Solar panels

[ammklq143]

Does anyone have suggestions as to what brands of solar panels to install? I am looking at doing something at my own home as a pilot project to see if there's a market for them in my area. The electrical inspector told me that he's seeing a lot of them without the big converter boxes and most convert to AC right at the panel itself and bring 120/240 via cord into the mechanical room. I would appreciate any input on what brands people are using and having good luck with. Thanks.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Does anyone have suggestions as to what brands of solar panels to install? I am looking at doing something at my own home as a pilot project to see if there's a market for them in my area. The electrical inspector told me that he's seeing a lot of them without the big converter boxes and most convert to AC right at the panel itself and bring 120/240 via cord into the mechanical room. I would appreciate any input on what brands people are using and having good luck with. Thanks.

I don't pay much attention to the brand, but what the inspector is talking about is an Enphase panel. They contain micro inverters so you don't have that big one on the side of the house. The other advantage to them is that with a regular system if you shade 10% of a panel you lose 10% output on the entire system. With the Enphase if you shade 10% of a panel you only lose 10% of the output of that panel. They cost a little more, but they are great for places where you cannot avoid having some shading.

Also make sure that you talk to someone who knows how and when to install a system. If your bill is only $120 a month it may not be worth it, because a system can cost $20K or more to buy and that's gonna take a long time to pay off. It may be a lot cheaper if you're doing the install yourself.

 

[mlnk]

Enphase is not a solar panel, but an inverter that installs under each panel. Each Enphase unit costs about $200. Plus add $340 for one hardware device so you can see the output of each panel on your computer.
For 15 panels that is about $3500 vs. one large inverter that costs 1200 to 2500
All these big and small inverters will eventually fail. My large inverter cost $3000 and lasted only 8 years. The new one cost 1300 and is "guaranteed" for 10 years.

 

[cowboyjwc]

My bad, I did say Enphase panels.:blink:

 

[jaggedben]

Inverter choice is more important than panel choice. The following are reputable inverter brands (in no particular order):

SMA
Power-One (Aurora)
Fronius
Kaco (Blueplanet)

Micro inverters:
Enphase, Solarbridge

Off-grid stuff: Outback, Midnite Solar

There are a few other legit brands, most less suited to residential, and quite a few non-legit ones.

Enphase is indeed used on some panels marketed as AC panels (whether they fit the NEC definition being up to your AHJ). The price that mlnk quoted for Enphase is a bit high, you can get them for less.

 

[jaggedben]

PS: As far as panel brands, many of us would recommend established industrials such as Sharp, Kyocera, Sanyo, etc. But there are plenty of other brands, even some of the cheaper Chinese ones, that seem to be just as good. Pay attention to cell count, you should probably be using 60 cell panels in the 240W-265W range.

Feel free to ask if you are interested in a specific brand.