Thread: Buying panels
View Single Post
Old 11-03-19, 04:22 PM   #4
where2
DIY Geek
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Sunny Florida
Posts: 401
Thanks: 74
Thanked 83 Times in 73 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mab View Post
I realize it is an open ended question.
I don't know if there is really any difference in panels (Canadian solar, etc).
Poly vs Mono?

Does it really come down to price and wattage?
Basically, yes IMHO, it really does boil down to price, # of cells, and wattage. My poly's have been collecting sunshine for 6+ years. I think the last pallet of panels I bought are mono's.

Future warranty on panels is a roll of the dice. Do you think the manufacturer will still be in business? If the manufacturer uses a 3rd party insurer, will you be able to locate the third party insurer if the need arises? I don't envision the manufacturers keeping warehouses full of "new" panels around in the event that a manufacturing defect arises in 10 years. Even a 3rd party insurer is not going to have a warehouse full of panels to "send me another" in the event a defect arises down the road. So, like all insurance, the devil is in the details and terms of the policy and how it is written.

There are sometimes minor efficiency improvements between seemingly equivalent panels of equivalent wattage. If the more efficient panel is 30% more expensive than the "standard" panel, now you know what the extra efficiency costs, and does it make ANY sense to spend the extra $$ on more efficient panels if you could just add one or two additional "standard" panels and get the same energy output in a year?
where2 is offline   Reply With Quote