# Solar Panels



## OandB (Dec 27, 2012)

Hey guys, I am wanting to add solar panels to my house and know very little about the different brands. Such as durability, power and the such... I would hate to buy the panels and then see them get broken by hail.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

If you purchase full sized panels they are basically a commodity, they have sturdy metal frames and come with excellent warranties. People will give you examples of bad and good experience but I have worked with dozens of brands and not seen any measurable trend. Kyocera, Sharp, LG, Bp, Canadian solar, and many others all have performed great.
I would focus on cost/watt with these panels almost exclusively, efficiency (measured by surface area) is not a factor for most situations and other factors like longevity and durability appear very similar across brands.

The ones you can get at the hardware store or whatever are a different beast entirely, they have flimsy frames whether plastic or aluminum and are typically amorphous, though not necessarily. They are simply not as robust in terms of framing, mounting, and glass and will probably lose much more of their output in a given time frame. 
That being said, I use these panels a LOT, they are cheap and come in a variety of sizes which are useful for trickle charging batteries or running small pumps, lights, fans, etc.

So I would go with the full sized panels to produce a decent amount of energy for your home that would still function after 20 years of wind or hail etc.
I would probably stick with a major brand but not worry about it too much, others on here might have particular favorites to help you.
I would get the most watts for my $$$ and be very happy because I have my own source of electricity for the next few decades


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## zombieresponder (Aug 20, 2012)

I don't know a lot, but I've researched it myself quite a bit. The monocrystalline panels are more expensive, but more efficient. There are a couple of other types, but none are as efficient. The thin film type is a lot cheaper, and from what I've found can be rolled out over your roof. I'm guessing it is secured with some type of adhesive. What are you looking to do with solar? Do you want a grid tie system, battery backup, off grid? There are some grid tie/battery backup hybrid systems being built. That solves the main problem of most grid tie systems, which is that the panels don't do you a bit of good when the grid power goes down. 

Wind may be a better alternative, depending on your area. I think combining the two is really the best way to do it.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

The four solar panel we have on the motorhome are mono-crystalline, they are faced with heavy tempered glass and have passed JPL's Block V tests, they can withstand 125 mph windloads, one inch hail at terminal velocity (52mph) and pass a thermal cycling of temps not found on earth, probably like temps that satellites have to deal with.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I've been doing a great deal of research on what solar panels I wanted to get and it looks like we will be getting them through Costco which deals with Grape Solar out of Eugene, Oregon. It's a custom order but it beats others that I've checked out by over $200 for the eight panels we want to get.


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## philk1 (Feb 27, 2013)

Solar Panels are the most effective source of domestic renewable energy for your home. Recent studies have shown that implementation of a Solar Power System in your home could be the best way to cut your electricity bills. Solar Panels installed on your roof will generate free energy that can be used to power your household & help cut down your grid-power requirements.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

philk1 said:


> Solar Panels are the most effective source of domestic renewable energy for your home. Recent studies have shown that implementation of a Solar Power System in your home could be the best way to cut your electricity bills. Solar Panels installed on your roof will generate free energy that can be used to power your household & help cut down your grid-power requirements.


Using solar panels to be electrically self-sufficient is a better use of money than using them to save money. Solar power isn't cheap. While most components last 20 or more years under normal use the batteries must be replaced regularly.

If a person is interested only in saving money then try living as if you were on solar power while on the grid. You'd be amazed at what that will do to your electric bill.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

The problem is half our bill is fees! 
Less than half of what we pay is for the actual electricity up here, especially if you don't consume to much. We have some sites with minimal power usage, they spent thousands of dollars to put in power and we have been paying monthly fees to have power there for years, it adds up to a lot of money. If only they would have spent those thousands on a way of generating power we would have saved tons.

The worst part though is it is really hard to cut off the power, you are out the initial hookup cost of thousands and all the years you have paid the bills and then you have to spend thousands to setup a new system.
Before the rural electrification drive many years ago MANY farms out here had their own power setups from wind generators, to internal combustion etc. The government comes along and takes away the people's ability to be self sufficient, big surprise.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

First of all is this off grid or grid tie? If there is anything I've learned about solar panels it's that you should get panels with the highest cell count per panel for the primary operating voltage you want, that way the solar panels will give you higher voltages on days that are not so solar friendly. Solar system panels can produce 16+ volts to over 120 volts dependent on how they are hooked up, what kind of solar controller you'll be using and the distance from the panels to the controller, inverter or batteries if used. As I have mentioned most good panels have tempered glass and can withstand pretty rough weather conditions. If you have a portion of your roof that faces due South one solar panel manufacturer makes solar shingles, I'm not sure that's something a do it yourselver could do however. I've found that a lot of solar power sites offer contractor installed packages and this involves permits and inspections. You have to take into consideration what your electrical capabilities are because there are danger potentials of shock and fire.


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## AnonyManx (Oct 2, 2012)

OandB said:


> Hey guys, I am wanting to add solar panels to my house and know very little about the different brands. Such as durability, power and the such... I would hate to buy the panels and then see them get broken by hail.


We installed a grid-tied solar system on our house 20 months ago. It relies on the grid being up to function; we do not have a battery bank (not cost-effective for us) and our grid power is remarkably reliable. We are not in a situation/location where we are able to be off-grid, and our house is all-electric (no gas service to our neighborhood; evil HOA doesn't allow propane tanks). Our system is rated to withstand 1" diameter hail hitting it in 50 mph winds; I am glad our area isn't overly prone to hail, though. If our solar system gets damaged by weather, we will file a claim with our homeowner's insurance (we adjusted our insurance appropriately when the system was installed) and get it repaired.

Our system is not a do-it-yourself job. We used a regional provider to design and install it. We bought the best panels we could at the time, and the best micro inverters as well. Our estimated break-even on the job is about 5 years from now; a bit sooner if electricity rates go up (of course they will!). We are looking at it as pre-buying a lot of our electricity; should the economy go to hell in a handbasket, we just have to manage to keep the electricity turned on. We could even limit our usage to only what we generate in order to keep costs under control - it would be very inconvenient, but possible for a lot of the year.

If you're interested in seeing the data on how our system operates, our website is here: https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/2wA821115


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## dahur (Dec 18, 2009)

My system has 16 Schott 225w panels, each one with an EnPhase micro inverter. 
I highly advise using micro inverters. 

The panels have tempered glass, and are warrantied for hail damage. That being said, they're still covered under my homeowners insurance. 

Ground mount.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

I'm surprised that OandB has not chimed in to tell us if he is going on or off grid as that can change a lot of what we are bringing to the thread.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

The deal with Costco fell through but yesterday we picked up eight 195 watt solar panels and saved roughly $300 for shipping and because of that savings we ordered a Morningstar TriStar MPPT 60 amp solar controller. Even with shipping the controller is around $90 less than other suppliers I've been looking at. Much more to get, next most expensive will be the 16 batteries. Thankfully I have a friend that can get me a lot of surplus breakers, transfer switches and perhaps heavy wires for the battery bank so that may cut out a lot of extra expenses. Solar is not for someone that's afraid to spend a lot of $ but it's the end product that may save a lot of grief if the SHTF or bad weather knocks out the power for days.


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## mosquitomountainman (Jan 25, 2010)

Viking said:


> ... Solar is not for someone that's afraid to spend a lot of $ but it's the end product that may save a lot of grief if the SHTF or bad weather knocks out the power for days.


The problem is that most people want the same lifestyle off grid as they had on the grid. It is a lot more affordable if you cut back on electrical needs and use.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Viking, I wonder if you could give a ballpark of what you paid per watt, might help some of us out.
Typically I find better deals on panels in the U.S but am wondering what they are at now.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

mosquitomountainman said:


> The problem is that most people want the same lifestyle off grid as they had on the grid. It is a lot more affordable if you cut back on electrical needs and use.


That's exactly what I designed into the system I'm building. It won't be running any high current draw stuff like the water heater, dryer or the built in bathroom electric heater.


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## Viking (Mar 16, 2009)

cowboyhermit said:


> Viking, I wonder if you could give a ballpark of what you paid per watt, might help some of us out.
> Typically I find better deals on panels in the U.S but am wondering what they are at now.


Sorry, I ment to put that in, it's $1.5128 per watt. Thing is I heard that panel prices may be going up and with everything sort of already hitting the fan we wanted to get ahead of price increases. We hate to be pushed into doing things that we haven't scheduled for but with the so called leadership we have running (ruining) this country we felt that we had better get ahead of things while we can.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Thanks Viking, good to know.


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