Which panels and inverter to choose?

Chaps,

I'm the original poster, and have re-read this whole thread again.

Many thanks for the advice offered. Particularly to Biggs Solar and BruceB, both of whom have been exceptionally helpful.

As it was, we went for the Sanyo panels. And they are, as of yesterday, installed! AND (even better), we have just produced our first KWH of juice. This morning I had the pleasure of watching the disk in our (old-fashioned) electricity meter turning the wrong way. (OK it was moving slowly, but it really was going backwards!)

I expect I sound like a kid with a new toy. For which I don't apologise!

The fitting was done in a day; two strings on two different rooves of a Victorian terrace house, with wiring to the inverter in the loft and from there to the electricity meter in the basement. Done by two chaps, both of whom worked hard all day. (They were expecting it to take two days, but I helped where I could and was happy for them to make a mess as they worked, which made things quicker and saved tidying up time.)

I am very pleased, both with the workmanship (and I am fussy when it comes to quality of workmanship) and the end result. To be honest I don't know how competitive their prices were but I am very happy to recommend them. I'm not sure whether I am allowed to put their details on this forum, and am aware also that they will be competitiors to BruceB and Biggs Solar, so maybe it's best if I don't. However if anyone wants to know then PM me and I'll send you their details.

I know I will never make a fortune from solar panels, but npower (our 'leccy supplier) announced an increase in prices yesterday - the day we had the panels fitted, and I couldn't resist a bit of a wry smile ...

Thanks again for the input and advice.


Oli.
 
The real output of Suntech and Sanyo 250W panels

Hi!

I am looking at a 3kW system at the moment and I would appreciate some guidance. I understand that different panel types work best in different conditions.

My question is: Would a Sanyo or Suntech system work best? I am in North Kent and the roof faces SE with no shade.

From what I have read, the Sanyo panels work pretty well in the typically cloudy days that we have in Kent (Met Office say we have 4.5hrs sunshine a day on average - so mostly cloudy!). How about the Suntech panels? I am minded to go with the Sanyo system as they seem to produce about 10% more power than most other panels. I am just not sure how they compare with the Suntech ones.

Hope you can help. Thanks!
 
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jgtec,

I have no reference point to compare with, but we went with Sanyo panels in the end. The advice seemed to be that they were worth the extra money given the UK weather we have!

I think that if you want a comparison between the two (Sanyo and Suntech) you would need to look at the specifications; given the number of other variables in an installation (shape, location, inclination, shading etc) you will never find two to make a direct comparison.


Oli.
 
Very quick & crude response - if you've got loads of cash and nothing that you desperately want to spend your cash on go Sanyo - over the years they will provide a greater return. If you've got some cash but still a list of things you'd like to do - go for Suntech not quite as good return but significantly less upfront costs. Everyone is different and we put a lot of both of those panels in. If you're planning to install before the end of October ask for a Fronius inverter with extra warranty - you'll get 20 years for the price of 10 - a bargain at the minute!
 
Thanks both!

I think I'll go for the Suntechs as they are much cheaper (I now have some quotes in) and the differences in output seem hard to quantify. I am not limited space-wise, taking away another reason for going with the Sanyos.

John
 
Hi All

Been following various discussions on panels and inverters over time. Am in the process of fleshing out the details of he system we shall be getting installed. We are looking at a 4kWsystem using Sharp 250w panels and a Fronius IG TL 3.6 inverter. Can anyone offer a view on the inverter proposed for a 4kW system? Should I be looking at the requesting a Fronius IG TL 4.0 or even two smaller inverters? Any advise grateful received!
 
I'd say that the IG TL 36 is perfect for this size of system. I certainly wouldn't advice using two smaller inverters either.

Do you mind me asking why you're choosing the Sharp panels?
 
Not at all. Sanyo out of our price range and to be honest it is probably the familiarity with Sharp as a brand as opposed to some of the others on the market.

Btw, thanks for the advise!
 
Any view on the panels? As I say, I've gone for Sharp out of familiarity but how would you rate the Sharp panel against say the Suntech (I take it it's not as simple as that though!)
 
I'd say that brand familiarity is the only thing going for Sharp panels. They don't compare with Suntech in any way at all.

There are better panels than Suntech, but not in the price range. I've yet to see better options than Sanyo (as a high end, high yield panel) or the Suntech (impressive yield for fantastic price) although I'm always on the look out.
 
dansk

Thanks for that. I had planned to go for the Sharp panels but will certainly think about my options before proceeding.
 
Just an update chaps. I've spoken to my installer and he's come back with the Suntech STP250S-20/Wd+ panels as a options. As I said earlier, I'm not as familiar with Suntech but the performance and warranty on these panels looks impressive. Cheaper than the Sharp as well!
 
I now have full quote on the Suntech's:16 x Suntech Wd+ 250w
1 Fronius IG TL 3.6 Inverter (Plus extended warranty)

Fully installed £10,666 (inc VAT).

Am I allowed to ask whether anyone knows or has experience of the company I am proposing on going with?
 
You may want to check the leadtime on the Suntechs, some suppliers are quoting Oct/Nov delivery.

Thats a great price, almost too cheap.
 
Hi all, I've had three quotes from different companies, I live in south Wales but not sure which to go for, one company has quoted

10 x Canadian solar 240w panels £8120.00
Or
10 x sanyo 250w panels £9140
Or
14 x upsolar 190w panels £7980
All with fronius inverter would the upsolar setup be better as it's 2.66kw
 
Morgan123 said:
You may want to check the leadtime on the Suntechs, some suppliers are quoting Oct/Nov delivery.

Thats a great price, almost too cheap.
Click to expand...

Happy to wait and you're right the price is very good (hence my query regarding whether I am allowed to mention the company on the forum).
 
From doing abit of research on different kinds of panels which is a minefield I found that the best way to compare panels is first look at the module efficiency of the panels not the cell efficiency because any estimated figures that you get from any companies I think are supposed to be used using a SAP calculation, which doesn't differentiate one panel from the next. They all would give the same figures, but more efficient panels would produce more electricity or more kWh's because they need less solar radiation or photons to actually start releasing the electrons from the two silicon wafers within the pv cells that are coated in boron and phosporous to make them positive and negative (not sure which one does which). I would always go with monocrystalline panels aswell because of our climate, from what I have seen they perform so much better in cloudy conditions. Which sadly we do get. The guarantees seem to be changing quite abit as the manufacturers are getting more competitive, so look for the best guarantees and also the company guarantees, what they offer and what backing they have and how long they have been around. In terms of the inverter is look at what inverter would make your scenario best in terms of if there is different orientations or any sort of shading. The sunny boys seem to have the brand name that people know but aren't always best but the wireless monitor you can get with them is very good.
 
Upsolar effiency of 190W panels = 14.9%

Sanyo 250W panels = 18%

Yes upsolar gives slightly bigger system but effiency difference is massive. But someone mentioned problems with the Sanyo panels over in America, not sure if it would effect here?
 
The upsolar system is bigger on kw and £1160 cheaper so my question really which is the best system to go for would the sanyo being a smaller system really make up the £1160 over time also are the prices I've been quoted ok
 
golfermad said:
Upsolar effiency of 190W panels = 14.9%

Sanyo 250W panels = 18%

Yes upsolar gives slightly bigger system but effiency difference is massive. But someone mentioned problems with the Sanyo panels over in America, not sure if it would effect here?
Click to expand...

Sanyo panels will produce more output, however not for the reasons you state.

The efficiencies quoted are misleading, they relate to power output / m2 not how much light they convert over a 365 day period.

So in general principal any 3kW system will produce the same amount of kWh.

The difference is a Sanyo system will take up less space.

Now in practice that's not competely true as the Sanyo's use a different constrcution from normal Mono or poly panels, and they are better at converting lower light levels into power, so they work longer during a day and produce more on dull days, hence the greater kWh produced over a year.

As it happens that has nothing to do with the % efficiencies quoted.

The SAP calculations ignore technology used and only work on the panel rating and don't take different technologies into account.

To illustrate my point - you think you'll get 240W out of a Sanyo HIT-N240SE10?

Well 240W is at standard test conditions - 1000W/m2 and 25C

The chances of that occuring in real life are incredibly small, instead just have a look at the output on the spec sheet of a Sanyo HIT-N240SE10 - the output under normal operating conditions (NOCT) is 185W (800W/m2 45C)

That's way barring real world measurements over a long period of time, it is only an application like PV*Sol that will give you something close to a comparitive kWh output / annum so allowing you to compare panels.

Ignore the headline %'s they are about W/m2 instead focus on kWh/annum / kWp

This has been well discussed here, if you search for Sanyo you'll find a wealth of information about efficiencies, performance and output.

I would expect for two systems of the same size, the Sanyo will produce many more kWh / annum than the alternatives.
 
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As you are clearly keen on drilling down to the best system the PV Sol will give you immensely more accurate output figures as you can take shading in to account. However at over £1k per licence I guess you won't be running out to buy a copy!

Some of the comments about Sanyo are true. They'll make more use of your roof space but because of thier heat capactity on a watt for watt basis you'll usually get more out of Suntech.

All that said, if it's return on investment you're after, in my experience in similar situations the Sanyo system will give you the best return due to the fact that they maximise the system size.

Hope that helps!
 
@paul_harrington100

It is not good forum etiquette to blatantly submit a quote when you work for the company.
 
Worcester said:
@paul_harrington100

It is not good forum etiquette to blatantly submit a quote when you work for the company.
Click to expand...
It's also poor form not to read the whole thread; had he done so, he'd have realised that I had some (very fine) Sanyo panels fitted a month ago, and we've now generated a goodly chunk of juice from them ...


Oli.
 
@zcacogp

Didnt mean to make you feel bad about your puchase.
Most good quality panels end up generating nearly the same amount of kW/day (please compare technical data sheets)
I think all the offers listed by yourself were really exhorbitant.
Just trying to help others make a better decision in the future and I'm sure you'd want to do the same..

@worcester

My understanding is that this forum was created to help people in the UK make the right decision about their purchase.
I'm not lobbying here for the company but just making people aware that there are better options available now in the market.
Regarding my job status, it's here today - it's gone tomorrow.
I'm just reporting as a satisfied customer.

Regards.
 
paul_harring100 said:
My understanding is that this forum was created to help people in the UK make the right decision about their purchase.
I'm not lobbying here for the company but just making people aware that there are better options available now in the market.
Regarding my job status, it's here today - it's gone tomorrow.
I'm just reporting as a satisfied customer.

Regards.
Click to expand...

Who would think otherwise:dizzy2:
 
paul_harring100 said:
My understanding is that this forum was created to help people in the UK make the right decision about their purchase.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Paul, you have haven't contributed anything to the forum apart from masquerading as a customer of a company that you work for and then touting for work. It's poor show in my opinion.

paul_harring100 said:
I'm just reporting as a satisfied customer.
Click to expand...

Of your own company?!
 
Hi, after having read this thread, am I right in thinking that the efficiency of panels is affected by which inverter you use? This I didnt realise. We are still in the process of choosing which panels to go for, now I might have to reconsider which inverter too! I gather the main 3 are Sunny boy 4000 tl, Fronius and Power one.

The panels we are looking at are Sanyo 250w, Bisol 245w and maybe now Suntech 245w/250w.

Can anybody help with which inverter goes best with which panel please? Maybe some kind soul might run it through PV Sol which I keep reading about! We want 4kw system, on west facing roof, 30 degree pitch, no shade in Lancashire.
Thanks
 
Sam, we regularly install all of these and we're a bit further north than you - all are ok. Have you selected your installer yet?

Really he/she should be doing the groundwork with you on PVSOL to help you out. I spent 2 hours yesterday working with one of my potential clients on PVSOl working out the best options for him. It would help you decide which installer to use, if you asked them to work through that process for you. If they aren't prepared to spend time with you looking at alternative systems then perhaps they aren't the installer for you.
 

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