So frustrated trying to find the panels I need

[bobbie_ohio]

Does nobody want my money these days?? I email folks and either don't get emailed back or get a million questions about who is installing my system, when all I wanted was a quote (as was worded on their webpage) for the panels I asked about.

Looking for either 80 panels of 330W
OR
65 panels of 400W

Anybody got a hint as to where I can get something like this? I've contacted eco distributing, beyond oil solar and ced greentech and not getting a whole lot of feedback expect ced keeps asking if i have a contractor yet.

Also contacted a bunch on alibaba but they all are going to have the huge anti-dump tariffs

tia

 

[timselectric]

San Tan Solar , is where I purchased my panels. And a lot of people have from this forum. They have great deals on slightly used panels. And great customer service.

SanTan Solar | One Stop Shop for DIY Solar Panel Needs

store.santansolar.com

 

[bobbie_ohio]

Thanks, yes, I've looked there but no 330 or 400 watt panels.. Would definitely prefer new. The 330w on watts247 don't have good specs, so would limit me by 2 panels on each mppt on the inverter I am looking to use.

 

[Bluedog225]

Signature solar?

 

[timselectric]

Signature solar?

Another great option.

 

[timselectric]

Thanks, yes, I've looked there but no 330 or 400 watt panels.. Would definitely prefer new. The 330w on watts247 don't have good specs, so would limit me by 2 panels on each mppt on the inverter I am looking to use.

Are you limited by available space?
Is this why you are set on the larger wattage panels?

 

[bobbie_ohio]

Are you limited by available space?
Is this why you are set on the larger wattage panels?

I'm not. I'm just trying to maximize the inverter capabilities. 6s2p of the 330 (as long as the Voc is acceptable) or 5s2p of the 400 both eek out every bit of available wattage allowed. 4s2p of 500 would also do it but 500w are not cheap yet. I have a large area at the back of my property that was started as a flower meadow this winter. Gets unobstructed sun from not too long after sun rise all the way to just before sunset.

 

[bobbie_ohio]

Signature solar is really close with some 395W panels but again, without the 400w, I'm leaving a bit on the table with the mppt in the inverter, plus now the 395W are sold out on sigsolar

 

[timselectric]

I have 12s2p of 250w panels.
My inverter has one mppt max of 6kw, and 450 VOC.

 

[bobbie_ohio]

So, it seems you maximized your mppt since 24*250 = 6000 exactly. As long as your Voc on each panel isn't over 37.5 ?

What inverter are you using? I'm looking at the MPP6548 x 2 at first but ordering enough panels to expand to #3 if needed.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

The 445Ws at Signature Solar look really good, actually. What would be wrong with those?
-

 

[timselectric]

So, it seems you maximized your mppt since 24*250 = 6000 exactly. As long as your Voc on each panel isn't over 37.5 ?

What inverter are you using? I'm looking at the MPP6548 x 2 at first but ordering enough panels to expand to #3 if needed.

Growatt SPF-5000-ES

 

[bobbie_ohio]

Growatt SPF-5000-ES

I considered those but the whole not safe to do split phase is everywhere..

 

[bobbie_ohio]

The 445Ws at Signature Solar look really good, actually. What would be wrong with those?
-

The strings wouldn't work out properly to either be short on maximum potential or go over limit.

 

[timselectric]

I considered those but the whole not safe to do split phase is everywhere..

If, you are comfortable with diy'ing your system, it's not a big deal. I done a write up, on my solutions.

 

[Bvillebob]

Frankly I think you're over-calculating things. The panels are never going to put out exactly what they're rated at, most of the time they'll be well short of that due to time of day, clouds, temperature, season of the year, etc. Second, panels are cheap compared to electronics and batteries at the moment, why be so insistent on trying to precisely match output and input? If the panels put out a bit more than you can use at times, so what? It just means they're putting out more when they're running at less than 100 percent, which will be most of the time. My arrays put out roughly twice what my controllers can use on the days we get perfect sun, on cloudy days they give me twice as much power as if I sized them to match at full output.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

Hmm. With that amount of panels, you're not thinking of using just one controller, are you?
And even if you are, surely there are series/parallel configurations that will come close enough.
Still, all that power into one controller does not seem like a good idea to me.
-

 

[timselectric]

My arrays put out roughly twice what my controllers can use on the days we get perfect sun, on cloudy days they give me twice as much power as if I sized them to match at full output.

This is my plan for phase 2.

 

[timselectric]

Hmm. With that amount of panels, you're not thinking of using just one controller, are you?
And even if you are, surely there are series/parallel configurations that will come close enough.
Still, all that power into one controller does not seem like a good idea to me.
-

The mppt will only draw what it can use. As long as you don't go over the max VOC.

 

[CamoGreg]

Northern Arizona Sun and Wind has some 400W panels listed.

REC Solar REC400AA-PURE Alpha Series 400 Watt Module

Note: Please look at the REC420PURE-AA-R as an alternative option.

www.solar-electric.com

A better deal would be (72) 365W panels

REC Solar N-PEAK 2 Series 365 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Module

Note: This panel is discontinued, Please look at the other REC panels we offer. Please email us or give us a call if you would like help finding an alternative.

www.solar-electric.com

 

[bobbie_ohio]

Hmm. With that amount of panels, you're not thinking of using just one controller, are you?
And even if you are, surely there are series/parallel configurations that will come close enough.
Still, all that power into one controller does not seem like a good idea to me.
-

Frankly I think you're over-calculating things. The panels are never going to put out exactly what they're rated at, most of the time they'll be well short of that due to time of day, clouds, temperature, season of the year, etc. Second, panels are cheap compared to electronics and batteries at the moment, why be so insistent on trying to precisely match output and input? If the panels put out a bit more than you can use at times, so what? It just means they're putting out more when they're running at less than 100 percent, which will be most of the time. My arrays put out roughly twice what my controllers can use on the days we get perfect sun, on cloudy days they give me twice as much power as if I sized them to match at full output.

I'm using the SAM simulator and using some of the configurations I've mentioned, with my specific weather data, it appears to give me the power output I need for my worst month. That's why I was trying to match things so well.

 

[Don B. Cilly]

The mppt will only draw what it can use. As long as you don't go over the max VOC.

So you would feed 26kW (nominal) of PV into one single controller based on that?

-

 

[bobbie_ohio]

So you would feed 26kW (nominal) of PV into one single controller based on that?

-

I have no idea where you got the idea I'm using 1 inverter?

 

[bobbie_ohio]

So you would feed 26kW (nominal) of PV into one single controller based on that?

-

So frustrated trying to find the panels I need

Does nobody want my money these days?? I email folks and either don't get emailed back or get a million questions about who is installing my system, when all I wanted was a quote (as was worded on their webpage) for the panels I asked about. Looking for either 80 panels of 330W OR 65...

diysolarforum.com

 

[timselectric]

So you would feed 26kW (nominal) of PV into one single controller based on that?

-

9 or 12kw, I'm not crazy. lol
That would be too wasteful.