$617 for 175 watt sharp monocrystalline solar panels

[Zac]

I can't vouch for the vendor, but the price is good:

http://www.solarblvd.com/product_info.php?info=p897_Sharp-175W-24V-Solar-Panel.html

[gary275]

All there prices looked good  thanks for  the link 

[Procrastinator]

Your link is 3.52+ per watt.

Here are a couple of better price outfits -
~3.29/watt down to 3.05 on pallet quantities http://www.wholesalesolar.com/
and my favorite -
~2.98/watt for ul listed and 2.48/watt for non-listed http://sunelec.com/

Cheers,
Tim

[Pariah]

Your link is 3.52+ per watt.

Here are a couple of better price outfits -
~3.29/watt down to 3.05 on pallet quantities http://www.wholesalesolar.com/
and my favorite -
~2.98/watt for ul listed and 2.48/watt for non-listed http://sunelec.com/

Cheers,
Tim

Have you ordered from either of these companies?  I just wanted to know opinions if they existed.  I am seriously looking into a small solar home system.  2 of the last 4 weekends I have had to go more than 8 hours without power due to crappy service and crumbling infrastructure I suppose. 

Houston summers (even the nights) are brutal.  108 degree index during the day and 90F index at night.  I know these units won't power an ac unit, but a little fan is enough to sleep...

Thanks,

[rdocr]

Have you ordered from either of these companies?  I just wanted to know opinions if they existed.  I am seriously looking into a small solar home system.  2 of the last 4 weekends I have had to go more than 8 hours without power due to crappy service and crumbling infrastructure I suppose. 

Houston summers (even the nights) are brutal.  108 degree index during the day and 90F index at night.  I know these units won't power an ac unit, but a little fan is enough to sleep...

Thanks,

I built a small solar system of 2.5 KW, with 20 KWH battery storage. for emergency power and I wound up using it to power my office and computer all the time. It will also power our well and pellet stove, and still give us lighting.
It is fully described in our book, Emergency Power From Solar Electricity

Dollar per watt is only one criteria for evaluating a solar electric system. Do some more research. The terminal voltage is more important if you are going to use battery storage- and you would have to for running a night fan.

It is also advisable to deal with a supplier that has technical backup and can help you along the way, even to planning your system.

One such is http://www.Sunelco.com/ Their castalog is almost a text book.

Ralph

[Procrastinator]

Wow, Solar prices are really getting low now - PV is available as low as $2.38/watt for the panels - http://sunelec.com/

This could yield installed costs for non-battery systems below $5/watt. Even without rebates, EOI drops to between 4 and 5 years if your electric cost is at least 10 cents a KWH (a little less than a third of the US currently). For me in Mexico with peak costs of 33 cents a KWH it’s becoming almost economically mandatory.

I really hope this will jump start some alternate energy stuff in the US.

[MeToo]

I've been watching the prices drop this last year. I'm torn between waiting for them to drop lower before I buy, and buying now before TSHTF.

Here is the price/watt trend in retail pricing: http://www.solarbuzz.com/ModulePrices.htm

-mt

[hillwalker]

PV pricing is kinda interesting in a knotheaded way.

I know exactly how much I paid for my PV panels, because I've
hooked'em up and run them against a charger and know how much
they gathered, and I know exactly my landed cost of purchase.

Folks saying $2.85 per watt, etc. What does that really mean?

It's interesting to me that folks are on the one hand willing to pay for stuff when they
feel quality is important. But that's never what folks discuss. They always talk
unit/$$$

yeah, drolling over internet ads for panel watt/$$ is one thing. When you actually
have the panel up and harvesting sunlight, that watt/$$$ will seem trivial.

Those folks at sunelec in Miami drive me nuts. They have excellent pricing on Evergreen panels (last generation, not the newer generation evergreen stuff, but still) and I'm a lot closer to the Evergreen plant than I am to Miami. So, it would make sense that I *should* be able
to drive up to the Evergreen plant and pick up a pallet or two for LESS than I could get them shipped all the way back up here
from Miami, but NO.

None of these domestic manufacturers have the facilities for 'will call'.

I don't mind paying a distributor for the panels, if that is how the sale is handled. But it is insane for me to have to
pay the cartage if I can go right to the point of manufacture and pick the items up. It's NUTS.

Yes, Evergreen makes a lot of panels here, and so does Solarex (BP solar, I have BP solar panels). There are others too
that aren't made by pac rim slaves.

Blah blah blah.
Sorry for ranting.

The point, there is a lot more to the landed cost of your watts than the 'special internet price' of panel $$$/watt.
While these are some tempting prices, don't go on that alone.

[rdocr]

Re: Cheapie Solar Panels

Don’t get caught up in pricing out a system just on the cost of PV panels alone. There are several big ticket items along with it.

If you add a tracker mounting system, you gain about 40 percent MORE power from the same panels- over fixed mounted ones. Trackers cost a bundle, plus shipping.

You can economize with a non-sine wave inverter, they cost about half as much as the sine wave models, but this will not allow you to pump juice back into the Grid.

The main, heavy current, circuit breaker for DC is only made by Hinneman ( sp?), and you have to stand in line for one of them- at least that was my experience. It was the last item delivered.

As far as PV panel prices, all of the manufactures overbuilt in anticipation of a surge in Solar Electricity. They didn’t expect the economic downturn, so I look for a further drop in panel prices. They need to sell off their overstock.

I discuss the details of panel selection in my book, Emergency Power From Solar Electricity, and there is a lot more than bucks to consider.

As far as building your own panels, there are engineering considerations that you can’t handle alone. I would stay away from this path, unless you plan to replace them about every two or three years.

If ROI is on your mind, did you ever stop to think what you are paying you electricity supplier to cover his ROI?

Then, there is battery cost. While other prices may be going down, the cost of lead is soaring. We won’t even mention shipping costs for Batts.

Also consider installation. Your system cost will at least double if you have a contractor install it. If you a planning on a grid tie, that part of the system must be installed by a licensed electrician or the power company won’t touch it.

And last, My original system was four panels. I have since added more panels in pairs so I could keep the tracker mount balances. For the last pair, I added steel outriggers to hold them. My system now is eight panels, and that’s all the tracker will hold.

Oh, I am not in California, where they have a juicy rebate, plus the fact that a home-made system does not qualify for most tax refund setups. I still came out ahead.

LOL

Ralph

[PseudoPhil]

BBB is your friend:

http://www.bbb.org/northeast-california/business-reviews/solar-and-wind-energy-systems/wholesale-solar-in-mount-shasta-ca-15003534

http://www.seflorida.bbb.org/Business-Report/Sun-Electronics-22001213

You'll want to take into account shipping charges from such widely dispersed sources.

Edit to add:

BBB has no record (that I can find) on Solar Blvd... I only order stuff over the net from companies that are recognized by the BBB and well rated.

[Grimus]

Ralph can you do us a favor and boil it down to the best of the best bang for your buck outfit and setup for basic post-crash 4-6 person household?

[JoMama]

EROI on solar is still crap; the high-end with better return vs energy expenditure on production depends on rare materials produced by limited suppliers.

[hillwalker]

EROI on solar is still crap; the high-end with better return vs energy expenditure on production depends on rare materials produced by limited suppliers.

our locally produced Solarx (the ones made near berkley springs, wv, and the ones made in Fredrick md) are made out of (local) sand, in a solar powered plant. What's your point?

The EROI of PV solar is excellent. as high as 15:1 in some applications.
the other electronic bits, no so much. About the same as the computer you are typing on.

[JoMama]

What is the EROI of Solarx specifically?

[cjr]

Talking costs isnt the best rate 1.85 per watt ?

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm

Or are there other advantages in this  offering ?