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Thoughts on Hanwha Q-Cells?

tim0shel

Solar Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 27, 2020
Messages
464
I have not seen many discussions on this brand and wondering @$135 a pop for one of these is worth it. Claim 2 years old used. Hanwha Q-Cells German Design Commercial Q.PLUS L-G4.2 335 Watt Poly Solar Panels. It being Poly is my only issue.
eBay link these are semi-local to me
 
Hanwha makes quality panels. We have some Q.PLUS L-G4.2 that we'll be putting up soon on a few installations. That said, $135 is very high. I wouldn't pay that personally or recommend them at that price to any of my clients. Santan has much better pricing for used or even new panels. The 250W snail trail panels have even been superb. Tier-1 no less. Fantastic condition and output. I have some currently operating at a client location. More yet to be installed at another location.
 
Hanwha makes quality panels. We have some Q.PLUS L-G4.2 that we'll be putting up soon on a few installations. That said, $135 is very high. I wouldn't pay that personally or recommend them at that price to any of my clients. Santan has much better pricing for used or even new panels. The 250W snail trail panels have even been superb. Tier-1 no less. Fantastic condition and output. I have some currently operating at a client location. More yet to be installed at another location.
Thank you so much for your reply I agree and just wanted some confirmation. The price I was going to see if I could get lower specially being local but at the same time was only needing one. I run 200 watt on my car now.
 
Thoughts on X-Brand Panels...
Any panel that outputs the correct watts is a "good" panel, and the California GO database has an independently tested validation of them.
After that, it's a matter of price, quality, rate of degradation, warranty, and your belief as to whether the company will be in business long enough to uphold the warranty, your comfort factor, and a few other things (See the FAQ entry on Comparing Solar Panels for a lot more). With microinverters or dc optimizers you don't even have to worry about matching the panel specs in a decade for a replacement.
 
Any panel that outputs the correct watts is a "good" panel, and the California GO database has an independently tested validation of them.
In addition to that, the "best" panels are the ones that meet the above criteria and which have recently been installed in the home of the person expressing their opinion about having the best panels.
 
In addition to that, the "best" panels are the ones that meet the above criteria and which have recently been installed in the home of the person expressing their opinion about having the best panels.
LOL true.

So far the main mechanical failures that I have seen or heard of have been due to installation issues (improperly installed/maintained) or backsheet failures. I'm not saying that is the only issues for sure, it's just the main ones I've heard of. I tend to look for panels with Dupont Tedlar backsheets where possible but it's not a "make or break" issue. Where a person has space, I like the idea of second-hand/used thin-film (no backsheet) but there are trade-offs. The thin films have good low-light and other advantages but installation/wiring can be a bear.
 
I have talked to the guy and its not much of a lost of anything for getting 1 panel. I might just go ahead and get two why not and just go with another Victron Charge controller hook it up to my storage building.

On another thought I do plan to build a Van in the near future this could be proactive approach to have panels for it.

Thank you all for your comments!
 
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