Solar Panels for a Project

[ziggyfish]

Hi,

I am looking at options for a project I am building.

One of the ideas is to use solar Panels. I need to 20W-40W panels for as cheap as possible.

Where is a good place to get these solar panels at volume?

Thanks

Brendan

[Lord of nothing]

Ebay? 

[mtdoc]

Though they mostly deal in larger PV panels, I would give Sun Electric a call. I believe they ship worldwide and have some warehouses outside the US.  They have more panels than are listed on their website and do sometimes have smaller panels in the size you are looking for.  They sell panels in bulk from individual pallets up to full shipping containers.

[Seekonk]

Whenever people choose a size panel, even doubling that amount makes a project marginal.

[KD0CAC John]

Being that you are in Australia , I could not say for sure .
A while back 1 - 2 yrs. ago someone was selling in bulk - shipping containers at very low pricing about $0.26 per. watt , and there was some issue about not being able to ship directly into US .
Next issue is that small panels [ that's relative - 12v 5o watt panels used to be big , now 24v 300 watt are average ] , when you get as same as what your asking about - then the typical rip-off pricing is common about $8 - $14 per. watt .
So unless there is a special need for small panel , buying average panel for $0.69 - $0.99 per. watt .
Buy small 40w x $14 per watt = $560 screw yourself
Buy average 280w x $0.69 per watt = $193.2 get a deal

https://www.wholesalesolar.com/?keyword=homes%20solar%20panels&device=c&placement=&campaign=66613706&adgroup=1667845226&creative=176422987367&adposition=1t1&product_id=&gclid=Cj0KEQiA_eXEBRDP8fnIlJDXxsIBEiQAAGfyoXtCWAaLwGKUUUilgPiZ1qgFQ71TEGghWJfh0UCc9zsaAsk48P8HAQ

As usual your search results may vary 

[rajeevsingh123]

you learn from internet and you will sure help

[mark03]

As others have pointed out, the markup for smaller panels (really, anything less than the standard rooftop size) is extreme---more than an order of magnitude

I have sometimes wondered if it could be profitable for an operation to buy the standard-size panels in bulk, carefully saw them into smaller units, re-seal, and sell for $1/watt   It depends on the electrode structure I suppose.  Presumably the market is too small, otherwise the panels would be cheaper to begin with.  I still wonder what government pays for all of those small panels used by highway departments.  Can one actually get a reasonable price (under $1/watt) if buying in bulk?

[Seekonk]

If you really want to know anything about solar go to solarpaneltalk.com    They will really straighten you out fast!  Pure entertainment.

[mtdoc]

Yes, the small 12V panels will always cost more per watt.  But there are places that have them for reasonable prices.

For example Solar Blvd has 40 watt panels for $35. I'm not sure if they'll ship to Australia though..

[bazza]

~$58 AUD for 40W panel on ebay.com.au, delivery included. Several sellers. Single unit quantity. 58/40 = ~$1.45 AUD per watt (including delivery). Not half as bad as some posts will have you believe. And that's a single unit, no price breaks.

[Inverted18650]

Sun Electric is the way to go. Buy by the pallet for just .20-.50 USD per W. Try to get in touch with Vanessa, she's great.

Though they mostly deal in larger PV panels, I would give Sun Electric a call. I believe they ship worldwide and have some warehouses outside the US.  They have more panels than are listed on their website and do sometimes have smaller panels in the size you are looking for.  They sell panels in bulk from individual pallets up to full shipping containers.

[DTJ]

I'm way late to this topic but if you are happy with used panels look on Gumtree.
There are places selling used ~200W panels for $20 to $30 each.

I've also seen complete salvaged 1500W systems for a few hundred dollars on Gumtree.

Apparently there were some regulatory standards changes and if a roof installation has panels that don't comply with some standard they cannot be re-installed or the installation extended. It seems the panels cannot be re-installed onto a roof but ground mounting is ok (Edit - due to something to do with fire safety of roof mounted gear). If you were doing your own thing with them I guess its a matter of who knows or cares!

Edit: the regulatory changes were in Australia, so all this may or may not apply elsewhere.

[Inverted18650]

DJT,

I was late as well but other people may read it and the updated info may be useful; as such, even if the posts are years old, I hope people with great knowledge ( as you've done here) will share it. I'll checkout GumTree now. I think 'Sun Elec' carries previously owned panels as well and the business models may be very similar. Always good to have options though.

Cheers

I'm way late to this topic but if you are happy with used panels look on Gumtree.
There are places selling used ~200W panels for $20 to $30 each.

I've also seen complete salvaged 1500W systems for a few hundred dollars on Gumtree.

Apparently there were some regulatory standards changes and if a roof installation has panels that don't comply with some standard they cannot be re-installed or the installation extended. It seems the panels cannot be re-installed onto a roof but ground mounting is ok. If you were doing your own thing with them I guess its a matter of who knows or cares!