What do you think of the Sunpower panels?

[meerkat]

Not really. We are the country with the solar cell production machines. We have been in wars over oil back in 1991. But now I don't think the world would stand for another war over oil. I think finally they hung that guy who started the oil war. This is what I have been seeing. Technology in solar is at a racer's pace. Wind is pulling back because of all mechanical problems. Hydrokinetics is just getting off the ground and the price of solar is not going down. What you are seeing are end of stock prices. Sell offs from poorly funded solar panel companies. The race is on for the most effiencent solar cells. This will leave the printed cells in the dust. The biggest push I have seen with the National Science Foundation and Concerned Scientist is concerns with the climate. Solar panels or what they do is important to the future of mankind and our echo systems. I just hope carbon does not win. Today the United States Government will be voting on a big carbon issue. If this vote is a go "Solar will drive our future". Solar PV and solar thermal.

Ok, thats good to know . Guess everythings going global . I doubt price will go down anytime soon.

[Off Grid Solar]

There is something wrong with your math. In one square meter should be 1,000 watts at 68 degrees F. in direct sun. Logic dictates that a 210 watt solar panel would have to be 39" by 39" and that is only 21% effiency. A solar panel that is 90% should put out 900 watts a meter at 68 degrees F. I think your figures are real wrong.

[MarineLiner]

So called 210w panel is 210w

... a comparison on their effeciency based on there 210W or 215W panels:
Sanyo 92.84%
SunPower 92.32%
Evergreen 90.38%
Suntech 90%
Mitsubishi 88.91%
Sharp 88.19%
Kyocera 87.9%
I was debating between Sanyo and SunPower and have determined that Sanyo is not only more effecient but performs better at high temperature, producing 10% or more electricty (kWh) its STC rating.
... but realistically speaking it would cost about the same price ...

There is something wrong with your math. In one square meter should be 1,000 watts at 68 degrees F. in direct sun. Logic dictates that a 210 watt solar panel would have to be 39" by 39" and that is only 21% effiency. A solar panel that is 90% should put out 900 watts a meter at 68 degrees F. I think your figures are real wrong.

[Cybernerdz]

I apologize for the confusion. I was referring to efficiency of actual produced kWh of the module over its template rating. I'm sure efficiency in harvesting the sun to actual usable energy would be directly relevant or even be a more accurate measurement of its efficiency. Im new to this and still learning the right terminology. Thanks though for the correction...

Relating to this measurement, using the specs of the Sanyo HIT 215N:
* 215 kWh (92.84%= 199.606 kWh)
* 2.62' X 5.18' = 1.799m X 1.5789m = 1.26 square meter
= 199.606 / 1.26
= 158.42 kWh / 1 square meter

Which is about 15.84%

Yes, no, maybe

[Off Grid Solar]

I have looked at all solar panels because of my R&D background. I have found that Ever Green has one of the best solar panels available today. Ever Green's R&D is one of the best in the world. Their products to me are quality, and one of the most reliable solar panels available. Their marketing need improvement and their support after the sale could be improved but all and all Ever Green's products are above the rest for quality.

[JustinSolarGuy]

Off grid is right. Dont buy sanyo. You will pay way too much. They use confusing math and try to convince you that you will save because you need less panels. A bunch of crap. Your intuition was right on comparing STC to PTC so you can see that if you buy 200 watts of evergreen you get 180 watts. For about $2.75 per watt (STC). If you buy 200 watts of SANYO you get 183 or something... 2 or 3 more watts but you will pay prob $100 more for that panel. That's an expensive 2 or 3 watts. It doesn't add up. The only savings would be in racking and in roof space. Both of which are usually pretty cheap. If you really want 200 more watts on a confined roof, then look at sanyo but you WILL overpay.


Also others have said it too but...
The word Efficiency doesn't belong anywhere in the discussion of STC vs PTC

[DC Battery Specialists]

what about these solar panels?

http://www.advancedsolarphotonics.com/solar-panels-asp-250w.html

[JustinSolarGuy]

I have never heard of the brand. I havent seen them in person. My questions would be what is the warranty, what is their CEC PTC rating vs their STC rating. How much per watt. What is the open circuit voltage. Lately I am liking lower OC voltage so I can just use one or two large strings. I didnt see any of this information on their website So I am concerned. Also is their efficiency at least something around 13-15%. Are they thin film? They are american made. Thats a good thing in my book.

[DC Battery Specialists]

I don't know if you saw their specifications on their 250 w panel. They go for around 3.40/watt and are mono-crystaline panels. here are the specs.

Rated Power (Pmax) 237 W
Maximum Power Voltage (Vpm) 30.29 V
Maximum Power Current (Ipm) 7.99 A
Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) 37.68 V
Short Circuit Current (Isc) 8.57 A
Temperature Coefficient: Pmax -0.4% / oC
Temperature Coefficient: Voc -2.1 mV / oC
Temperature Coefficient: Isc 2.5 mA / oC
NOCT 44 oC
CEC PTC Rating 226 W
Cell Efficiency 17.2%
Watts per Ft.2 13.43 W
Maximum System Voltage 1000 V
Series Fuse Rating 20 A
Warranted Tolerance (+/-) -0% / +10%

[JustinSolarGuy]

Thats a high cell efficiency and a good PTC. Plus they have a good warranty and their efficiency is rated at from nameplat to plus 10 not plus or minus 5. I called them and was quoted a bit more competitive price than that. They sound pretty good to me. I might even give them a try. Kind of a higher oc voltage but for many systems that shouldn't be a problem.

[Roddick]

Sun Power just has the most effecient on the market which in no ways means the best. Sun Power biggest problem is exclusive dealership and installation. If you sale or install their products, Sun Power panels are the only ones you are allowed to sell/install by contract. This means the most expensive in most cases. IMO you want to find a dealer/installer who has no such restrictions and can use any of the above panels.

[JustinSolarGuy]

I agree, this is a problem I try to point out to my customers. If you sell sunpower you no longer have the ability to try to design a system using the components that will best suit that installation. Maybe in a few applications the sunpower modules will be good, and maybe some people want to pay extra for the "brand" because they have heard the name. But in most cases they aren't the best solution however your hands are tied if you are an installer of their product. I thought about trying to become a dealer then realized that I would have to have quite a convincing sales pitch, stretching the truth, to sell these to most of my customers. I really don't want to do that.

[solar_geoff]

I think Sunpower modules are some of the best looking on the market today (well the black ones anyway - the white ones are the worst possible looking), and even though they are on the upper end of the efficiency scale, I don't think they are really worth the money. I think these modules are strictly marketed toward people who are more concerned with aesthetics than good system design priciples and maximizing production. Usually when we sell a Sunpower system, the customer just wants to pay extra for a prettier system. I definitely prefer black finish on modules and racking, but there are so many other black framed modules around for a lot less $$ and I don't like positive grounding... Sunpower also "wants" you to use their brand of inverters (which are really made by SMA or Xantrax) which is stupid.

As I have said in previous posts, I believe that $$/Watt should be one of your main determinants in choosing a module (assuming you are purchasing quality eqipment aka a well known brand), and I agree with the previous posters who have mentioned the new Evergreen products. They are one of the cheaper modules around... I have used the FA2 and FA3 series and they are great (quality and performance), and look good in black!

Another poster mentioned Sanyos as not very good for the extra money vs. Evergreen... I somewhat agree, although we have seen from the field systems with Sanyo modules making a lot better production in low light conditions. Off hand I don't have the data to back this up, but we have seen a lot of Sanyo systems in coastal areas doing really well on totally socked in foggy days. They also have certain applications where they are well suited, such as small strings in various orientations - Evergreen FA2/FA3 have very large string sizes. You are right that they aren't the cheapest, but they are fairly competetive on price (as I am told by our sales reps) and sometimes they are a good choice, and good Sunpower alternative just like Evergreens. I think that choosing the right module for your application is sometimes just as important as $$/Watt.

[JustinSolarGuy]

Do you have a good line on Sanyo Modules? I haven't been able to find them for anywhere near the price of evergreens. I would love to have them in my hip pocket for those customers sold on efficiency. I saw their product at the Solar power International in San Diego last year and they look killer and seem like they are really well made. But none of my suppliers can get them... at least not at a price that makes any sense for me.

[adoublee]

Best Module(s)

I really appreciate those contributing to this forum and was wondering if anyone would have an opinion on the best $/watt meeting the following criteria on a roof with somewhat limited southern exposed physical space (lots of east/west exposure space, but it looks like this is about a 25% annual production hit):

1) Black frame
2) Made in the US
3) Enphase micro-inveter compatible

This seems to really limit my options. From what I've come up with, it seems to be a 180W Suntech. If I were to relax any criteria, it would be made int he US (opening up pricey Sanyo?) Again, I appreciate your input.