Solar Panel Deals

[Thomas G.]

Some panel deals at Solar Blvd, 45 to 100 watts, $56 to $125:
Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers
Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers
Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers
Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers
Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers

[David Tilston]

In Calgary:
RV Solar Panels - 125 Watt (Installation Available) - Alberta Travel Trailers, Campers For Sale - Kijiji Alberta Canada.
Solar Panels & Products - SolarWholesaler.ca |
They even have a bricks and mortar store in Calgary.
I see ads for solar cells at $3/watt, and wonder why the difference.

[Perry J]

Now is the time for as solar system.
My first 50W roof mounted solar system 3 years ago was over 300.00.
I just finished my 4th system, 60W, on a 13' Scamp and have about $140.00 invested.

[frankie]

I found a deal on 2 145 watt panels for a lil over 300 dmsolar on ebay or their web site same price I was doin some lookin in to a solar system and run across that figured id share didn't seem like a bad deal

[Jim Bennett]

frankie, do you have a link?

[GMike A]

Is there any warranty on the panels? So far out here in Texas I have had two of the smaller panels used to charge my gate battery get filled with water from the bottom lip and then it eats or corrodes the wire in the film and they go bad. Perhaps I am comparing apples to oranges with quality? But would like to know. I have a love hate relationship with Harbor Freight and have bought a bunch of stuff there because I can afford them but I have also gotten lemons and always keep my receipt cuz they wont take anything back w/o it. I see their panels and curious if they hold up over an extended period of time.

[frankie]

Sorry still new guess I need to figure out how to do that for everyone I just went and googled www dmsolar.com after my buddy told me bout tha deal that was going on. They have american and canadian and chinese panels ... my buddys into tha solar deal for his house and he's been showin me a few things I would want to get for my compact jr.

[frankie]

From what I read yes their is warranty on them and its seemed pretty good to me. I'm just startin my research for my lil o camper and they are residental grade so I would figure they wouldn't hold water like the lil gate charger panels . My friend has like 8 of them on his beer makeing house and computer room...he's a solar nut... so I'm mostly goin off what I've read and what hes told me ... I'm still lookin to learn some more tho

[Thomas G.]

Solar Panels

All dmsolar panels are under 6-year workmanship, 90% after 12-year and 80% after 25-year power warranty and guaranteed no power below nameplate!

[Kevin K]

I bought a 80 watt solar panel for $93.00 on ebay about 2 weeks ago.

[Thomas G.]

Solar Blvd has 45 watt panels on sale for $45.

Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers

[GMike A]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Solar Blvd has 45 watt panels on sale for $45.

Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers

Gonna check into that now as HF is 150 on sale for 45 watts. could get about 135ish watts for the same price as HF's 45.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by GMike A

Gonna check into that now as HF is 150 on sale for 45 watts. could get about 135ish watts for the same price as HF's 45.

The HF solar panels are not really a good deal. They are the old amorphous type which is much less efficient per square foot than the new crystalline type.

[GMike A]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

The HF solar panels are not really a good deal. They are the old amorphous type which is much less efficient per square foot than the new crystalline type.

I havent studied up on Solar yet but will eventually. My brother sells and installs solar systems so I forwarded it to him for comments. I have some property up in the mountains above Georgetown, Colorado and it would be neat to go up there off the grid for a week or so and just forget civilization.

[Steve Hammel]

I 2nd that, don't buy solar from HF, or Costco/Sams Club for that matter. Horrible deals.

[Thomas G.]

This is crazy cheap - 65 cents a watt. I'm not sure if 48 volt controllers are readily available, though.


Solar Cell, Solar Panel, Solar PV, Solar Products, Charge Controllers, Solar Trackers

[RogerDat]

HF 45 watt system I saw in store was 3 panels @ 15 watt. Would take up way more space than single 45 watt from Solar Blvd. Plus came with junk not needed in trailer application.

[Thomas G.]

Originally Posted by RogerDat

HF 45 watt system I saw in store was 3 panels @ 15 watt. Would take up way more space than single 45 watt from Solar Blvd. Plus came with junk not needed in trailer application.

Right - HF solar is no deal and it is the old amorphous technology.

[GMike A]

I heard last week of HUGE issue of premature failures. So I Googled it and here is one in part: Buyer Beware

Science Chinese Solar Firms Caught Using Substandard Materials
Jason Mick (Blog) - May 29, 2013 6:46 PM



Panels age and break prematurely

The coating of a solar panel is a critical step for installations small and large alike, allowing a panel to endure the elements and produce power long enough for the owner to break even, or hopeful profit. But these coatings are also an expensive ingredient in the panel design.

I. Soaring Failure Rates Reveal Dishonest Tactics

The global $77B USD solar industry is grappling with revelations that some suppliers -- including a number of Chinese firms -- have used substandard coating materials to save costs. The defects are causing panels to fail as early as two years into their (supposedly) 25-year lifespan.

Other defects in panel electrical systems have caused fires in some cases, according to a recent report in The New York Times. In some cases materials whose use-by date has passed were also used, causing the cell to simply fall apart after installation.

2012 was a booming year for small solar in the U.S. amid a general slippage in alternative energy investment nationwide. But photovoltaics division general manager Conrad Burke at chemical giant E. I. DuPont De Nemours and Comp. (DD) says that corner-cutting has turned some panels from dishonest OEMs into ticking time bombs.

"We need to face up to the fact that corners are being cut," he warns.

Panel failures nearly doubled between 2011 and 2012, according to some testers.
[Image Source: EnergyInformative]

The writing was perhaps on the wall. Since 2009 China has been taking on massive amounts of debt to cut solar panel costs and increasing the production scale of the panels. Panel makers are desperate to find cost savings in any way possible; in fact the world's largest panel maker up until 2012 -- China's Suntech -- was forced into bankruptcy last year.

STS Certified, a French-owned testing service with labs in Shanghai revealed that between 2011 and 2012 panel defect rates in 215,000 tested modules jumped from 7.8 to 13 percent. In one case, which the company declined to reveal, a New York Stock Exchange listed Chinese firm had an entire batch of cells prove defective.

One issue, according to Thibaut Lemoine, a general manager at the tester, is that big companies are closing down their lines and subcontracting to smaller, less reliable manufacturers to cut costs. He explains, "We have inspectors in a lot of factories, and it’s not rare to see some big brands being produced in those smaller workshops where they have no control over quality."

[Ed Harris]

I read this last week too but the problem is there is no actual practical advice or naming of brands so we can use this advice for peaceful purposes?

Why ring the bell to get attention and then leave out any practical actual help?

Originally Posted by GMike A

I heard last week of HUGE issue of premature failures. So I Googled it and here is one in part: Buyer Beware

Science Chinese Solar Firms Caught Using Substandard Materials
Jason Mick (Blog) - May 29, 2013 6:46 PM



Panels age and break prematurely

The coating of a solar panel is a critical step for installations small and large alike, allowing a panel to endure the elements and produce power long enough for the owner to break even, or hopeful profit. But these coatings are also an expensive ingredient in the panel design.

I. Soaring Failure Rates Reveal Dishonest Tactics

The global $77B USD solar industry is grappling with revelations that some suppliers -- including a number of Chinese firms -- have used substandard coating materials to save costs. The defects are causing panels to fail as early as two years into their (supposedly) 25-year lifespan.

Other defects in panel electrical systems have caused fires in some cases, according to a recent report in The New York Times. In some cases materials whose use-by date has passed were also used, causing the cell to simply fall apart after installation.

2012 was a booming year for small solar in the U.S. amid a general slippage in alternative energy investment nationwide. But photovoltaics division general manager Conrad Burke at chemical giant E. I. DuPont De Nemours and Comp. (DD) says that corner-cutting has turned some panels from dishonest OEMs into ticking time bombs.

"We need to face up to the fact that corners are being cut," he warns.

Panel failures nearly doubled between 2011 and 2012, according to some testers.
[Image Source: EnergyInformative]

The writing was perhaps on the wall. Since 2009 China has been taking on massive amounts of debt to cut solar panel costs and increasing the production scale of the panels. Panel makers are desperate to find cost savings in any way possible; in fact the world's largest panel maker up until 2012 -- China's Suntech -- was forced into bankruptcy last year.

STS Certified, a French-owned testing service with labs in Shanghai revealed that between 2011 and 2012 panel defect rates in 215,000 tested modules jumped from 7.8 to 13 percent. In one case, which the company declined to reveal, a New York Stock Exchange listed Chinese firm had an entire batch of cells prove defective.

One issue, according to Thibaut Lemoine, a general manager at the tester, is that big companies are closing down their lines and subcontracting to smaller, less reliable manufacturers to cut costs. He explains, "We have inspectors in a lot of factories, and it’s not rare to see some big brands being produced in those smaller workshops where they have no control over quality."