Sunpreme panel questions

[solar123]

I wanted to see if anyone had experience with Sunpreme panels. I am trying to choose between two systems for my house. They are both about 4.6KW. One is with Sunpreme panels and the other is with SunPower. The Sunpreme system is about $2K cheaper. I hesitate to go with the Sunpreme because it is such a new company and I cannot find that much information about customer experiences with the company's panels. Does anyone have any opinions on Sunpreme panels, either pro or con? Does anyone know how Sunpreme is doing financially? Are their panels getting traction in the market?

I was also wondering how much additional power I should expect from the back of the Sunpreme panels since they are bifacial. I have a dark grey composition shingle roof so I do not expect to get much. They say the max possible is 20% so would I expect to get 5%? or 0%?

[sensij]

You'll find that high quality systems with the same DC rating will produce about the same amount of AC power under similar irradiance. Whether you build your 4.6 kW array with Sunpower, Sunpreme, or a less expensive panel like Canadian Solar, you will be probably be creating the same amount of energy.

The ability for bifacial panels to produce backside power can help in some installations designed to take advantage of it, but the amount of boost you'll get on a flush mounted array with a non-reflective background is probably insignificant. See some discussion in this thread:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?20132-Creeping-invasion-of-LG-bifacial-panels-is-it-happening-What-does-it-mean/

A forum member is in the process of installing Sunpreme panels as an experiment to see some real-world data:

http://kegel.com/energy/solar/retrofit2/

Another forum member had a Sunpreme array installed several months ago, but didn't stick around long enough to share his data.

[Naptown]

You'll find that high quality systems with the same DC rating will produce about the same amount of AC power under similar irradiance. Whether you build your 4.6 kW array with Sunpower, Sunpreme, or a less expensive panel like Canadian Solar, you will be probably be creating the same amount of energy.

The ability for bifacial panels to produce backside power can help in some installations designed to take advantage of it, but the amount of boost you'll get on a flush mounted array with a non-reflective background is probably insignificant. See some discussion in this thread:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?20132-Creeping-invasion-of-LG-bifacial-panels-is-it-happening-What-does-it-mean/

A forum member is in the process of installing Sunpreme panels as an experiment to see some real-world data:

http://kegel.com/energy/solar/retrofit2/

Another forum member had a Sunpreme array installed several months ago, but didn't stick around long enough to share his data.

What he said very well.
In your instance you may not see the advantages of the bifacial.
Sunpower is a known quality product however a bit pricy in this instance not that pricy in comparison.

[DanKegel]

What price per watt were the two quotes?

Flush mount I would expect near zero boost.

[solar123]

backside boost info

talked to sunpreme, they said the backside boost when flush mounted on a grey roof should be 5%, but take with a grain of salt since this is the manufacturer talking

the quote I am looking at is 4.75/W (sun power) versus 4.10/W (sunpreme)

[solar123]

need real world data

would be nice if we had some real world data on the backside boost from a sunpreme customer

[DanKegel]

I'm working on it (where "working on it" is defined as "still picking out the damn shingles for the reroof so we can install solar").

In Los Angeles recent quotes seem to be in range $3.25-$3.50/watt for LG305/LG320. What area are you in?

[solar123]

I am in San Jose. my prices above were before the federal tax credit. we're yours before or after?

the best LG quote I could get here so far is $4.50/W

[solar123]

all of my quotes are with solaredge dc optimizer

[DanKegel]

My $3.50 quote is before subsidy, with Solar Edge and LG305, in urban Los Angeles.

A $3.51/watt quote from last year in San Jose was mentioned elsewhere on this board: http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/archiv...p/t-18179.html

[solar123]

thanks for pointing me to this older thread, don't know why things are so expensive in the Bay Area compared to other parts of the country, must be labor costs and the affluence in the area, I am still working my quotes, hopefully I can knock them down a bit more

[SanDiego_installer]

I have never seen Sunpreme panels on a roof, but just last week saw them at a trade show. They are an unusual looking un-framed panel. Solar is an expensive purchase, so I wouldn't want to go with a young company selling a one off product. Keep looking for LG bids, and you should be able to beat the Sun Power quote by at least $0.50/Watt.