Current PV panel prices

zeupater

pmpm wrote: »

Finally after so much reading and quotes I have placed my order for schuco 3.995 system for my roof. My installer has asked me if I want to get 3.995kw Sanyo hybrid panels for £1000 more. Do you guys think that it's worth spending £1000 more on sanyo hybrid. he says that because they are hybrid they work better in both low and bright light. I don't know how much of that is true but somebody experienced here might be able to help me out. Thanks

Hi

Download the Sunny Design software from the SMA site (http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-design.html) and feed your system details into it using the SB4000TL inverter .... you can then quickly see what difference the different panels make to the annual generation .......

HTH
Z

stoozey

pmpm wrote: »

£12050 for Schuco 235 (17panels) so that makes it 3.995 kw with sma sunnyboy 400TL inverter
£1000 more for sanyo 235 HIT HDe4 panels (17panels) with same inverter.

not a bad price, certainly wouldn't want to be any higher.

pmpm

zeupater wrote: »

Hi

Download the Sunny Design software from the SMA site (http://www.sma.de/en/products/software/sunny-design.html) and feed your system details into it using the SB4000TL inverter .... you can then quickly see what difference the different panels make to the annual generation .......

HTH
Z

I know about this software. Problem is my PC is not working and it doesn't install on mac!!

pmpm

stoozey wrote: »

not a bad price, certainly wouldn't want to be any higher.

I agree about the prices. It was after so much of haggling with prices. But is it worth spending £1000 more for sanyo hybrid?

stoozey

how many more KWH per year will they produce ? Then do the math on payback.

pmpm

I somehow managed to install the software and ran the calculations. It states sanyo system will produce 43 units more than Schuco in a year. That's equivalent to only £19. It's hard to believe but Obviously if that's true then it's definitely not worth spending £1000 more on sanyo.

now those of you who had solar panels for sometime - do you think these calculations on sma software are reliable enough??

stoozey

it would have to be 100's of KWH more before i would look at it.

zeupater

pmpm wrote: »

I somehow managed to install the software and ran the calculations. It states sanyo system will produce 43 units more than Schuco in a year. That's equivalent to only £19. It's hard to believe but Obviously if that's true then it's definitely not worth spending £1000 more on sanyo.

now those of you who had solar panels for sometime - do you think these calculations on sma software are reliable enough??

Hi

I recognise your quandary, I went through exactly the same. To help ...... I looked at Shueco panels and Sanyo, and chose to go for neither for very different reasons.

The Sanyo panels look extremely good, one of the nicest looking panels around, however, they were very much more expensive at the time. Looking at the spec sheets I became a little wary of the claims of superior performance when I realised that the tests results were for panel v panel on one day in one location ("Kobe (Japan), 24. July 2009,faced to south, tilt angle 30°") against unnamed opposition, with no details of relative panel tolerance v nominal. Comparison of top tolerance v bottom tolerance panels from the same manufacturer and model can have a difference of 15% ......

The Shueco panels quoted were polycrystalline 215W units, looked to be well made, although a little blue when I saw one, the tolerance band was very tight. I preferred the look of monocrystalline panels, and my better half didn't like the colour compared to what we finally decided on ..... apart from that the installer was useless at answering any queries, so didn't make the shortlist.

Sorry I can't help any more than that .... my preferences were on my own personal basis and for the above reasons excluded both makes, but I reckon that if you were to compare a batch of top tolerance panels from almost any other decent manufacturer against a batch of standard tolerance hybrid Sanyos you would get better figures .... I'd stick with the figures that the SMA software provides and made a decision purely on asthetics v cost.

HTH
Z

thenudeone

zeupater wrote: »

Download the Sunny Design software from the SMA site

Fronius do something very similar called Fronius solar.configurator.

tartanterra

keith_r59 wrote: »

I would be very surprised if a domestic installation will add a 4000 kg load to your roof especially as a single panel only weighs about 20 kg.

I meant 300 - 400kg, not 300 - 4000kg; a slip of the finger.
Have now ammended the post.

Point still stands though. You may be surprised to hear that all panels are not a standard weight. Also you can't just glue them onto a roof. They require a mounting system (i.e. steel mounting brackets, coachbolts, aluminium mounting bars etc.).