Deal on panels

[qwerksc]

I have an opportunity to buy these panels at a screaming deal, a friend works for a commercial solar farm as an installer.
Sunergy CSUN 375-72 BMH-DG
Looking to tie these to an off grid system, haven’t even built the house yet. Just a good deal and they are available, wondering if it’s worth buying 30 of em or so.
Any input would be helpful.
I’m going to do a 4kw system to run some tools, I’m budgeted for a whole house back up generator as well.
Thanks

 

[alcook62]

I have an opportunity to buy these panels at a screaming deal, a friend works for a commercial solar farm as an installer.
Sunergy CSUN 375-72 BMH-DG
Looking to tie these to an off grid system, haven’t even built the house yet. Just a good deal and they are available, wondering if it’s worth buying 30 of em or so.
Any input would be helpful.
I’m going to do a 4kw system to run some tools, I’m budgeted for a whole house back up generator as well.
Thanks

A screaming deal is usually hard to pass up, however, I would caution you from buying parts piecemeal prior to assessing your total system needs/wants. You don't want to purchase parts on a whim and then find out later that the purchase doesn't meet the needs of the finalized system.
Have you done an energy audit yet? Do you know the amount of power you need to produce in order to run your house and still recharge your batteries?
Thirty of these panels will make an 11.25kw array. That is a lot of power. Do you need that much? I only ask because my array is 2.4kw I am also off-grid and that gives me power to spare.

 

[qwerksc]

I probably don’t need that many panels for the house. But a separate barn and shop, with their own solar power may be added in the future. The house could run on less than half that, we are splitting power with propane for hot water, cooking and some heat.
I have plenty of storage space for stacking a few extra panels.
Wondering if anyone may have some knowledge of these panels.

 

[MichaelK]

So, what exactly is the deal? What would you have to pay per panel? From the prices I've seen lately, I wouldn't expect to pay more then 50cents per watt, and as cheap as I am, I'd really try for 33cents per watt. Call that 124-188$ per panel.

I just bought some REC 260W panels on Friday for 65$ each. Cash and carry, and the guy helped me load them into the back of the truck. That's 25cents per watt.

One point to focus attention on is that the Voc of those panels is 48.7, so you are going to need a good high-voltage charge controller to utilize them. I use Midnight200s at my place, so I could safely wire just three of those in series, accounting for the winter lows of my area.

 

[qwerksc]

So, what exactly is the deal? What would you have to pay per panel? From the prices I've seen lately, I wouldn't expect to pay more then 50cents per watt, and as cheap as I am, I'd really try for 33cents per watt. Call that 124-188$ per panel.

I just bought some REC 260W panels on Friday for 65$ each. Cash and carry, and the guy helped me load them into the back of the truck. That's 25cents per watt.

One point to focus attention on is that the Voc of those panels is 48.7, so you are going to need a good high-voltage charge controller to utilize them. I use Midnight200s at my place, so I could safely wire just three of those in series, accounting for the winter lows of my area.

$100 a panel new. I would like to not have to build a system around one component,
Panels a relatively inexpensive, it may be more conducive to put together something based on more compatibility aspect.

 

[TEV]

$100 a panel new.

That's a very good deal. Can I buy some too?

 

[MichaelK]

$100 a panel new. I would like to not have to build a system around one component,

That deal is about as good as it gets. Get some for me too?

Again, when building your new system, pay close attention to the maximal voltage your charge controller can handle. A 200V controller will handle 3 panels in series. Higher voltage controllers can handle as much as 450-600V, but the price goes up as the voltage does. What are your winter lows like? Remember to factor in your winter low to determine the maximal voltage your string can be. I like Midnight's calculator.

MidNite Solar - Classic Sizing Tool.

MidNite Solar is the industry leader and manufacture of quality Renewable Energy System electrical components and E-Panels.

www.midnitesolar.com

 

[qwerksc]

That deal is about as good as it gets. Get some for me too?

Again, when building your new system, pay close attention to the maximal voltage your charge controller can handle. A 200V controller will handle 3 panels in series. Higher voltage controllers can handle as much as 450-600V, but the price goes up as the voltage does. What are your winter lows like? Remember to factor in your winter low to determine the maximal voltage your string can be. I like Midnight's calculator.

MidNite Solar - Classic Sizing Tool.

MidNite Solar is the industry leader and manufacture of quality Renewable Energy System electrical components and E-Panels.

www.midnitesolar.com

Winter lows dip in to the low 30s, but not much. I’ll check the Calc for sure.

 

[MichaelK]

Winter lows dip in to the low 30s, but not much. I’ll check the Calc for sure.

A quicky conversion factor I use for right at freezing (32F) is 1.12Xvoltage. So, at freezing an array with a string of three of those panels would be ((48.7Voc + 48.7Voc + 48.7Vov) X 1.12 = 163.6Voc. So, a 200V controller is needed. I use Midnight's 200V controller. You might also look at Epever's Tracer 6420AN/8420AN.

 

[qwerksc]

A quicky conversion factor I use for right at freezing (32F) is 1.12Xvoltage. So, at freezing an array with a string of three of those panels would be ((48.7Voc + 48.7Voc + 48.7Vov) X 1.12 = 163.6Voc. So, a 200V controller is needed. I use Midnight's 200V controller. You might also look at Epever's Tracer 6420AN/8420AN.

Thanks for the link above, helped me a lot. I’m not gonna get 30 of these, more like 8 and possibly the above equipment.

 

[qwerksc]

My intentions with this project morph daily, thanks all!