What do you think of the Sunpower panels?

[JustinSolarGuy]

I just used 200 watt Evergreens that I bought for about $3.35 per watt. Great looking black framed modules. The last system we did was with Solarworld modules made right in my county. Those are still holding a bit higher in price though. I might try the REC modules. They have a big 215 that I can get for close to 2.20 per watt. Not sure about the name. I saw them and they look pretty generic; but I guess all panels kinda do. Black frames sure help the looks of a system though.

. . . Don't but the super cheap Chinese modules either. You want to go right down the middle. Stay away from sanyo and sunpower and get a mitsubishi, evergreen, solarworld, or some other module made in America or Japan with an established brand

What's your panel of choice now?

[JustinSolarGuy]

sunpower

I think they are overpriced. Last I checked they were over $1 more than a competitive poly/mono crystalline module. The salesman talk about efficiency but they don't mention that there are two types of efficiency. Space efficiency and cost efficiency. They may take up 5% to 10% less roof space making them a bit more space efficient. But they cost 25% more making them inefficient in terms of cost. Buy a more competitively priced panel and cover a bit more roof. The more roof you cover the less heat that gets in your house in the summer. If you are tight on space, crunch the numbers. You probably won't get that much more power in the same space just deal with a slightly smaller output and save some dough. Don't but the super cheap Chinese modules either. You want to go right down the middle. Stay away from sanyo and sunpower and get a mitsubishi, evergreen, solarworld, or some other module made in America or Japan with an established brand

[Mike90250]

quick reply. Sunpower needs a POSITIVE Ground system. Something about the way they are made, the PV material builds a charge, and will slowly (but reversibly) choke the cells.

[solarf.helen]

hi, all,

I wonder what do you think of the Sunpower panels? Is that the first choice for most Americans?

As far as I know it is not easy to get the solar panels from Sunpower. So I really want to know more about the Sunpower!


Thanks so much.

Helen