John Sheridan
Member
I would think their is a lot of category to judge the best panels, I guess the most important is cell efficiency and general quality, maybe price, but would pay for more efficient cells.
What panels do you think are best ?
I seem to get the impression Kyocera panels are good, going from what I have read.
Cheers.
Lance
Key Master
Yes, efficiency only determines the size of the panel for a given wattage, there are more important things such as the temperature coefficient (how much the output drops per degree C in cell temp rise), how well they perform when partially shaded or dirty, etc etc.
There is a panel buyers guide in the next issue of ReNew, although we haven't included that data as yet (for various reasons), but what's interesting is that a number of the big players with higher priced panels have pulled out of the market here due to the lower priced Chinese competition...
John Sheridan
Member
ET Yingli Tianwei Hearon REC Trina, I have heard of Trina, but not the rest.
Will look out for that review in ReNew, technology moves on they can only get better I guess.
Cheers.
Johnnojack
Member
He's right around here, could be wrong though, it may be 95%.
comfyhouse4me
Member
Bumping this one up...
I have two quotes for a new solar setup. They are within a few hundred dollars of each other. One has REC 260 (poly), one Yingli 250 (mono). Both with Emphase micro-inverters.
Interested on thoughts as to pros and cons of each type of panel?
Also I'm looking to orient east and west. Interested in thoughts as to what the optimum angle for mounting is - I figure that it would be slightly different for east-west vs north orientation. Melbourne.
Thanks in advance!
Phil A
Member
comfyhouse4me said:
Bumping this one up...I have two quotes for a new solar setup. They are within a few hundred dollars of each other. One has REC 260 (poly), one Yingli 250 (mono). Both with Emphase micro-inverters.
Interested on thoughts as to pros and cons of each type of panel?
Also I'm looking to orient east and west. Interested in thoughts as to what the optimum angle for mounting is - I figure that it would be slightly different for east-west vs north orientation. Melbourne.
Thanks in advance!
The pros and cons on poly vs mono are well documented. google is your friend.
Two things that are rarely mentioned are: that high efficiency panels usually means that you get more watts per unit area of the panel. This makes them run hotter. If you look at the spec sheet for the output of the panel, the output drops off dramatically at higher temperatures if you live in these higher temps then the considerably extra money for "high efficiency" panels is wasted.
You can usually tell them apart by observing the spaces between each cell on the panel. there is more space between the cells on the "lower efficiency panels"
Of course you pay more for "high efficiency" panels.
The other thing that doesn't seem to be mentioned is, that it depends on your situation or application as to the orientation of the panels.
eg, if you are off the grid and are you are using lead acid type cells you may want to maximise early morning sun to get your cells back up to maximum voltage as early as possible to maximise their time on "float" to maximise their lifespan.
If you are getting good money for feed in tariff then you would want to use the best orientation to get the maximum "total" input over the period of the day.
I have noticed a lot of consumers are being conned into facing their panels to the west, I imagine this is because this suits the power companies in that this is the high demand part of the day which places the highest load on their under capacity systems and it is when they get the highest price for the power. Your system would put out less total power but it is he most profitable for the power companies.
AS I have said on these forums years ago, Im not even sure why so many people are going to solar electric.
If you can use hot water to heat your home then solar hot water can be far more profitable. What percentage of your power bill is hot water? The biggest percentage I'm guessing.
At the moment, when the power goes up in price, you, are just making cheap power for the power companies. Tariffs are going down? not up I'll bet.
If you use solar hot water and the power goes up you are saving more and more.
We use hot water and sunshine for 100% of our heating requirements. We use between 2.5 and 4kw of power most days. how much is power? I don't know, we havnt had a power bill since 1988.....less than 30cents per kw? ie $1 per day, and your power bill is HOW much?
Food for thought.
which kind do you prefer?
wlb
Member
We are off-grid and charging batteries, so the needs aren't quite the same.
We inherited an existing north-facing fixed array when we bought the place in 1998. I have added a rooftop array, pointing approximately straight up. Both arrays are of similar size and each has its own MPPT controller. What I have observed over many years is that in winter, for the majority of the time, the upward-facing array greatly out-performs the north-facing array. This is because the north-facing array only performs at its best when the sun is shining directly on it. For most of the winter in our part of the world (West Gippsland) the sky is overcast and the light is diffused across most of the sky, so the upward-facing array receives the most light.
I will soon be adding 2 more arrays, and when I do, I will move the older arrays. I will have 2 arrays facing east and 2 facing west, on either side of a 45 degree gable roof. In our location, this is the optimum arrangement.
Regarding this thread's original question; the current edition of Choice magazine tests many brands.
The price you’ll pay for solar panels will depend on the number of panels you're buying and whether you're buying them as part of a package or if you’re buying a full system. The more modules in the system, the less cost per unit (generally speaking). A couple of top brands include REC Solar and JA Solar, but they're also two of the more expensive brands. These guys offer a pretty good range of solar panels. https://newcastlebatteries.net.au We ended up getting ours through them last year.
