Solar PV - Save Money & Shrink Carbon Footprint - Page 8 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

boxtruck_camper · 11-12-2021, 02:20 PM

Sunpower will definitely stick around. They have a 40% profit margin for the whole company. They are considered the best panels and they will degrade much more slowly than other panels will.

Popping in here to just say that I'm into solar a lot. If anyone here wants to do it, let me know and I'll show you what I think is the best price. In the past year, installation has gotten a lot easier, especially if you wanted to go off grid. Prices are cheap if you know where to shop. It obviously depends on if your home is set up to not have shade on your roof, but if you have a large enough yard then you can do ground mounted panels as well. I personally like ground mounts because it essentially is a patio.

freebeard · 11-12-2021, 06:17 PM

Dirt Cheap Used Solar Panels: 250W for $50 + Shipping

The Tech Ingredients folk are promising to look at thermal/photo-electric hybrids.

Should You Really Use Solar Panels?

boxtruck_camper · 11-12-2021, 10:01 PM

Yup! Those panels are a good place. There are some to be found on craigslist too if you are willing to drive to pick them up yourself. I also like signature solar. Will Prowse has a good video recently explaining a simple and cost effective off grid set up. I'm going to use it on my box truck. I'll probably get six 380w panels from a company in northern Indiana and then have them with one layer on top of the other where they slide out so that all six will show. They are doing theirs for $165 which isn't as good as $50 for 250w but those are used and they also have the shipping cost, whereas these are local enough to me where I can drive and pick them up. Only other thing I would consider is that I saw some used sunpower panels in kentucky for $145. Those were 435 watt, so it is tempting, but probably not worth the extra drive (If I were doing a house, then yeah because degradation would be a bigger deal, but since I'm modding a 2005 box truck, I think the 380w will be fine... but now I'm reconsidering seeing what the shipping price would be for the santan solar ones.)

I really like tech ingredients, but idk that video felt a little meh. Like yeah I could use that and I would if I were focused on heating like a pool, but he is a well connected person who has access to those parts cheaply and he has the ability to fix it and problem solve it. The whole thing about panels being subsidized is kind of true, but even without subsidies, he could have gotten a used panel (like you linked) at a cheaper price and at 2250 sq inches like in the video, that 250w used panel is a smaller sq in still, but at 250w instead of 100w. Big difference.

Then he said the difference between the 100w and the water was 17% and then he said the PV increased the water by 4º and the thermal increased it by 5-6º. If you add the 17% difference, that is almost 5º and then if you consider the 250w instead of the 100w, assuming that using a 250w is 2.5 better than a 100w, then we would get a 10º vs a 5-6º increase. So I could make the same video but arguing for PV (but I wouldn't sound as smart haha). That being said, I really like his channel. I just really like solar panels for electricity and I have no experience with the thermal ones.