warrantied panels (probably excess from an install project.)

Don't be afraid of used panels. If there was any infant mortality, it has been weeded out. If you get a premium brand panel at a great price you'll be ahead in price, power, and longevity. Shipping costs a bit, so order a couple extras, spare in case you break one. SanTan gives a one-year warranty, so you can check they continue to perform well.
 
Hedges,
Thank You for providing a confident recommendation of SanTan.

I just finished reading unfavorable comments about James (owner) Signature Solar from this Forum, so I’m going to proceed in researching solar panels at SanTan. What are your thoughts of the 370 watt Renesola Mono panels? Are you familiar with the “Mission” brand 375 watt Mono panels?
 

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There's a site from which you can download reports of PV panel testing from various years. They don't name the bad ones, but they do name the good.


(The direct link Snoobler gave is broken now, but you should be able to access their site to read reports.)

I saved all their reports in a directory on my PC, and "Renesola" only appears for 2014. Well performing for PID+, Dynamic mechanical load, and humidity/freeze tests. That would indicate not top performing for the other tests. Don't know if it was tested other years.

I'm not seeing "Mission" brand.
 
Hedges,
Thank You for providing a confident recommendation of SanTan.

I just finished reading unfavorable comments about James (owner) Signature Solar from this Forum, so I’m going to proceed in researching solar panels at SanTan. What are your thoughts of the 370 watt Renesola Mono panels? Are you familiar with the “Mission” brand 375 watt Mono panels?
I mentioned Signature Solar as an option, but I have not done business with them. I have ordered panels from SanTan 3 different times. I can say they have been great to work with and have provided service (replacement from shipping damage) beyond what I would have expected.
 
Signature came back today and offered to either refund or resend these.... Just took some time, but they said the shipping company has denied the claim (implies they are going to take a hit?).

Would I recommend them now?

I'm not sure which direction I'll go, if they reship two very large panels its possible they won't get here intact. But I tried to add two panels the next day to find they had shipped already (which was fast). So the thought of adding a few to a reship sounds good.... But I really don't care to deal with this (damaged ones) again.

I'll probably reship, but this time we will unload each one before the driver leaves.... And refuse the damaged one. Which works out like crap since no truck can go up my drive (which means driving them a few miles after unloading off the truck).

Just wanted to give a update, and I'd suggest inspection while the driver is there regardless of how they look (mine was the bottom two from a forklift coming in from the bottom).
 
I would note that there is not a great deal of difference in mono and poly type panels when you get to normal use on sunny days. If it is overcast all of the time, mono might be a little better but I wouldn't limit myself to mono shopping unless there was a very good and specific reason.
 
Considering brands currently on SanTan's site, I looked for those on the Module Scorecard report.
REC, Jinko, Talesun, Adani were all listed as having been "top performers" for some number years.

CSun was listed in a couple categories of the 2020 report I read, but not as an overall top performer. Canadian did well in many categories in the 2020 report (summary page didn't show Canadian for any previous years) but not mentioned in the 2021 summary. Suntech is shown in 2020 report as being top performer for that and several previous years, but not mentioned in 2021.


Their tests include several obvious ones, including humidity, temperature cycling, mechanical, UV exposure, voltage bias. Mentioned elsewhere but not these tests I've seen salt and ammonia (agricultural fertilizer) exposure. Different installations have different conditions that can degrade panels.

We may not get all the details we'd like, but for free these reports are quite good. With the current and historical ones you can see if a brand is notably absent from list of good ones for some tests.

 
DThames and Hedges,

I sincerely appreciate your recent recommendations which make my decision much easier related to selecting Solar Panels from SanTan.
 
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