Panel Shortage

[mvonw]

There seems to be a national (US) panel shortage now. Have others seen this?

I was fortunate I bought my panels early this year, but I tried to order a few more to fill out my ground mount and the distributors are rationing them....

 

[Solar Guy Richard]

There seems to be a national (US) panel shortage now. Have others seen this?

I was fortunate I bought my panels early this year, but I tried to order a few more to fill out my ground mount and the distributors are rationing them....

We have panels for days, you can buy as many as you want (as long as we have them in stock). In fact, my wholesale manager frequently directs entire containers to smaller distributors and end users.

 

[chrisski]

Craigslist has used available locally in large quantities.

I did an order from Renogy with a particular panel 4 months ago and after contacting their website, they said they were waiting on delivery from overseas. Their eBay store had none, but their Amazon store had them on sale on stock.

 

[mvonw]

I talked to three separate distributors and they all are reporting shortages. They can't get replacements once their stock is out.

 

[Britguy]

It was the same here in Asia 2 months back, available again now..
I'm assuming it's COVID in China messing up logistics.
Not to mention the shipping container problems.

 

[burgerking]

USA bans any product made in Xinjiang China.
It so happens Solar Panels' major raw materials are from Xinjiang China.
Expect panels stamped with "Made in Cambodia" to evade this ban.

 

[Casey]

I'm looking for 60-cell panels to get a system going for my friend/neighbor, preferably unused and around 300W, that aren't a complete rip-off. I'm not finding much - what little I can find is 3x or more the price of what I bought mine at last fall.

 

[Hedges]

Don't be afraid of used panels if they are quality brand and not delaminating etc.

Some 60 cell REC 260W here (says 32 in stock.) Others 72 cell new & used if those work for you.

Solar Panels | SanTan Solar

store.santansolar.com

 

[Casey]

Don't be afraid of used panels if they are quality brand and not delaminating etc.

Some 60 cell REC 260W here (says 32 in stock.) Others 72 cell new & used if those work for you.

Solar Panels | SanTan Solar

store.santansolar.com

Yeah, I found those before posting. They might work, but I'm concerned that they might not. I'm using SSR-based charging so if the voltage is too low especially on hot days, they won't charge batteries. I know some people using used 240/250W panels have had issues. I have 300W and that's worked great so was hoping to stay closer to that, but we might have to take a gamble on lower wattage (or spend far too much on higher).

 

[Hedges]

"SSR" - what is that?

Of course its not the panel wattage, rather voltage, that caused the issue. Some panels have a larger temperature coefficient, some smaller.
60 cell, or 72 cell would be somewhat higher voltage.

An MPPT SCC will work over large voltage range. You size the array so Vmp remains above minimum requirement on hot days and sun low in the sky, also Voc remains below max in coldest weather.