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Buying panels from China

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fafrd

Solar Wizard
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Aug 11, 2020
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I’m very new to the Forum and primarily focused on LiFePO4 batteries.

Over in the DIY LiFePO4 battery Forum, many members are purchasing discounted battery cells from China through Alibaba or AliExpress.

I need 6 panels for my 2021 solar build and am trying to understand whether buying at a discount from China is a viable option.

Are there any threads about members purchasing solar panels from China? I’m especially interested in any recommended vendors/trading companies/manufacturers since I’ve found customer references to make all of the difference when purchasing through Alibaba/AliExpress.

Any pointers/recommendations appreciated.
 
I believe Upnorthandpersonal bought basically his whole system from China, I think he and some others have bought the 500W Yangtze panels (or something like that, browse this section and you'll find the post) from alibaba.

Edit: here ya go
 
One thing to keep in mind if you are in the US is the possibility of high taxes/tariffs on solar panels recently tacked on by the Trump admin
 
Thanks for the pointers.

Sounds as though ‘buying PV panels from China’ is on the very early stages and not quite as evolved as ‘buying LiFePO4 cells from China’.

And yes, the tarrifs need to be understood since they can wipe out any savings (which is the purpose of tarrifs, no?)

But I’ll start following these threads to hopefully get some solid recommendations on proven suppliers.

I’m only looking for 72-cell panels, not 96-cell, but if the tarrifs+shipping don’t double the effective price, there might be some interesting options to consider...
 
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fafrd said:
Thanks for the pointers.

Sounds as though ‘buying PV panels from China’ is on the very early stages and not quite as evolved as ‘buying LiFePO4 cells from China’.

And yes, the tarrifs need to be understood since they can wipe out any savings (which is the purpose of tarrifs, no?)

But I’ll start following these threads to hopefully get some solid recommendations on proven suppliers.

I’m only looking for 72-cell panels, not 96-cell, but if the tarrifs+shipping don’t double the effective price, there might be some interesting options to consider...
Click to expand...

I think one factor is that the prices for panels sold in the US are not so high compared to panels sold in china. There are cheap sources of panels here in the US. So the potential cost savings generally isn't as great as it is with LFP.

Another difference between lifepo4 and pv panels is that, all lifepo4 cells come from China and Chinese companies regardless of where you buy them or what price you pay, so the logic of buying straight from China is pretty straightforward. But PV panels are manufactured in and out of China and as far as I know you can't go on alibaba and buy name brand panels like you can with LFP cells. Its plausible that they may be getting their solar cells from the same sources as name brand guys, the panels might or might not even be manufactured in some of the same factories, who knows. But there is a lot that is unknown (to me), and the upside is less than with LFP.

There is also the issue of warranty since consumer PV panels often have a 20 or 30 year warranty, there is considerable advantage to buying in your home market.

This is just my speculation, I've never really considered or looked into Chinese PV panels. Its certainly worth exploring.

But its going to be hard to beat the value of places like santansolar.com
 
I hear ya - $200 for 400W is pretty competitive.

On the other hand, I just got a quote for $80 for 400W for similar 400W panels from China. The problem is that they tell me the ‘anti-dumping tax’ is 276%, so that’s a showstopper.

We have no domestic manufacturers of LFP cells we’re trying to protect, do there are no prohibitive duties on LFP cells.

On Solar Panels, we’ve assessed prohibitive duties/taxes precisely to keep cheap Chinese suppliers from driving all domestic manufactures into the ground...

To those members who appear to have skated past these anti-dumping tarrifs, my hat is off to them (or were all of those members from Europe?).
 
Second Chinese supplier has confirmed to me that US Anti-dumping tax is 276%, so bringing panels into this country from China is not a thing.

The other thread about some members having successfully done so must have all been in Europe...
 
fafrd said:
The other thread about some members having successfully done so must have all been in Europe...
Click to expand...

Someone on the forum found out about the tariffs the hard way and I think he didn't accept them.
Europe has 0% tariffs on solar panels, and there were essentially no sources for those 96 cell panels I got here so China was the way to go.
 
upnorthandpersonal said:
Someone on the forum found out about the tariffs the hard way and I think he didn't accept them.
Europe has 0% tariffs on solar panels, and there were essentially no sources for those 96 cell panels I got here so China was the way to go.
Click to expand...

I’m a newbie so please excuse the question if it is stupid, but are you US-based? Did you pay the 276% tarrif?
 
Yes, that’s the clear conclusion. Enjoy your panels - must have been a beast to install 96-cell panels!
 
I thought I was going to have to buy panels online and have them shipped. This was not a China source, just places in the U.S.A. The shipping cost was prohibitive. I finally started digging and found a source here in Colorado that I could pick the panels up from. That source got a little screwy so I bailed on that deal and kept digging. I ended up find a source even closer with a price that was way better. I ended up using CED Greentech. They had my panels waiting on a pallet and loaded them right into my truck.

If you're not finding what you want, you're either not looking hard enough or you live in very strange place.

These days, panels are very close to a commodity. But what fits your specifications and budget, but don't be so set in your specifications that you don't look around. I was aiming for four 200 watt panels, but ended up with four 320 watt panels for less.
 
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fafrd said:
I’m very new to the Forum and primarily focused on LiFePO4 batteries.

Over in the DIY LiFePO4 battery Forum, many members are purchasing discounted battery cells from China through Alibaba or AliExpress.

I need 6 panels for my 2021 solar build and am trying to understand whether buying at a discount from China is a viable option.

Are there any threads about members purchasing solar panels from China? I’m especially interested in any recommended vendors/trading companies/manufacturers since I’ve found customer references to make all of the difference when purchasing through Alibaba/AliExpress.

Any pointers/recommendations appreciated.
Click to expand...

Assuming you're in the US, check out Santan Solar. He's on eBay and has a web site.
I paid $0.35/watt for multiple pallets, including delivery. I drive a pickup to the freight yard to save on last-mile delivery.

For example, Here are new factory warranty 400W Trina panels for $0.50/watt and ~ $300 shipping.
So 6 panels would be $1500 delivered (plus tax, if applicable)
You ought to buy at least one extra, to address possible shipping damage or something happening later.
He'll take care of damaged panels, but with shipping cost being more than one panel it's best not to have to ship another to address it.

Half that price if you can use panels with no UL labels.
 
looking to order 10kw of panels into Canada, just checking goverment website it still states - "laminates or thin-film products with a power output not exceeding 100W, 195W monocrystalline photovoltaic modules" anything above 195w still subject to higher import tax. So i guess your left with the possibility of buying 10kw/195w = 51 panels or so, which wouldnt be too bad if you have the space...

Link to regs - https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/sima-lmsi/mif-mev/sml-eng.html
 
levaz said:
looking to order 10kw of panels into Canada
Click to expand...

Consider buying used panels, maybe of U.S. make?
Lots of panels on eBay and from sellers such as SanTan Solar. Many are from China, but not all.
 
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