Have you been waiting for PV panels prices to drop?

[Xringer]

I see there is going to be a DC powered mini split heatpump (to be sold with PV panels), coming out this spring.
Should be interesting to see if they sell many.

Anyways, I use to have 3 large Novan hotwater collectors on the roof,
and I have some idea of the problems & expense of that type of system.

Using cheap PV panels seems like it might be better in my situation, since I want to use a backyard post mount.
And, I want to limit the amount of cash invested in the project.

I'm wondering if 240 watts / 819 BTU during the sunny part of the day
will do very much in the way of helping the oil bill.?.
That's $400 in panels and who knows what the shipping would be..

[Xringer]

Wow! Are these the 1st Dollar-a-watt panels??


Kaneka GSA-60 60 Watt Thin Film Panel - $58.80

This looks too good to be true!

I'm going to find out if this is a legit offer... I placed an order.

4 x Kaneka GSA-60 (Kaneka GSA-60) = $235.20
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $235.20
Freight Rate : $101.74
Sales Tax: $0.00
Total: $336.94

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Xringer

Wow! Are these the 1st Dollar-a-watt panels??

Kaneka GSA-60 60 Watt Thin Film Panel - $58.80

This looks too good to be true!

I'm going to find out if this is a legit offer... I placed an order.

4 x Kaneka GSA-60 (Kaneka GSA-60) = $235.20
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $235.20
Freight Rate : $101.74
Sales Tax: $0.00
Total: $336.94

Hmm, now how do I get one or two of those to charge my 48v battery pack on my electric? 90v seems rather high as does 67v.

Perhaps the 72v bat pack would handle it fine on the Comuta

Any suggestions? Those are cheap enough that a rooftop set might have a reasonable payback period, I wonder where I can find a gray market line matcher so I can simply dump current in and just keep the array smaller than usage so no reverse metering BS. It would appear a pair of those arrays would get to the 120v required to dump back in efficiently.

Any ideas, I am tempted to buy one, the only cheaper ones aren't out yet that supposedly will run day and night on both visible & IR and are printed.

[Xringer]

Sorry, but the minimum order is (4) units. I was going to order 6, since they are so cheap, but my dish mount might not hold that much load.. Just 4 of them weight about 120 pounds.

I think they might have over 1,000 of them in stock.. But not for long..

[WisJim]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

Hmm, now how do I get one or two of those to charge my 48v battery pack on my electric? 90v seems rather high as does 67v.

Peak power is at the 67v point, and 48 volt batteries need about 60+ volts to fully charge. 12v PV panels typically have a peak power voltage of 16 volts or more. One thing to do is use a MPPT charge controller such as an Outback MX60 which will accept a higher voltage from the PVs to charge a lower voltage battery.

[Xringer]

I'm thinking of using a 75 ohm load resistor, and four panels in parallel, to heat hot water.
I'm wondering if we will even notice 819 BTUh.?. But it would make for a low parts count.

[linear00]

Thanks for the dollar per watt panels tip . I was wondering what the frames are made of and if these panels are covered with tempered glass. thanks

[Xringer]

I looked up the specs a while back and these are good quality Japanese made panels.
The frames are anodized aluminum and I forget about the glass. All the info and specs are on the web.

The draw backs is the lower power per square foot and the higher voltage.
But, at under a buck per watt, I think I can still use them.

Here's a guy running 18 of them.
- What PV Power are you getting - Keep it coming! - Energy Matters Forum

[Xringer]

Never mind.. It was too good to be true..
They canceled my order, sent me a phone number to call,
then more than doubled the shipping.
Now, the shipping is more than the panels..

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by Xringer

Never mind.. It was too good to be true..
They canceled my order, sent me a phone number to call,
then more than doubled the shipping.
Now, the shipping is more than the panels..

Anyone live right nearby one of their three locations in Fl, AZ or CA?

Perhaps state that you live by them and want to pick them up locally, a courier here on the boards might help remedy that old trick.