Starter kit?

Xringer · 12-04-09, 01:07 PM

https://www.solarblvd.com/index.php

Your shopping cart contains:

Sunwize SW175 Watt 24 Volt Solar Panel MC3 $478.75

Enphase Micro-Inverter M190-72-240-S11, MC3 $192.57

Sub-total: $ 671.32
excl. Shipping costs

What do you guys think?? Good deal or not?

Thanks,
Rich

Xringer · 12-13-09, 09:32 AM

Found a complete 'starter' kit on Ebay.
Solar Panel System w/ Enphase Inverters & Racking - eBay (item 270497179210 end time Dec-13-09 11:06:33 PST)

Just got an email from the seller, Free shipping..

Seems like a very reasonable price.. But the dealer only has one reference..

Edit:
Found the website:
PV Packaged Systems - DIY solar kits

Daox · 12-13-09, 10:08 AM

Its cheaper than the Lowes panel. I think that one was 175W and they were asking upwards of $900?

Ryland · 12-13-09, 10:14 AM

seems like a good price, but how is your site? what kind of mounting are you going to use?

Xringer · 12-13-09, 05:26 PM

I really like the completeness of the PV Packaged Systems kit. It's got about everything you might need.

And, I think 3 panels would be the perfect sized starter kit for me. (To offset my Sanyo heating bill).

However, my exact site is a dilemma.. My wife does not want panels on our recently re-shingled roof.
Years ago, we had 3 very large hot water collectors up there, and she never liked their looks..
She might be okay with the garage, (also recently re-shingled) but the garage has it's own problems.

1. It gets a lot of shade in the morning hours. And the shadow of the house falls on it, during the early evening.

2. I would need to dig a 10 foot long, 3 foot deep ditch for the conduit return to the house..

So, the house roof is the perfect spot. But, my wife thinks it's too pretty to cover up with panels.
When the hotwater panels were removed, the roof under them was like new.
So, there were three dark panel-Footprints left on the roof, for about 10 years. I think the panels were up there 15 to 17 years.

~~~
Anyways, I had an idea that I could avoid problems and just install a couple of panels on my old dish mount down in the back yard.
I could run the DC lines in with existing wiring to the dish and connect them to a DC buss inside my ham shack.
I would build my own mounting rack on the upper part of the dish mount, so it would be high enough that kids wouldn't be able to easily climb up on it.

I even have the start of a fake-grid idea of how to fool an Enphase inverter into thinking it's connected to the grid.
(APC Uninterruptible Power Supply / UPS).

During daylight hours, there are a few things in the house that I could power from a couple of panels.
And then switch them back to using the grid after the sun goes down..

12-04-09, 01:07 PM	#1
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Starter kit? https://www.solarblvd.com/index.php Your shopping cart contains: Sunwize SW175 Watt 24 Volt Solar Panel MC3 $478.75 Enphase Micro-Inverter M190-72-240-S11, MC3 $192.57 Sub-total: $ 671.32 excl. Shipping costs What do you guys think?? Good deal or not? Thanks, Rich Last edited by Xringer; 12-04-09 at 01:48 PM.. Reason: dang! MC4, not MC3!!

12-13-09, 09:32 AM	#2
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Found a complete 'starter' kit on Ebay. Solar Panel System w/ Enphase Inverters & Racking - eBay (item 270497179210 end time Dec-13-09 11:06:33 PST) Just got an email from the seller, Free shipping.. Seems like a very reasonable price.. But the dealer only has one reference.. Edit: Found the website: PV Packaged Systems - DIY solar kits Last edited by Xringer; 12-13-09 at 09:50 AM..

12-13-09, 10:08 AM	#3
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Its cheaper than the Lowes panel. I think that one was 175W and they were asking upwards of $900? __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

12-13-09, 05:26 PM	#5
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	My site? I really like the completeness of the PV Packaged Systems kit. It's got about everything you might need. And, I think 3 panels would be the perfect sized starter kit for me. (To offset my Sanyo heating bill). However, my exact site is a dilemma.. My wife does not want panels on our recently re-shingled roof. Years ago, we had 3 very large hot water collectors up there, and she never liked their looks.. She might be okay with the garage, (also recently re-shingled) but the garage has it's own problems. 1. It gets a lot of shade in the morning hours. And the shadow of the house falls on it, during the early evening. 2. I would need to dig a 10 foot long, 3 foot deep ditch for the conduit return to the house.. So, the house roof is the perfect spot. But, my wife thinks it's too pretty to cover up with panels. When the hotwater panels were removed, the roof under them was like new. So, there were three dark panel-Footprints left on the roof, for about 10 years. I think the panels were up there 15 to 17 years. ~~~ Anyways, I had an idea that I could avoid problems and just install a couple of panels on my old dish mount down in the back yard. I could run the DC lines in with existing wiring to the dish and connect them to a DC buss inside my ham shack. I would build my own mounting rack on the upper part of the dish mount, so it would be high enough that kids wouldn't be able to easily climb up on it. I even have the start of a fake-grid idea of how to fool an Enphase inverter into thinking it's connected to the grid. (APC Uninterruptible Power Supply / UPS). During daylight hours, there are a few things in the house that I could power from a couple of panels. And then switch them back to using the grid after the sun goes down..

12-13-09, 10:14 AM	#4
Ryland Master EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Wisconsin. Posts: 913 Thanks: 127 Thanked 82 Times in 71 Posts	seems like a good price, but how is your site? what kind of mounting are you going to use?