11 cents per watt

The going rate for solar panels is in the neighborhood of $1.00 per watt. I got an email about panels to go for 11 cents per watt, in case anyone is tempted.

There is a company selling Renesola 300 watt panels removed from a solar farm. So they are used and have (presumably) cosmetic blemishes. Testing of 100 or 200 panels has so far turned up no failures or problems.

There is something of a gamble, because there is no warranty -- just a take or leave it sort of thing. If I didn't already have two pallets (50 panels, 10+ KWatts), I'd probably be rolling the dice, but I tend to gamble like this. If someone is only comfortable with a sure thing, they should pass on this.

FWIW, I am not selling, and have no financial interest in the company or the deal. I'm just a fan of solar and great deals (which often requires some risk). The company is sunelec.com, the same company that sold me my 50, and the deal is not on their web site, last time I checked.


Peter

Soooo like 90% off!?!

About that, yes.

My existing panels are already expected to produce 60+ KWH per sunny day, and my average daily usage is only around 8. So I'd be better off adding to my battery bank, than adding to my panels. My brother and I are tempted to get some of these anyway. He charges an electric car and someday I might, too.

Are solar panels hard to install? Do you know if thry have inverters built in?

They're not hard to install. Mine (and most -- all?) just have an aluminum frame, like a simple picture frame. Specialized and expensive hardware is available, but there is no need to get fancy.

I am sure no inverter is included. Enphase has micro-inverters intended to use one panel. My brother has those and is connected to the grid. I dislike that approach, personally, because those inverters are expensive, and if the grid goes down, micro-inverters shut down, leaving available power unusable until the grid comes back up.

Outback Power has good inverters. My panels will be feeding Midnite Solar charge controllers to charge batteries, which will supply my Outback inverters. I focus pretty hard on cost / watt, to keep down overall cost while meeting my needs. I don't mind cheap inverters for small stuff, like I'd use on a camping trip. But for powering a home, I would steer away from Chinese or generics. On the whole, those have, ahem, "generous" ratings and a reputation for poor reliability.

I'm in. This will save me a bundle and I don't mind if a few don't work.

contact info sent

I'm interested as well.

I might as well post it for all. For what it's worth, a co-worker, my brother, and I decided to buy one pallet (now 22 panels). The co-worker will handle the order and buy 13 or so panels, and then my brother and I will later split the remaining panels.



Contact info:

John Kimball
Owner and CEO
SUN ELECTRONICS INT. INC
CEL: 305-498-1863 / 305-710-9645
https://www.sunelec.com/


The notice I received said the sale ends March 1 (today). You could order today, but if you call the owner, I bet he could flex on the date, too.

When I called, they had not received them in the warehouse, yet, but had done testing (on site, maybe?).

Good luck!


P.S. If you see this note late, it's a good idea to call because they have extended previous sales and are small enough to negotiate details like that.

I see they are hail damage removals. I'm a little leary as to why a power farm would remove them, if they are supposedly fine. Do they know that they probably have issues in a few years?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rreidnauer

I see they are hail damage removals. I'm a little leary as to why a power farm would remove them, if they are supposedly fine. Do they know that they probably have issues in a few years?

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I did not know either bit of info. I will look again at the web site to see what they have posted since I first heard of them.

Are you saying that hail damage is known to shorten life or decrease performance? The outer glass is intact. These were insured. Insurance company paid out and sold them to Sun. Sun states that damage to cells is cosmetic and that they tested these and they perform at capacity. Any info you have is much appreciated before I pull the trigger on 50 of these. Thanks.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mountain Lion

Are you saying that hail damage is known to shorten life or decrease performance?

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That's a good question. I'm willing to go ahead splitting 1 pallet, since these are not my primary panels, and can just be used for small applications distributed around my property. If they were really for home power, I'd want to know better what to expect.


Peter

I've called 3 times and sent an email with no response. Who are you all speaking to?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thoner7

I've called 3 times and sent an email with no response. Who are you all speaking to?

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I do know they are in the middle of a warehouse move (new & bigger), so that might explain why response is bad. Luis is the contact my friend is using, and we're still waiting for him to get back to Mike. Luis is already familiar with the Renesola 300's.

Got a direct number for him by chance?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by thoner7

Got a direct number for him by chance?

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I don't have one. (my friend Mike has been working on this order and has no direct #). Is the cell of the CEO, John, not working at all??? (305-498-1863)

I think this deal went bust. Mike has made repeated efforts and gotten no reply. I made mine, too, with the same outcome.

I'm disappointed this go 'round.

I have made some traction on this. Tony Mok has been responsive. Here is his contact info:


Tony Mok
Sales Representative
786-565-9359 X 329
tony@sunelec.com
www.sunelec.com

More details on my deal. I noticed they were running an auction for the snail trail (grade C) renesola panels, the same that they were selling for 11c/watt. I won the auction for a pallet of 22 for $455, but the auction website reported that the auction had not met the minimum bid, so I thought I was out of luck. In the meantime, there was another auction of the grade B renesola panels (no snailtrails, 2 years old, 25 year warranty). This lot of 22 started at $600, but had a buy it now price of $726, which works out to 11c/watt, same price as the snail trails, but without the snail trails. So, I pressed the "buy it now" button but nothing happened. So, 2 strikes on the auction front. So, I called them up to explain my situation and ask for help. Firstly, I explained that I was the high bidder on one auction and that I would make up the difference between my price and the reserve. Second I explained that the"buy it now" option did not work on the second option. This was too much for the person that answered the phone, so soon I was talking to the owner who seemed very agreeable and wanted to make me happy. He said there should not have been a minimum bid on the first auction, so he gave me those at my winning bid price. For the second lot, he gave me those at the "buy it now" price and handed me over to Tony Mok to get the order into the system. First time back with a quote including shipping, Tony did not have my auction prices, but had their list prices. I explained to him that I won these auctions and that the owner agreed to my prices. Tony checked with the owner and after a few days had a quote with the right prices. The grade Cs were in San Antonio and the grade Bs were in Denver. Separate shipping seemed inefficient and high, so I proposed that they double my grade Bs out of Denver and I would find someone closer to San Antonio to take the grade Cs at the same deal. They essentially were giving me the grade Bs for the grade C price, so they were not amenable to doubling the grade B Denver offer. Back to the original deal, I hadn't quite gotten my storage locker set up, so I delayed a couple days on that. Then it came down to payment. They wanted me to send copies of my credit card and my drivers license to run a one time charge. That set off alarms in my identity theft portion of my brain, so I asked for their wire transfer information. Yesterday, I wired the payment. With any luck, in a few days, I should receive 2 pallets of 300 watt panels, totaling 44 panels for $2150 including shipping. The shipping seemed high to me, and I thought of trying to arrange another carrier, but this would be another learning curve and I might not have saved that much. Now I just have to cross my fingers until they arrive safely.

So with shipping, about 16.28 cents per watt. It was a lot of hassle, but that is a very good price! Congratulations!

Many thanks to you donjuedo. Without your alert to the sale, I would not have been able to take advantage of this opportunity. I was always planning to incorporate solar panels in my off-grid build, but with such a good price, I was able to overbuy. Now I have to get a great deal on batteries.

Thanks again,
--ML

Good price but scary deal at one or two places. I'da drove to Denver and paid cash.

I seriously considered doing just that, but also going to San Antonio for the other pallet. When I looked at the driving and motel cost I wasn't going to save money. Also, each pallet weighs 1400 pounds, presenting a weight and dimensional challenge to my truck. I took a risk prepaying, but given that donjuedo already had some successful transactions, I judged it to be worth a shot.


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Shippers have already picked up from the warehouses and delivery is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Crossing fingers until then.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mountain Lion

Many thanks to you donjuedo. Without your alert to the sale, I would not have been able to take advantage of this opportunity. I was always planning to incorporate solar panels in my off-grid build, but with such a good price, I was able to overbuy. Now I have to get a great deal on batteries.

Thanks again,
--ML

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Excellent! I'm glad it is working out for you. It did for me, and sometimes the best deals take a little "push".

Interested in Nickel-Iron batteries? I got a good deal on mine. Negotiations took time, mainly because I had no immediate need and very nicely let the manufacturer know that. But with the precedent of my purchase, you might be able to get them to simply repeat the terms for you.

If unfamiliar with Nickel-Iron, this link, http://www.autocutresearch.com/nife/, describes another guy's experience learning about them, buying, and using them. It's very similar to my experience, as far as I've gone, but my savings were probably better.


Peter

Quote:

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Originally Posted by donjuedo

Excellent! I'm glad it is working out for you. It did for me, and sometimes the best deals take a little "push".

Interested in Nickel-Iron batteries? I got a good deal on mine. Negotiations took time, mainly because I had no immediate need and very nicely let the manufacturer know that. But with the precedent of my purchase, you might be able to get them to simply repeat the terms for you.

If unfamiliar with Nickel-Iron, this link, http://www.autocutresearch.com/nife/, describes another guy's experience learning about them, buying, and using them. It's very similar to my experience, as far as I've gone, but my savings were probably better.


Peter

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It seems that the more you work at something, the better the deal you can get.

Before you asked, I have been interested in NiFe batteries. I have not done a ton of research, just picked up a little from this forum when you and rreidnauer talked about them. I like that they can be deep cycled and that they last forever. I have the impression that some charge controllers were not designed for their characteristics, so I'll have to understand that better. Oh, wait, you've already figured this out :) Thanks for the link. I'll read up on it.

--ML

First shipment of panels arrived today.

Arranged with delivery guy to hold second shipment in his warehouse until weather was fair. Took delivery 2 days ago. Orders complete. Panels safely stored. Happy customer.


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Everytime I see this thread title, all I can think about is some crazy old white-haired guy screaming "One point twenty-one gigawatts!!!!".