Which solar panel is better? Want cheap and good ones

[solar pete]

Hi All,

You could always check out our site sponsors page on panels,

https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/what-are-the-best-solar-panels-to-buy-for-your-home

[sdold]

If you are going DIY, you need to do some homework. Cheap is fine, but go with a trusted brand like LONGi or JA Solar that have decent price and solid performance.

Sounds good, where do you recommend looking for lists of decent brands? What are good ways to find them?

[georgeolivr]

If you are going DIY, you need to do some homework. Cheap is fine, but go with a trusted brand like LONGi or JA Solar that have decent price and solid performance.

[georgeolivr]

Those 60-cell grid tie panels are usually around 30-32V. For off-grid, you’ll get best results wiring them for a 48V battery bank with an MPPT charger controll

[J.P.M.]

Don’t go cheap on your panels, find one that makes sense, that has a 20,25 + year warranty, with a solid company that has been here, and will be here.

Like Sunpower seemed to be, maybe ?

Good panels but way overpriced. Now they are only missed by those who bought their product and hype. Only possible good side is that like other quality panels, their panels don't seem to fail much.
As for not going cheap, other panels with equal high quality and reliability were always about 20-25 % less expensive in my area.
Bottom line: Panels are about the most reliable component/link of a residential PV system.
And while not trying to paint all installers with the same brush, installers are the least reliable link with most of the blame for that going to gullible/lazy customers who never did the necessary homework to avoid getting screwed and usually and blindly bought on low buck only and so allowed poor quality installers to survive and even thrive.

Which, BTY is why I'm not hopeful about your future prospects as described in your other post.
As laudable and high minded as your goals and your outlook may be, most potential customers don't care a hoot about your high ideals.
People's shortsighted care about quality stops at their wallet.

[Brightside]

Don’t go cheap on your panels, find one that makes sense, that has a 20,25 + year warranty, with a solid company that has been here, and will be here.

[sdold]

Approximately how many kWh do you use per month, average?

[Memars]

How much power do you need? 600 watts of panels is a very small system. I had a three-bedroom house in Northern CA with a lot of sun, and my 4000 watt system was barely enough to supply the 22-25 kWh each day average that I needed.

I use a relatively small balcony power system, so four solar panels are enough for me, but of course I may upgrade my system in the future.

[J.P.M.]

I get it. If I want to install the system by myself, I need to learn a lot or I will need to solve more problems then.Thanks

Not quite but close.
It's obvious you'll need all that knowledge for DIY, but you'll need the knowledge just as much if turnkey vendor installed.
In either case, unless you understand how all this works and what's available, at best you'll probably not get the best design and system and most bang for your buck from a vendor, and at worst, you'll get screwed.
With vendors, the less you know the more you get screwed. Seen it happen a lot.

[sdold]

That's amazing! I will shop around though I don't need the system with that much power.Thanks for sharing.

How much power do you need? 600 watts of panels is a very small system. I had a three-bedroom house in Northern CA with a lot of sun, and my 4000 watt system was barely enough to supply the 22-25 kWh each day average that I needed.

[littleharbor2]

Well, one thing is for sure if you're gonna buy 12 Volt panels, you're gonna pay top dollar. The larger the wattage, the better the price per Watt gets and with an MPPT controller you can use any voltage panels for a 12 Volt system say, or a 24 Volt system?

[Memars]

As I have always suggested, buying low buck anything, especially PV equipment is the errand of a fool.
Do deep research, meaning first learning how PV works and then set goals of what you want to accomplish.
Then see what's available that meets your criteria.
Then, spend more time and effort on finding an established electrical contractor who has been around long before PV got to be the darling of the well off and has sold PV for morethan a few years.
Most problems with residential PV stem from vendors who are inexperienced and/or unprofessional.

I get it. If I want to install the system by myself, I need to learn a lot or I will need to solve more problems then.Thanks

[Memars]

Shop around. I recently bought 4, 595-watt Bifacial panels for $ 181 USD a piece.

That's amazing! I will shop around though I don't need the system with that much power.Thanks for sharing.

[J.P.M.]

Thanks for your advice for the system, will it be expensive?

Expensive is a relative term. You want nice, you pay nice.

[littleharbor2]

Thanks for your advice for the system, will it be expensive?

Shop around. I recently bought 4, 595-watt Bifacial panels for $ 181 USD a piece.