Looking Into Buying Solar Panels

[jchoops1]

Hi. I thought i would sign up to this as im looking into having Solar PV installed and i was wondering if anyone had any recommendations? Maybe from past experience themselves as im still debating how to go about it. 

 

[binky]

what do you want to know?

some  advice

1/- avoid Chinese inverters, build quality isn't good enough yet.

2/ nothing wrong with Chinese panels if you select the right ones

3/ look for low irradiance performance as the key to a good system

 

[binky]

look, no, fit yes, currently installing 100kW on a school

 

[PVcompare]

Binky, why not chinese inverters? In my opinion Samil Power is really good, really good quality, good after-sales and also with 10yrs warranty . I never had a problem with them, with ABB yes - for example .

 

[PVcompare]

I’ve tried ABB - SMA - Samil and Fronius and GoodWe (in Australia) .. What can I say? Samil is a really a good company, good product 10yrs warranty, and beter after-sales than ABB, best quality/price. But, in my opinion SMA still the best company . GoodWe? hmm maybe if you speak chinese could be a good company, if you speak english (btw I’m not english tongue too) could be a nightmare

 

[Essex1]

From some research I have read also the damage done to the environment building these solar panels are twice that of what EU manufacturers do.  Couple that with the terrible working conditions of the employees out there and it beggars belief why anyone who claims to want to save the planet would buy these Chinese panels.  If you could not care less about the planet and just want them to save money then this may not be such a concern.

 

[binky]

I’ve tried ABB - SMA - Samil and Fronius and GoodWe (in Australia) .. What can I say? Samil is a really a good company, good product 10yrs warranty, and beter after-sales than ABB, best quality/price. But, in my opinion SMA still the best company . GoodWe? hmm maybe if you speak chinese could be a good company, if you speak english (btw I’m not english tongue too) could be a nightmare

Samil are Ok, software can be a bit glitchy, portal is a menace. It is the ONLY Chinese inverter I will fit, but build quality is certainly not as good as SMA / Fronius.

As for GoodWe, s**** service and product. Hopefully SMA will turn them around but that will take time. What you don't necessarily see from Chinese product is the lack of features such as string monitoring, poor cooling fin designs etc etc, so superficially they look OK, BUT.....

Samil are a little different in that the designer learn't engineering in Australia, so you get a 1st world design rather than a cobbled together Chinese copy.

As for panels, European / Korean / Japanese product is superior in build quality and more Eco-friendly footprint. Solarworld is also pretty competitive on price these days.

 

[Blue Duck]

Totally sidetracking but... The next time some tw@ says something along the lines of "we got solar to reduce our impact on mother earth" I will ask if the panels are made in China.

Thanks Essex.

 

[Blue Duck]

yeah I know canoe, just the smugness that comes out of these tw@"s should keep them quiet for a bit at least.

 

[Sharpend]

I really wouldn't bother about a few panels on a roof being not environmentally friendly

If you eat meat just have a google about methane, meat (cows), the planet and agriculture, that is far more significant - but deaf ears and all that

You also have all the fruit, veg, meat in the supermarkets thats done more airmiles globally over the years of importing it than concorde did in its lifetime - again deaf ears and all that

And binky - Totally agree about GoodWe - A customer of mine had one, I told him no warranty he would have to deal direct as i only fit SMA

Its never worked from new (the WIFi)

Bless him though - after 12 months of constant phone calls and emails GoodWe got so sick of him they sent him a new one and told him to keep the old one :slap

So what do you eat canoe? Self caught fish?

 

[Andy™]

or do you want some rabbit food?

 

[Blue Duck]

I would have had the bread and butter but someone else ate the whole tray  :innocent

@Sharpend  -  Im a Veggie

Do you eat fish though?

 

[Blue Duck]

Was just checking you were legit.

 

[Sharpend]

The clues in the title :C

 

[binky]

yeah I know canoe, just the smugness that comes out of these tw@"s should keep them quiet for a bit at least.

no chance :slap  

the carbon footprint of a Chinese panels is 9 months by the way, (European 4 months) and seeing as just about everything you buy is from China, including the PC /laptop/ tablet you are accessing this forum on, you are in no place to be smug about anything so neeeh :^O

 

[Andy™]

 and seeing as just about everything you buy is from China

probably the electric you are using, too

 

[Essex1]

All this just proves to me how utterly ridiculous it is to consider humans the cause of global warming.

 

[binky]

All this just proves to me how utterly ridiculous it is to consider humans the cause of global warming.

if you light a fire in a room, what happens? If you use a shed load of electric / coal / gas / oil to live, work and play what happens to the world? If you eat more meat instead of grain/ vegatables / fruit and cows fart methane what happens? If you deforest the planet which used to absorb the CO2 what happens?

If you kill half the world population it would probably sort the issue out

 

[Blue Duck]

Mmmmmmm....

:slap

 

[Essex1]

if you light a fire in a room, what happens? If you use a shed load of electric / coal / gas / oil to live, work and play what happens to the world? If you eat more meat instead of grain/ vegatables / fruit and cows fart methane what happens? If you deforest the planet which used to absorb the CO2 what happens?

If you kill half the world population it would probably sort the issue out

I believe in looking after the world to make it a better place to be. As you would your own house or the street you live in. I do not buy the argument that we are the cause of global warming when throughout history the planet has warmed and froze hundreds of times and doing so long before the planets resources were being used up.