What is the best solar panel?

[ADADJlSEJ]

For a person who live in California, and use Edison, and need about 8kW,
what is the best solar panel and how much we can save money by using the panel?
How much do we have to pay for the panel after rebates and incentives?
We might purchase one small house. If we can save $$$ money, we want to install the panel before California change law which pay less money to people.

Thank you.

[sabersix]

I'm glad you are asking about purchasing a solar system. As you have experienced, a lease (or PPA) is not the best return on investment.

I have a 5.7kW system I purchased in 2015 for $21k ($14K after tax credits). I calculated that in six years the savings would pay for the system and save $60k over 20 years. This is under NEM 1.0, so is a bit longer now under NEM 2.0. As you said, you are aware that CA is looking for a NEM 3.0 that will be even less friendly.

My recommendation is to purchase your system. Panels are commodities at this point, so no real advantage of one brand over the other. Biggest decision comes down to microinverters or string inverter which should be decided by the amount of shading/orientation of your roof. Look for about $2.50 per kW before tax credits.

[organic farmer]

For a person who live in California, and use Edison, and need about 8kW,
what is the best solar panel and how much we can save money by using the panel?
How much do we have to pay for the panel after rebates and incentives?
We might purchase one small house. If we can save $$$ money, we want to install the panel before California change law which pay less money to people.

Thank you.

Photovoltaic panel manufacturers change all the time, the models they make change, the sum efficiency changes all the time. Any panel you are told, today, is the best, will be obsolete tomorrow.

I live in a state where nobody 'pays' you anything for using solar power. If I were to feed electricity onto the grid, the power company is not under any obligation to pay me anything. There is no method for me to make any money from my solar system.

Solar power can give you independence, but as a source of electricity it is safely among the most expensive sources of electricity.

Do not think of solar power as saving you any money.

[Mike 134]

Photovoltaic panel manufacturers change all the time, the models they make change, the sum efficiency changes all the time. Any panel you are told, today, is the best, will be obsolete tomorrow.

I live in a state where nobody 'pays' you anything for using solar power. If I were to feed electricity onto the grid, the power company is not under any obligation to pay me anything. There is no method for me to make any money from my solar system.

Solar power can give you independence, but as a source of electricity it is safely among the most expensive sources of electricity.

Do not think of solar power as saving you any money.

What state do you live? Just curious. Illinois here. I get RECs for every MWH of power I generate even if that power never goes back into the grid, and dollar for dollar with net metering.

[organic farmer]

What state do you live? Just curious. Illinois here. I get RECs for every MWH of power I generate even if that power never goes back into the grid, and dollar for dollar with net metering.

I live in Maine.

[bcroe]

What state do you live? Just curious. Illinois here. I get RECs for every MWH of power I generate even if that power never goes back into the grid, and dollar for dollar with net metering.

Every time I ask about RECs in IL, it goes nowhere. That was never the original idea,
I wanted to be free of the monthly connect fees that keep rising, and fossil fuels that
rise a lot more.

Not a bad deal here in IL for my operation, The PoCo and I traded KWh back and
forth, no money involved to get my summer generation saved for winter heat. If
I have a surplus at the end of the solar year (was 30 March), the PoCo keeps any
surplus for free, which is what it cost me to generate it. Bruce Roe

[jflorey2]

what is the best solar panel

No such thing.

For a "typical" roof installation - get whatever single crystal panel is cheaper.
For an installation in a limited area - get whatever high efficiency (20%+) panel is cheaper. (Sunpower Maxeon 6 is currently leading at 23% but there are lots of others out there.)
For a ground mount installation - get a bifacial.

How much do we have to pay for the panel after rebates and incentives?

Panels are running from 40 to 75 cents a watt right now. You need a lot more than panels though.

[DanS26]

Tier 1 solar manufacturers only....if you don't know what that means....Google is your friend....

[silversaver]

Depends on your roof size, how big of system needed and choose the correct panel fit your budget. If you have enough roof space, you really don't need to buy the most efficient panel on the market, but with limited roof space, you will have no choice but to pick the most $$$ panels.

[Will792]

Best panel is the one that best matches your requirements. These aspects come to mind:
Price
Efficiency
Physical size
Thermal coefficient
Voltage compatibility
Expected reliability
Expected ability of manufacturer to service warranty claims
Expected efficiency drop as panels age
Tolerance for partial shading

forgot one more:
aesthetics

[solarix]

Solar PV panels are amazing. They virtually all have great reliability and pretty much are just a commodity now. Stick with "Tier 1" manufacturers, find what looks aesthetic to you, go for the best dollars/watt and you will be fine.

[bcroe]

9 years ago I went with those that had reached the status of a commodity.
Best watt/dollar value, and most likely to be available over the life of the
array, in case a storm throws a branch through one, etc. That was a
6 X 10 cell arrangement, 250W back then. The latest may have upped
the watts a bit, but they can still be swapped onto the system no problem.

I have some 6 X 12 panels, 5 of these placed end to end can directly
replace 6 of the above. The landscape mounting means snow has less
distance to slide (or be pushed) off. Bruce Roe

[Old_Man]

I'm a big fan of Longi, as a company.

[GoingElectric]

For a person who live in California, and use Edison, and need about 8kW,
what is the best solar panel and how much we can save money by using the panel?
How much do we have to pay for the panel after rebates and incentives?
We might purchase one small house. If we can save $$$ money, we want to install the panel before California change law which pay less money to people.

Thank you.

Personally,
I ended up focusing on lifespan, or "degradation per year".
End result is more collected power over lifespan.
Look for approximately 88% in 20 years.

The one exception is space vs demand, then I would get a higher W / area instead (410+ W sizes)

[J.P.M.]

Personally,
I ended up focusing on lifespan, or "degradation per year".
End result is more collected power over lifespan.
Look for approximately 88% in 20 years.

The one exception is space vs demand, then I would get a higher W / area instead (410+ W sizes)

If space is a concern, the panel STC wattage matters little. What counts most is the panel's STC wattage per area and a low(er) power degradation as f(temperature)

Depending on the available space and its layout, physically larger panels by themselves may actually be a drawback.

The only real benefit to larger panels besides maybe a bit less $/STC watt for the panels is probably a bit less wiring for the array.