Used panels

hermitdave

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Aug 12, 2018
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Has anyone ever considered getting used panels? I know that there is a degradation over time though not sure how much.

Saw a 53 panel pallet on eBay for 2k (spec rating 230W) wondered if it was any good.

Plan is to have North + South in parallel and another with East + West. Shove them on all sides.
South = x kWh
North = 0.5 x kWh
East = West = 0.7 x kWh

What do you lot reckon?
 
All my panels are used mainly 195 & 190w Yep definitely down on power but they are free or very cheap around these parts. Have another 3kwh to go up and picking another 14kwh up next week. NO roof space for that many more but i'm sure i'll find a use for them.
 
I would have no hesitation buying used panels...
 
There are some companies that take down panels from businesses as those businesses will upgrade/replace their panels quite often. Or if a building is being torn down, etc, etc.
We have some here in the States that do that and it's a booming business.

They have used panels as low as $0.20/watt.
http://sunelec.com/solar-panels/
They are in south Fl, so when I plan on getting some panels, I can just a day to drive down there and pick up a load.

In the UK, try asking solar companies if they have used panels for sale.
 
Korishan said:
There are some companies that take down panels from businesses as those businesses will upgrade/replace their panels quite often. Or if a building is being torn down, etc, etc.
We have some here in the States that do that and it's a booming business.

They have used panels as low as $0.20/watt.
http://sunelec.com/solar-panels/
They are in south Fl, so when I plan on getting some panels, I can just a day to drive down there and pick up a load.

In the UK, try asking solar companies if they have used panels for sale.

Thats an excellent idea. I believe this are not any more expensive. Coming to 16p/watt
 
I would buy used here but the used panes are the same price as new so not worth it where i live.

Just make sure to calculate their estimated lifespan left and power they will output. (The manufacturer have these numbers) and make sure the life left is worth the cost.
 
I just bought on ebay.com a 'left over pallet' of new Hyundai panels for $139/285w including shipping. These have 25yr linear power > 80% guarantee and are 'middle+ quality' per reviews I read. I also considered used (which would have been OK) but they were 250w and only $20/panel cheaper. If you can be patient and monitor ebay etc... seems like you should be able to get 250-285w for $130/panel range based on my recent experience.
 
130 is quite alot... In Sweden we can get them as low as 90 now :p
 
daromer said:
I would buy used here but the used panes are the same price as new so not worth it where i live.

Just make sure to calculate their estimated lifespan left and power they will output. (The manufacturer have these numbers) and make sure the life left is worth the cost.

Excellent point. Let me contact the seller about estimated life. These come to 37 a panel.
 
I saw somewhere here about putting the flir on them when they jjare warm and the dodgy ones show up warmer. If you have real estate and cheap mountings and it sucks load, free is good. I live in a small house in cbd and quality and output are vital but if i had land or factory roof, free is economical.
 
Another trick you can do, is to actually apply a slight voltage to the panels. This will actually make them emit infrared light and you can see where there are cracks if there are any. I just learned this over the past few days. If you take an old camera (no need to modify a new one if you don't have to) and remove the IR filter. The camera will now pickup IR light and display it.
 
Over 2/3 of my system is 2nd hand panels, running microinverters so no need to match them as they all generate as individuals. String system wouldnt work for us as roof shape is a bit odd, 52 panels spread over 9 different faces.
Also have another 12 panels wire 4P 3S to run a DC swimming pool pump with its ownMPPT, the pool pump is one of my favourite projects, as cool as storage is I like the idea of synchronising use with generation as much as possible.
 
daromer said:
I would buy used here but the used panes are the same price as new so not worth it where i live.

Just make sure to calculate their estimated lifespan left and power they will output. (The manufacturer have these numbers) and make sure the life left is worth the cost.

Thought I replied earlier but here you go. The panels have been used between 2-4 years.
Trinasolar mention 25 year linear degradation to 80% so it would seen that they are still around 95% capacity.
 
I managed to purchase 18 used 250w panels with some mounting hardware and 4.5kw inverter for $200 a few weeks ago.
Another bargain came up last weekend which I could not resist. I got 11x195w panels with some mounting hardware for $50
All up 6645w for $250.
If they don't perform quite "as new" it will not worry me too much :)
For those elsewhere in the world, I am in Australia. We have had subsidies/incentives to install solar for quite a while. The rules have changed over time, so there are plenty of people taking out systems that are a few years old and they are putting in bigger new systems. This means there are quite a few people selling panels that are still good. Because they are being compared the the new system prices which are subsidised and there are a lot of second hand panels available, they are pretty cheap. Then some people just want someone to come and take the old stuff away, so they don't want much at all for the old stuff.
You can get 6.6kw of panels with a 5kw inverter brand new for about AU$3500 installed.
 
Oz18650 said:
I managed to purchase 18 used 250w panels with some mounting hardware and 4.5kw inverter for $200 a few weeks ago.
Another bargain came up last weekend which I could not resist. I got 11x195w panels with some mounting hardware for $50
All up 6645w for $250.
If they don't perform quite "as new" it will not worry me too much :)

That's bloody good. I suppose those getting rid of it had higher expectations.
 
hermitdave said:
Oz18650 said:
I managed to purchase 18 used 250w panels with some mounting hardware and 4.5kw inverter for $200 a few weeks ago.
Another bargain came up last weekend which I could not resist. I got 11x195w panels with some mounting hardware for $50
All up 6645w for $250.
If they don't perform quite "as new" it will not worry me too much :)

That's bloody good. I suppose those getting rid of it had higher expectations.
I did not haggle at all. The prices were what was asked and I accepted happily.
Both sales were really more about the old stuff going, rather than making money on the items.
The second seller was also interested in cutting down the cost of his electric hot water heater, so I gave him some pointers on solar hot water, so he was very happy.
 
When you upgrade the installers dont want to intergrate the old panels so they just chuck new ones up. Replace 190 with 280. The ones I found were in the street for recycling. The owner came out and told me they had earth leakage problems. He said the installer claimed them on insurance and dont try to complain to trina as they were written off. What a load of malarky.
 
camthecam said:
When you upgrade the installers dont want to intergrate the old panels so they just chuck new ones up. Replace 190 with 280. The ones I found were in the street for recycling. The owner came out and told me they had earth leakage problems. He said the installer claimed them on insurance and dont try to complain to trina as they were written off. What a load of malarky.

I think that the installers actually can not integrate the old systems with the new.
I think you can only have a 5kw inverter on a single phase, then you can only have 6.6kw of panels on a 5kw inverter.
 
Oz18650 said:
camthecam said:
When you upgrade the installers dont want to intergrate the old panels so they just chuck new ones up. Replace 190 with 280. The ones I found were in the street for recycling. The owner came out and told me they had earth leakage problems. He said the installer claimed them on insurance and dont try to complain to trina as they were written off. What a load of malarky.

I think that the installers actually can not integrate the old systems with the new.
I think you can only have a 5kw inverter on a single phase, then you can only have 6.6kw of panels on a 5kw inverter.

Inverters like Mpp solar support 9x 4-5kw inverters on single phase.

Average UK home has a 100A 250VAC connection. I'm personal thinking of 2x 5kw eventually
 
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