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  • jmturner73
    Junior Member
    • Jul 2015
    • 2

    Seeking Advice re: Recent SunPower Install

    Two weeks ago, a very reputable local company installed 56 SunPower Black 335 panels on the two SE facing roofs of our house. We were expecting that the panels making up the array would all have the same coloration -- instead, the panels appear noticeably different as you may be able to see in the photographs at this link.

    In direct sunlight, these variations are difficult to detect. These variations are also hard to see if viewing the panels at an oblique angle. But on a cloudy day, viewed our front yard, the variation is evident.

    Can other see these variations? We are uncertain if variation is typical (we opted to pay the premium for SunPower Black expecting there would not be such variation). Any advice/opinions/comments from people who have or are familiar with the SunPower Black 335 panels would be most helpful.

    Thanks in advance.

    JT
  • Naptown
    Solar Fanatic
    • Feb 2011
    • 6880

    #2
    Have a chat with your dealer and perhaps SunPower
    But differences in coloration can be expected. How much difference is really up to SunPower.
    NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

    [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

    [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

    [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

    Comment

    • tatumjonj
      Member
      • Apr 2015
      • 50

      #3
      I can see it but I'm not sure what you would do about that. It's not like it's one panel. It appear to affect most panels to some degree. Unless you could get somebody to hand pick 56 nearly identical panels, I'm not sure what the fix would be.

      Comment

      • Naptown
        Solar Fanatic
        • Feb 2011
        • 6880

        #4
        Probably none
        NABCEP certified Technical Sales Professional

        [URL="http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?5334-Solar-Off-Grid-Battery-Design"]http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showth...Battery-Design[/URL]

        [URL]http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html[/URL] (Voltage drop Calculator among others)

        [URL="http://www.gaisma.com"]www.gaisma.com[/URL]

        Comment

        • jmturner73
          Junior Member
          • Jul 2015
          • 2

          #5
          Seeking Advice re: Recent SunPower Install

          Thanks for the comments offered thus far. The SunPower dealer would like us to consider the installation acceptable. I posted to the forum in hopes of finding out whether such variation is typical of SunPower Black 335 installations. With that in mind, I'd still value the opinion of other homeowners/installers who have/install SunPower panels.

          Do you see any significant coloration differences from panel to panel on your installation? If you are an installer, do you typically find that SunPower 335 Blacks generally match, or do they often exhibit the panel to panel variation we are seeing?

          Thanks -- the opinions of others will be most helpful as we try and determine whether our installation is within spec, or if we have a reasonable concern to raise with our installer/SunPower.

          I have added some additional pics of our installation at this link:


          JT

          Comment

          • solarix
            Super Moderator
            • Apr 2015
            • 1415

            #6
            That's normal I'd say. Give it some time and it not be as noticeable.
            BSEE, R11, NABCEP, Chevy BoltEV, >3000kW installed

            Comment

            • wrongway
              Junior Member
              • Jan 2015
              • 2

              #7
              nice house and nice install.

              Comment

              • peakbagger
                Solar Fanatic
                • Jun 2010
                • 1561

                #8
                Looks to me like the installer could possibly mix and match the panels to minimize the contrast between adjacent ones. Realistically its a nice looking install and I expect you would be hard pressed to get anything in a court of law unless you had some very specific language in the contract. On the other hand it looks like moving a few panels around may help so the installer may work with you.

                Comment

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