Solar panel Pricing

All other things being equal, those Sharps are lower cost per watt and therefore better value than the BPs.
Anything under $9 per watt is OK.
Of course, neither will give the rated watts charge into your batteries because performance is measured at a higher voltage and under conditions rarely met.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

Do you have the part numbers ?

I can give you a better opinion if I know this.

Regards

Derek from ABR

Hi kwk,

I am researching this myself now. I am completely confused and all the experts say different things. You can get panels under $7 watt if you look around.
However I am dubious about the quality of some on the market. I have decided to stick with quality or known brand and hope they stick by their warranty. To me sharp should be fine but I am no expert.

Cheers

Marco

A straight forward calculation of watts/dollar is not necessarily the best measure of performance. You must make a thorough stocktake of your needs, circumstances and intended travel locations.
My personal experience of various models has brought me down firmly in favour of UniSolar 64watt panels.
Mounted flat on the roof they will produce at lower solar angles, they are much less affected by heat, work well even when partly shaded, are constructed of laminated materials with no glass to break, the collector itself had a degree of flexibility to absorb a certain amount of impact damage without failure, and they are quite lightweight so that you can make a portable set up relatively simply.
One down side is that they are a bit bigger in area for the same nominal output. That, however, tends to be minimised by the overall better efficiency.
I had a single panel mounted flat on my MH in Europe in which I lived full time for nearly 4 years, with very long periods of being stationary, without ever hooking up to the mains supply, and never needing to start the motor to charge up.
OK, I admit to being an energy miser. My average consumption in a small flat with all mod. cons. is less than $1 a day including the meter fee. Parsimony personified, that's me :D

HI kwk56pt,
something else to remember is that sloar panels are made up of different types of materials depending on what you buy - which then produce more power under better/worse conditions depending on the solar panels make.
you may want to buy a solid unit made of monocrystalline or a flexable type...
have a read on this web site for more info.
http://www.12volt.com.au/
they list many different brands and the different types available - with links to other web sites for more detailed information.
hope this helps

regards
bryan

Why pay so much? Dont be conned by the old retailers saying "you get what you pay for." It is not always so. If you want value for money do a bit of research. Examples --

Derek

fridge and solar

calculations

Ian

kwk56pt,
First you have to ascertain what you must put into your battery system on a daily (24 hours) basis.
Then when you look at the panels your interested in, check first the thickness, rigidity and quality of the panels frame and also the quality of the fittings holding the frame together, are they stainless steel screws countersunk into the frame or just normal screws sitting hard against the aluminium frame, the method of attaching the cables to the Junction box and how waterproof the junction box really is.

When you have discounted some panels because the quality you can actually see and touch, is so much less than some others, then forget them, concentrate on the panels that you can see are much better made, because what you can't see will also be lesser quality by comparison.

The comparison from this point on is now difficult, because you will only know the MAXIMUM Wattage available from the panel in peak conditions as tested.

Some panels do start supplying power before others, they will work in very low light conditions, so your battery recharges much faster, that is the result you NEED.

The best performance panels are a bit more expensive and if some one tells you their 'cheap' panel is a better panel than the most expensive, just ask for a working comparison.

The idea is to put as many Amps into your battery system (in a 24 hour day) as possible.

To compare $$ per Watt, is ONLY relevant IF both panels are putting *exactly* the same number of Watts continuously and equally into the battery system, this I believe I can guarantee will not be happening with two *different* types of solar panels.

Comparing numbers is also unrealistic
Example:
64 Watt - 16.6 Volt - 3.90 Amps MAXIMUM = Unisolar
80 Watt - 17.6 Volt - 4.55 Amps MAXIMUM = BP Solar

But, both panels will START producing current at different times of the morning, depending on the prevailing light conditions, therefore one puts in more power on a shady day than the other.

I can assure you of one thing, you will be more confused as you look further, UNLESS you get a direct comparison test between two panels simultaneously.

If you stick with a proven 'brand name' panel and the higher performance panels with-in their range, you will be very happy.
In my opinion, the lower of the two panels pictured below would outperform all *similar* panels in a 24 hour period, in a direct comparison test, it looks nothing like any 'normal' Solar panel too.

Then you have to consider the Solar regulator, will it have all the benefits you need?

Image Could Not Be FoundMainey . . .

kwk56pt,

I bought 2 x 80 watt BP solar panels from Jaycar in Frankston about 4 years with 10 metres of 8 ( i think, can't find the invoice) gauge twin wire with a charge controller regulator that gives you all readings you need, such as how much watts, current, voltage is going into your battery even 2 days before. Part no. for the regulator is MP3129. All up it cost me about $1700.
I had a water proof/heavy duty bag made for the panels as i put on adjustable stands made from the old no standing sign legs.

cheers,

Lance