Prime day discounts on panels?
- Thread starter Jims94vmx
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Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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Look up SanTan Solar, either on eBay or their own website.
Lots of us buy from them. Often larger panels, which have to ship on a pallet by truck, but could be a good deal anyway depending on how many.
We typically pay between $0.15 and $0.50 per watt.
Lots of us buy from them. Often larger panels, which have to ship on a pallet by truck, but could be a good deal anyway depending on how many.
We typically pay between $0.15 and $0.50 per watt.
ghostwriter66
"Here - Hold my Beer"
Highly doubtful ...
In your opinion, can we assume that what they handle is a reliable product?
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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I think so, and they make good on any that arrive damaged.
They also offer a 1 year warranty on the panels (although a few have full factory warranty.)
Many have manufacturer warranty voided as part of the wholesale transaction, typically removal from a commercial installation.
Some have labels including "UL" removed.
They describe what sorts of defect the batch has, like "snail trails"
But it still comes down to the brand, model, and materials used.
They were offering brand new SunPower P17 series panels for a good price, but I passed on those because they are made with what I would call "innovative" assembly processes (described on manufacturer's website) that I felt was not proven with decades of use. Those also had no bypass diodes, but an arrangement of cells meant to minimize impact of shading in a large commercial array. It wouldn't work well in my yard with trees sometimes casting a shadow across the middle.
Instead, I bought premium E20 series SunPower panels made with conventional assembly.
Some brands in past years have shown failures after just a few years in the field, such as cracking backsheets (due to cheaper material choice.)
You need to read up on the particular panels you're considering.
SanTan turns over large quantities of panels, thousands of a kind.
I don't think they would sell anything they know is bad.
They perform some about of testing.
Thanks for all the great info! So can I ask what you paid for the premium E20 series SunPower panels that you bought? I have not figured out how one knows the quality? Then I have heard that the 60 cell panels are still a good option, is that your opinion also?
Hedges
I See Electromagnetic Fields!
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They cost me around $0.35/W delivered to a truck depo near me. It was four pallets, which brought the unit cost of shipping down.
There were cheaper panels, but considering the effort of installing them, I didn't want to skimp on quality.
When I read up on panels, the only bad thing anyone had to say about SunPower was price. (But I'm glad I took the time to read company's website to understand what P17 modules were.)
There are probably decent lesser known name bargains out there, but there are also several brands with a history of good products.
diysolarforum.com
Number of cells is just voltage. Sometimes some panels are difficult to fit within voltage limits of a charge controller over range of temperatures. Charge controllers have limits of 100, 140, 150, 200, 250V, and some inverters 600V. So sometimes 60 cell fits an array better, sometimes 72 cell. You have to consider the exact label specs, your local record low and typical high temperatures, and specs of the charge controller. Make sure it works together before buying.
All my inverters accept 600Voc, but minimum mppt voltage varies. One of them only works well with 8 of the E20 in series; 7 would be too low on a hot day.
There were cheaper panels, but considering the effort of installing them, I didn't want to skimp on quality.
When I read up on panels, the only bad thing anyone had to say about SunPower was price. (But I'm glad I took the time to read company's website to understand what P17 modules were.)
There are probably decent lesser known name bargains out there, but there are also several brands with a history of good products.
Some Solar Panels are not getting the useful life expected.
Some solar panels experience accelerated degradation rates due to cheap backsheets sourced by solar panel manufacturers. Looks, like this is a problem primarily with older solar panels (2010-2012). But could involve some newer panels too. Here's an article about it...
diysolarforum.com
Number of cells is just voltage. Sometimes some panels are difficult to fit within voltage limits of a charge controller over range of temperatures. Charge controllers have limits of 100, 140, 150, 200, 250V, and some inverters 600V. So sometimes 60 cell fits an array better, sometimes 72 cell. You have to consider the exact label specs, your local record low and typical high temperatures, and specs of the charge controller. Make sure it works together before buying.
All my inverters accept 600Voc, but minimum mppt voltage varies. One of them only works well with 8 of the E20 in series; 7 would be too low on a hot day.
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