215 watt panels for only 78 cents per watt!

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keydiver

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 5, 2011
Messages
1,080
Location
Hobe Sound, Florida
I just noticed that Sun Electronics is clearing out their Evergreen ES-E-210 and 215 watt panels for only 78 cents per watt! They also have LG Solar 220 watt panels for 88 cents/watt. Both are Polycrystalline I believe. If I hadn't just put together a bid for Canadian Solar 230 watt panels I would probably go for the Evergreens.
http://www.sunelec.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
The price isn't bad, If you are only doing 1 or two panels its okay as a DIY. You need to remember that setting up a Solar System is pretty dangerous as the typical string is set at 300-600 Volts DC power which is actually worse than AC which will blow you back DC will hold you and Fry you.

Thus, the reason that cities and counties require that you have a permit and it must be inspected by City and Utility before connecting to grid.
 
gregersonke said:
The price isn't bad, If you are only doing 1 or two panels its okay as a DIY. You need to remember that setting up a Solar System is pretty dangerous as the typical string is set at 300-600 Volts DC power which is actually worse than AC which will blow you back DC will hold you and Fry you.

Thus, the reason that cities and counties require that you have a permit and it must be inspected by City and Utility before connecting to grid.
On the other hand, a system using Outback Flexmate 60 or 80 MPPT charge controllers has a max open circuit voltage of 145VDC from the panels. The panel charging my 1kW lithium battery is only 18VDC open circuit.

Sunelec won a European auction on the 7th for 7 MW of Evergreen panels. They have a 20 panel minimum order for this special $0.78/W price.

http://www.sunelec.com/blog/renewab...-as-many-evergreen-modules-as-you-can-afford/
 
I just checked with a local solar installer and he indicated the reason for that is that Evergreen has gone bankrupt, so you won't really get any warranty with that. But still, at that price, if I could find a decent installer, I might consider it! Does anyone know a good solar installer in the Sacramento, CA area?

EDIT: Reading their pages more closely, and the related blog post, they say that THEY will honor the Evergreen warranty, so...
 
I've found an installer who will work with this and have secured financing to pay for it. Now, if only I can get through to someone there to place an order. They're slammed and selling out fast. Has anyone else got through?

EDIT: They just called me back and my reservation is placed! Yay...
 
They've got some panels left, and are selling in quantities smaller than 20. I bought my ten after today's 4pm 'deadline' and they were still $0.78/W.

Here's what's left as of close of business today:
Model/Remaining

ES-E-195-FC3/554
ES-E-195-FC3B/616
ES-E-200-FC3/699
ES-E-200-FC3B/656
ES-E-205-FC3B/1914
ES-E-210-FC3B/2444
ES-E-215-FC3/1460
ES-E-220-FC3/998
 
Nice and dandy except the look of panels leaves much to be desired. My wife plain refused to sign the install documents to have these "things" on HER roof.

Now she'll have to put up or shut up when DOW's Powerhouse Shingles hit the US market - which is sometime this coming spring.

Check them out before you get into "cheap" panels.
 
ILETRIC said:
Nice and dandy except the look of panels leaves much to be desired. My wife plain refused to sign the install documents to have these "things" on HER roof.

Now she'll have to put up or shut up when DOW's Powerhouse Shingles hit the US market - which is sometime this coming spring.

Check them out before you get into "cheap" panels.
What's the efficiency and price of the shingles? And how many connections are there to degrade between all the individual shingles?

The look? Really? Looks like freedom to me! :lol:
 
AndyH said:
ILETRIC said:
Nice and dandy except the look of panels leaves much to be desired. My wife plain refused to sign the install documents to have these "things" on HER roof.

Now she'll have to put up or shut up when DOW's Powerhouse Shingles hit the US market - which is sometime this coming spring.

Check them out before you get into "cheap" panels.
What's the efficiency and price of the shingles? And how many connections are there to degrade between all the individual shingles?

The look? Really? Looks like freedom to me! :lol:
I investigated shingles a while ago, and decided it was easier to keep the functions of power generation and roof function separate. Have been tempted to buy some solar panels at this deal and locate an installer who could install with inverters, but don't have enough personal expertise or time to ensure a good design. Likely, I am better off going with a local company to design and package when I am ready to proceed after the new roof is installed.
 
Google it Andy. You'll get all the answers you are looking for.

They DOW shingles look better than panels, any roofer can put them up (they are roofing tabs) and they are cheaper than panels because they have no Silicon. They are somewhat less efficient, all you have to do is add a few sq feet to get your number. I think I'll go for at least 8 kW system because I presume within 2-3 years I'll have not one but 2 hungry BEVs in my driveway using 60-80 kw a day. And that would cost me 700 bucks a month in electric bill. I have really no choice but getting solar. Plus I will have to charge them alternately without regard to time of use which means day and night. Plus it is clean energy. No burning of any kind. Then I can say, I've done my part in this world. Independence and zero footprint! Sent Saudi Princes back to the desert (or Switzerland). And the Ayatollahs to rot in hell.

Now about that PG&E. What a rip! I have never known they had a 50 cent tier. Not impressed, PG&E! I am on time of use and it makes no frickin' difference charging at night. I have quickly learned that 46 kW a day translates into 400 bucks a month. I'm not bothering talking to them at this stage of the game. I'll just get my solar as soon as it rolls out. As they say...don't get mad, get even. Then...I hope to drive 2 cars for free -- the sooner the better.
 
ILETRIC said:
Google it Andy. You'll get all the answers you are looking for.
I have and will stick with Evergreen, thanks. ;)

ILETRIC said:
They DOW shingles look better than panels, any roofer can put them up (they are roofing tabs) and they are cheaper than panels because they have no Silicon. They are somewhat less efficient, all you have to do is add a few sq feet to get your number.
The'll look really bad on my metal roof. ;) And besides, silicon is...sand...one of the most available substances on the planet. Evergreen's string-ribbon process is VERY frugal with both silicon and energy to produce the solar cells.

Enjoy the solar install!
 
This is highly purified Silicon that is made only in 2 factories in the world, VERY expensive and used not only in solar applications but also in chip industry. There is barely enough of it to go around and it would make a great business to start a factory making the stuff.

Just like carbon fiber they're trying to make cars from, storng ultralight and also VERY expensive. And we have more Carbon than we ever need, right?

So, just because Silicon is everywhere means diddly squat. But you're right about metal roof. DOW Powerhouse shingles are designed to replace composite shingle roof.

Now let's make some green juice!
 
ILETRIC said:
This is highly purified Silicon that is made only in 2 factories in the world, VERY expensive and used not only in solar applications but also in chip industry.
Can you provide a link to the two sources of silicon please? I want to research company and see if I can find out how they have a stranglehold on the world's supply of wafers. Thanks!

I'd also like to 'sanity check' these claims:
http://mmoll.web.cern.ch/mmoll/links/silicon.htm
30+ possible suppliers
 
Andy, read all about Silicon here:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&gbv=2&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=1375l9626l0l11048l12l11l1l1l2l0l203l1092l3.5.1l9l0&rlz=1R2ADFA_enUS455&q=cache:VxAuBOZbbwYJ:http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/amorphous-silicon-solar-losing-the-shakeout/+amorphous+silicon&ct=clnk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Looks like the supply/demand is in a flux. Econmy, chip-makers, solar makers all mingle with the supply of the 2-3 kinds of Silicon. I've read about the shortage a few years back when the solar and chip people had to pay up to secure sufficient the supply. Times they're changing.
 
Good luck with the Evergreen, I'd make sure to keep a few around for replacements as warrantying them is a pain. Also, make sure whatever installer you use does a Site Audit first and gives you all the construction plans before installing on roof this way if you decide to upgrade later you have a set of plans that details out your previous construction and makes it a lot easier to repair when your inverter takes a dive (which it will). There are some that are better than others but even the best have tendencies to fail. We have a lot of data on this from the last 5 years.

Nice thing about SolarCity is that they are in a better position to upgrade the panels and inverters later when new tech comes out. They'll have the site audit information already in the system which cuts down the engineering time needed to upgrade your system cleanly.


As for the roof tile panels. If you are finding better prices, I'm curious where you are finding these better prices. I'm seeing 2-3 times the price of standard panels at the low end and 4 times at the high.
 
gregersonke said:
Good luck with the Evergreen, I'd make sure to keep a few around for replacements as warrantying them is a pain. Also, make sure whatever installer you use does a Site Audit first and gives you all the construction plans before installing on roof this way if you decide to upgrade later you have a set of plans that details out your previous construction and makes it a lot easier to repair when your inverter takes a dive (which it will). There are some that are better than others but even the best have tendencies to fail. We have a lot of data on this from the last 5 years.
Thanks Greg - good advice.

I got my first Evergreen panels about 10 years ago from Sunelec. Sunelec continues to have fantastic service, and the Evergreens are still at near rated power. I have zero concerns about either of these companies.

I have plans/diagrams already as I'm designing the system and will be installing it when I build the house. The central Outback inverter has an excellent track record and won't require moving any panels if it fails. This will be a passive solar/off grid building so the energy needs are very low, and each room will have a DC feed, so the house will still operate if the inverter goes down.

gregersonke said:
Nice thing about SolarCity is that they are in a better position to upgrade the panels and inverters later when new tech comes out. They'll have the site audit information already in the system which cuts down the engineering time needed to upgrade your system cleanly.
I'm glad you're happy with the company you work for! I'm pretty happy with my installer as well. :lol:
 
ILETRIC said:
Google it Andy. You'll get all the answers you are looking for.

They DOW shingles look better than panels, any roofer can put them up (they are roofing tabs) and they are cheaper than panels because they have no Silicon. They are somewhat less efficient, all you have to do is add a few sq feet to get your number. . . . . . . . . . . . snip
you can't "just add more sq feet" - if you're roof is facing the wrong way (south) or if you're out of roof area. So with less efficiency (maybe 10% in stead of 20%) AND non-ideal direction, you'd really be taking a hit.
 
hill said:
ILETRIC said:
Google it Andy. You'll get all the answers you are looking for.

They DOW shingles look better than panels, any roofer can put them up (they are roofing tabs) and they are cheaper than panels because they have no Silicon. They are somewhat less efficient, all you have to do is add a few sq feet to get your number. . . . . . . . . . . . snip
you can't "just add more sq feet" - if you're roof is facing the wrong way (south) or if you're out of roof area. So with less efficiency (maybe 10% in stead of 20%) AND non-ideal direction, you'd really be taking a hit.

If your roof is facing 340 sure, I could see the 20 percent drop. But you'll still get quite a bit of power generation even on something other than south as long as you got your tilt dialed in correctly you shouldn't see more than a 10 percent average production drop. Though, If you are setting up another plane in a different direction, I would do a separate string to prevent it from effecting your entire solar system.
 
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