# $1 a watt panels have finally arrived



## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

http://sunelec.com/

Well $.98 at least for awhile. Hopefully this will become the norm.


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

Has anyone seen these in person? Are they at all decent? I was going to buy one of the Harbor Freight specials (45w), so I don't demand top quality. Unfortunately, you have to buy 4, and shipping is going to be over $100.

Still, $1.40/watt isn't bad.

Michael


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

In one of my trade journals this last couple weeks was a very good write up about these "under a buck" panels. Seems there is the grade A & B cells.
The A's of course go into the *The Best* panels.
One company admitted that to get their new equipment up and running, they bought and assembled many many "B" grade panels. 
Of course some body bought them up and are peddling them.

Also this glut of thin film stuff coming where else but from chinnna, has No track record yet and is quite inefficient ( 7% )

Do not do a side by side comparison of this "lower priced" stuff too a premo crystal panel . . . . . .you will see one heck of a difference...... 

All that said . . . $ 0.98 a watt is a place to start.........


Bottom line.............Ya gets what ya pays for........?!?!


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

So whats a B panel.a blemished? If so than BFD,hardly a deal killer.

As for 7% efficient,all that matters is space,got the room who cares if 7% or 13%

As for thin film,Unisolar has been having quality issues regarding degradation,yet I know someone who just bought a ton of used ones of Craigslist for 60 CENTS a watt,said for that price who cares if they lose 1-1.3% a year in output.

So yeah,thin film isnt as good as crystalline for sure IMO FWIW so far.

Im guessing in a few years all panels will be chinese,then it gets real dicey as so much chinese is such total junk.Hate to see panels go that route,but who knows? Try to find a tv or computer that isnt all chinese inside yet pretty good stuff.

Heck,both my truck and car were made in Mexico fer crying out loud,but a factory is a factory pretty much,equipment the same regardless of the soil its on?

Interesting times for sure in solar,and manufacturing too.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

How far out in the future is printing our own solar panels?


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## Guest (Dec 22, 2009)

Heck,both my truck and car were made in Mexico fer crying out loud,but a factory is a factory pretty much,equipment the same regardless of the soil its on?

I'm not sure I agree . I bought a new Chinese atv for my nephew & it's a pure piece of junk . Not comparable in quality in any way to the common Japanese models . Sure , I paid less but boy did I ever get a lot less . I'm pretty sure it was made in a factory on Chinese soil .


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

Went back to the site, and the panels supposedly are made in Japan. Are they using Chinese parts/materials? How much can you trust the published performance of the panels?

I did a quick comparison to see if the stats were realistic. 

Kaneka 60 watt, $.98/watt, 24.9square inches/watt
Samlex 50w, $5.5/watt, 16.2in^2/watt
BP Solar 80watt, $6.55/watt, 12.6in^2/watt

It looks like mightybooboo's argument might be correct. Even if they are only 7% efficient, they give you twice the area of panel. The listed wattage, if correct, is a good deal if you don't care about panel size. I have 1/4 acre that could be covered with panels, so for me it's a great deal. I wish I had known about these last month when I was in Florida... some would have come home with me.

To counteract "the panels become less efficient more quickly" argument, think about this: Solar prices have be continuously dropping, and the drop will become greater due to increased investment, and competition from China. Do you buy high cost panels now, that will last 20-30 years, or do you get the cheaper ones, and buy more of the better ones when the price comes down in 2-5 years? How much efficiency have the cheap ones lost? Whats the long range cost going to be?

Cheap Chinese imports: We've done this to ourselves. America as a whole has been buying solely on price for a long time. China will make whatever quality product you are willing to pay for. Unfortunetly, we've been unwilling to pay for much quality, so they happily sell us junk. 

I think I'll just buy the 36 6x6 solar cells for $95 on ebay, and make my own panel for now.

Michael

Edit: take a look here: same panels, I think, but for $237.52 each!


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## Gary in ohio (May 11, 2002)

Diavolicchio said:


> Somewhere in the world is the world's worst doctor. And tomorrow, someone unfortunately has an appointment with them.




The Person who finishes top of his class in medical school gets the same degree as the person at the bottom of the class.


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## mightybooboo (Feb 10, 2004)

WV Hillbilly said:


> Heck,both my truck and car were made in Mexico fer crying out loud,but a factory is a factory pretty much,equipment the same regardless of the soil its on?
> 
> I'm not sure I agree . I bought a new Chinese atv for my nephew & it's a pure piece of junk . Not comparable in quality in any way to the common Japanese models . Sure , I paid less but boy did I ever get a lot less . I'm pretty sure it was made in a factory on Chinese soil .


True,but my Dodge MEXICO is as good as a Dodge DETROIT.

Was your ATV a KAWASAKI made in China,or a COMM-ISAKI wannabe?

Sure,most China is Low Cost junk IMO,But some is also world class,like TVs and computers.Now perhaps solar (Personally I doubt it,BUT we have evidence they can produce world class electronics.)

Where will the China panels end up on the continuum,I suspect junk that needs frequent replacement like most their products but who knows.I saw some Chinese monocrystallines that LOOKED exactly like American ones.I doubt its rocket science to produce them,just the factory chooses to do quality control or not Im thinking.

Does it matter if Shells factory is here or there IF they are devoted to producing the same product,or if its being copied,this is pretty old tech.And once they learn our manufacturing,to copy it,like Japan did?AND took to new heights later?

Didnt matter on my truck or car,VW and Dodge.And they were produced in cutting edge factories with low dollar labor.*A World class products* produced with cheap labor.So much is automated too.

China reminds me of Japan.....remember when made in Japan meant JUNK.That sure did change.....

Lets hear it for Chinese COMMIE Slave Labor,eh?:grump:


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## WisJim (Jan 14, 2004)

I see that the Kaneka 60 watt panels are said to be UL listed and have a 25 year warranty, and are made in Japan. Also, these are considered 48 volt panels, voltage at peak power is over 60 volts and open circuit voltage over 90 volts. They aren't suitable for a 12 or 24 volt battery situation, but are designed for grid tied high voltage inverter use. You would be able to use them with some MPPT charge controllers such as an Outback MX60 that accepts a higher input voltage to charge a lower voltage battery.


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## mondakkid (Oct 17, 2006)

I have enjoyed reading the replies given on the solar panels. There is an old saying.."You get what you pay for". If you want to get a system built to do a small part of your energy needs, then this kind of PV should work out for us. In a few years there will be a track record that we can look at. The consumer will tell us by actual usage what types/brands work the best. I am not sure if I would want to invest #10,000.00 or less on a system with no track record. 
The best way is for us that do invest in certain brands and/or types is to keep good records and report on sites like HST. We need to learn from each other. 
I sure have learned a lot from you members.....keep up the good work..


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## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

For people like myself installing systems for customers we\I can be a bit gun shy with the flood of new PV's (mostly from chinnna) for warranty reasons.
You know the expression "Here today . .gone tomorrow" . . . . .
well what if there is a problem "tomorrow" . . . . .where do replacements come from . . .?!?!
Yes all of this new stuff and new company's with NO track record..........

For some one doing their own small home system, go ahead and gamble.


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## gwest (Oct 9, 2008)

Gary in ohio,
From what I know and have read and from the horses mouth them self most doctors come from just above the bottom of their class these days.


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## conscious (Jan 4, 2005)

Jim-mi said:


> In one of my trade journals this last couple weeks was a very good write up about these "under a buck" panels. Seems there is the grade A & B cells.
> The A's of course go into the *The Best* panels.
> One company admitted that to get their new equipment up and running, they bought and assembled many many "B" grade panels.
> Of course some body bought them up and are peddling them.
> ...


Not always. Sorry to get off on a tangent but I remember when my brother brought his $300 Dewalt compressor over to help me roof my house. The Dewalt wouldn't start so (he said it was cold..well so was mine) I pulled out my Harbor Freight $80 pancake compressor and did the whole job with it. AAMOF I'm still using it regularly 2 1/2 years later. Same with my $75 miter saw....built my whole homestead with it and still going strong. To be honest, if I would have had $5000 for tools in my budget, I would have went with Dewalt or Milwaukee tools.


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