diy solar

diy solar

PV panel prices ….Why….?..

J

JRH

Solar Wizard
Joined
Mar 15, 2020
Messages
2,307
Simply put, with all the rising prices today on most everything, what is driving the prices of PV panel down so far , so fast..?
I just paid about 25 % per watt of what I paid two years ago…2 grand less than they were a year ago….for New Brand name panels … what’s the force behind this… how low can they possibly go…? …are they Gona start issuing EBT cards for solar panels…?
Somthing is afoot here I am missing….

J.
 
There is a certain truth to the supply/demand argument being offered by some financial/economic pundits regarding prices for solar panels -substantial over-supply is causing a price war.

However - I'm of the opinion that some bigger players (essentially those within China) are engaged in dumping heavily subsidized panels on the international market with the intent to drive other manufacturers out of the market.

You can stand on principles and insist on buying panels which have been manufactured in Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Germany or the US.
Or buy a sh!t ton of cheaper panels and enjoy the ride.
 
ScrotusGobbleBottom said:
Im in the same boat. I paid $4k for panels I could get for $1200 now. Lol at us!
Click to expand...
My first solar panel was a 10 watt I bought to stash in the car 20 years ago for emergency’s .
12 v .8 amp… phones , radios , lights, ……..
it was 100 dollars … 10 dollars per watt.
I have used it for for fun and it’s still great…

At a quarter or so per watt now your risk potential doesn’t exist… why not buy and just stash them for later…… sorta like gold or silver coins when they were at the bottom.. who knows what gonna happen.
 
I remember getting all excited when I bought a 100 watt panel, for only $500.00, about 30 some years ago, it was a great deal! I paid 30 cents per watt on my last purchase.
The best deal I ever got was a 40 watt "Solarex"panel that was abandoned on a 9,000' mountain top as part of a failed radio system for the Forest Service in my area. The small tower had fallen over, the batteries burst, the panel was lying oin the ground. I spotted it from the air while flying over it as it's right behind my property and my airstrip, it was another 3 or 4 years before I decided I had salvage rights and made the tough hike up and down to get it. It's been moving all the water in my home's solar water heating system for over 20 years now! If the Forest Service wants it, all they have to do is ask me. Oh, and send someone up the mountain to cleap up the remaining junk still up there.
 
JRH said:
Simply put, with all the rising prices today on most everything, what is driving the prices of PV panel down so far , so fast..?
I just paid about 25 % per watt of what I paid two years ago…2 grand less than they were a year ago….for New Brand name panels … what’s the force behind this… how low can they possibly go…? …are they Gona start issuing EBT cards for solar panels…?
Somthing is afoot here I am missing….

J.
Click to expand...
Look around. Don't pay over $0.32 per watt. Sorry I cant tell you how do to rules of this forum.
 
I paid $0.19 including delivery and almost 10% California sales tax.
Saw another listing at $0.14 before delivery.
Aren't they like a nickel in China?

But I've also paid more like $0.28 for REC, Qcells.
 
Hedges said:
I paid $0.19 including delivery and almost 10% California sales tax.
Saw another listing at $0.14 before delivery.
Aren't they like a nickel in China?

But I've also paid more like $0.28 for REC, Qcells.
Click to expand...
Mines $0.14 including delivery.

All the solar farms they're building in china in remote locations with next to no security you could technically consider them free just the price of fuel to go pick them up sure they wouldn't miss a string or two.
 
Well a few hundred extra never killed anyone… but a few thousand less is alot of savings for me anyway..and I’m glad I waited …at least that’s behind me… but these are some remarkable low prices …im glad to hear they are that low…

it will help a lot of people get started….

I probably won’t need anymore than what I have for what I’m doing ….
but it’s good to know in case I did..

I’m just Gona sit back and use the system and refine a few things I see to address with the set up.

maybe one day China will pay us to take them …the whole thing is baffling..

Like I said in a earlier post once, my first panel was 10 dollars a watt..
Times change…

J.
 
JRH said:
maybe one day China will pay us to take them …the whole thing is baffling..
Click to expand...
Maybe closer than you think but not for new panels, Asia already has a massive issue with the waste of old/broken/defunct panels and no answer of how to successfully recycle them. There's been lots of articles in the last year here about the issue and no one seems to have come up with an answer, I'd put money on it being the west who successfully comes up with an answer.
 
What would happen if old panels were simply pitched into the ocean?
Aluminum would corrode away (or could be stripped first for recycling.)
SiO2 and Si would get ground down and turned to sand.

Oh, I guess the plastics would get turned into microplastics.
Maybe they could be melted/dissolved/burned off and consumed the way petroleum was meant to be.

I guess the problem is low price of panels. When panels cost $1/W, there was a market for second-life residential use.
Today, used panels are offered for 2x what new cost.
 
Which is why I have paid it (I tell myself.)

I try to buy premium brands. But I have been taken in by the siren song of < $0.20/W for brand new.
 
Hedges said:
Which is why I have paid it (I tell myself.)

I try to buy premium brands. But I have been taken in by the siren song of < $0.20/W for brand new.
Click to expand...
Most of the premium brands are said to be Chinese now and their all below 20¢ a watt, atleast here in Asia anyway. I've said it before, I swear they use SEA as a testing grounds if they can survive the year here with Muppets installing them they can get the ul cert and ship to the west.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Is there a problem with my PV setup? Dual MPPT w different orientations & sizes show near identical power.
Replies
6
Views
406
JBertok
JBertok
S
Hoping to join this club!
Replies
4
Views
503
Daddy Tanuki
Daddy Tanuki

diy solar

diy solar
Back
Top