I went down south last weekend for my mum’s birthday and she took me to visit two neighbours who had solar panels installed. I thought I’d share the stories. One photo of each array attached.
a) The first photo shows 8 black framed panels. The householders didn’t know the brand. I noticed that the installer had only used 3 hooks on each rail. The top and bottom rows didn’t align properly. Even worse, there was a tree shading the array so I can’t understand why they didn’t put a long row as close to the ridge as possible. (It's a detched bungalow so all the roof in the photo was available.) Pretty shocking.
b) The second customer seemed a lot more clued up and had a much better installation. She knew that her 16 panels were 8.33 Gallium and had Enphase monitoring which she showed me on her iPad. She told me about the merits of 8.33 – that they are a trusted Spanish brand with Gallium doping and a much longer warranty than normal brands.
We've never touched 8.33 Gallium but am I right in thinking that the panels are manufactured in China? Does the Gallium blurb and the longer warranty only apply to the monos? Does she have a poly which is pretty much the same as every other poly? I'm thinking that her installer showed her all the literature about the mono and installed a cheaper poly. Can anyone confirm (or refute) my suspicion?
![[ElectriciansForums.net] Two Jobs in Norfolk](https://electricians.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/data/attachments/13/13743-4b98d757bb8ec047472393c18ea84559.jpg "[ElectriciansForums.net] Two Jobs in Norfolk")
![[ElectriciansForums.net] Two Jobs in Norfolk](https://electricians.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/data/attachments/13/13744-733bc6d8ec6ae3b81df50e4d5dad9641.jpg "[ElectriciansForums.net] Two Jobs in Norfolk")
a) The first photo shows 8 black framed panels. The householders didn’t know the brand. I noticed that the installer had only used 3 hooks on each rail. The top and bottom rows didn’t align properly. Even worse, there was a tree shading the array so I can’t understand why they didn’t put a long row as close to the ridge as possible. (It's a detched bungalow so all the roof in the photo was available.) Pretty shocking.
b) The second customer seemed a lot more clued up and had a much better installation. She knew that her 16 panels were 8.33 Gallium and had Enphase monitoring which she showed me on her iPad. She told me about the merits of 8.33 – that they are a trusted Spanish brand with Gallium doping and a much longer warranty than normal brands.
We've never touched 8.33 Gallium but am I right in thinking that the panels are manufactured in China? Does the Gallium blurb and the longer warranty only apply to the monos? Does she have a poly which is pretty much the same as every other poly? I'm thinking that her installer showed her all the literature about the mono and installed a cheaper poly. Can anyone confirm (or refute) my suspicion?
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