Sunpower Panels and Positive Grounding

[aeridyne]

First Post, bit new to this, well totally new tbh I guess. Have been doing research for weeks and still feel like... well that I don't have a darn clue still really. But anyway, on to my burning question.

Which Sunpower panels do, and do not, require positive grounding? I've been searching all over for answers, contacted Sunpower themselves (spoiler alert, no help), and tried reaching out to installers (who mostly said gfys if I'm not doing a full install for you) in a pleasant manner, if they replied at all.

The panels I am mostly interested in pertaining to this question are the SPR-E20-327 models. (including the -COM and -LAM versions) I've been trying to find definitive answers on at the very least those panels and have found nothing factual. I do not wish to spend money on a system that does require positive grounding as all future equipment seems to be for negative, and eventually things like inverters need to be replaced. I have a million other questions but right now, I just need to answer this one, is the SPR-E20-327 a positive grounding required panel, or not.

(And if it doesn't, which I really hope that it doesn't because I like these panels otherwise, do they pair well with standard microinverters?)

This place seems like THE place to go for answers, hopefully I will have the ability to contribute in the future and have more knowledge.

[sensij]

Welcome to the forum!

Those panels do not require special grounding.

Pairing with microinverters can be challenging with Sunpower because of their higher operating voltage. Look close at the specs of the models you are considering.

From the installation instructions:
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[aeridyne]

Holy crap yes. Thank you Sensij. And thanks for the welcome

I assume that they "YY" could be any number in the "E" series, including the "E20". So it looks like from this that pretty much ANY panel in the P, E, or X series is indeed a regular negative grounded panel. Sweet. The SPR-E20-327 or SPR-E20-327-COM are definitely the ones I have in mind for my project so this is great news. I had found another document very similar to that one but for some reason it didn't have that nice little table there. I hope I'm reading that right before investing darn near everything I have into getting some of those E20-327s.

I do actually have ONE of the SPR-E20-327-COM panels physically in my possession, is there any way I could test it to be 100% sure? (I don't have any other equipment aside from a few nice multimeters.)

Also came across the newer Panasonic HIT N series panels that look really awesome too. The #1 reason I was interested in the Sunpower panels over the others was the long term durability and output guarantee, with degradation numbers as low as .25% per year and under, to me that is amazing and I could look forward to possibly never replacing the panels in my lifetime. Every other panel I've looked at had at the very best down to a .54% per year, the new Hanwa Q cells having that degradation value. (I really like their new split cell technology, looks very robust and the panel's overall durability other than LID looks amazing, very nice panels for sure.) So I think I've narrowed it down to either these Sunpower panels, or the new Panasonic HIT ones. I'll probably go with the Sunpowers though because I think I'll be able to get a few pallets of them cheaper, although I haven't been able to find them at any sites/stores I feel 100% confident in yet for around .60/watt. They both seem fair on durability, not great, looks like about 80mph wind max on either. One guy that seems reputable told me he could get the Sunpowers, and I might give him a shot at it unless I could find the Panasonics for a smokin good price that was less.

They seem to have very similar electrical properties as well for their rated voltage and current. Where I'd like to place them, and where I'd like to have the inverter etc are probably around 150ft distance apart. Not sure if I should use optimizers (I expect there will probably be at least a little shade occasionally) or micros with either of these, or like, pretty much anything else, I have no idea really, heh.

[george104284]

First time poster, I too was looking at the SPR-E20-327 / PR-E20-327-COM models. Where do you plan on ordering them from? They seem quite expensive on the sites I've been on.

Cheers!

[J.P.M.]

First time poster, I too was looking at the SPR-E20-327 / PR-E20-327-COM models. Where do you plan on ordering them from? They seem quite expensive on the sites I've been on.

Cheers!

You can buy them as part of a turnkey system.

Sunpower will not sell directly to the end user, unless that user is a Sunpower dealer.

A more important question might be, Why would you want Sunpower panels in the first place ?

In spite of the Sunpower hype, and writing as one who owns a S.P. system, other, equally fit for purpose, equally robust and equally reliable equipment can be had for substantially less $$.

Spend your money on conservation efforts first. You'll be more comfortable and richer for having and keeping energy use priorities in the right order.