who makes the best build quality solar photovoltaic panels

[lizard1975]

Hi,
I am strongly leaning towards have solar panels installed on my property and i was wondering who makes the best quality panels? I'm not talking about most efficient or highest wattage, simply about dynamite build quality.
many thanks

 

[Norcon]

That's a good question.
You should post it on electrics. Lots of differing opinions.

 

[maltaron]

Whilst it is sensible to look for the best panels, in practice if you want to take advantage of the grid feed and feed in tariff you will have to use an approved contractor and they will decide which panels to use, and they will likely be the cheapest.

 

[lizard1975]

.....they will decide which panels to use, and they will likely be the cheapest.

So it seems, everyone is pushing solarworld or benq so far. Its why i figured if i knew who made the best building quality panels, i could from the manufactures web site find their approved installers and do it that way around. I see little advantage in saving a 1000 or so now, and paying out more in the long run.

 

[dishman]

It is one of these minefields where the more you research, the more you know and the more complicated everything becomes .

I have also read that specific solar panels can be more suited to northern hemisphere cloudy conditions compared to the type used in say... the south of france or middle east.

So while the ones used in more sunnier climates may be "better" or more efficient they may not be suited to our climate.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

in practice if you want to take advantage of the grid feed and feed in tariff

What you mean is that in practice if he wants to take advantage of people poorer than him, and force them to pay more for their electricity, probably causing more old people to die in the winter, so that the costs of his useless vanity project can be subsidised.

 

[Norcon]

In rip off britian you'll pay over £3 quid per watt on installation costs.
I'd put most of that down to rules and regulations and of course being shackeled to a dictorial leadership that calls itself the eu.


Meanwhile in not so vain America...
"Americans who want to install solar panels on their houses are having to pay less than ever before, a new report has found.

The installed prices for solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems fell by a range of 6 to 14 percent, or $0.30 per watt to $0.90 per watt, from 2011 to 2012 according to the sixth edition of “Tracking the Sun,” an annual PV cost-tracking report published this week by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory"

So 5 times more expensive in rip off britian compared to the land of freedom.
That should help keep the elderly and infirm cold and shivering in winter.

More info...
http://www.solar-trade.org.uk/antiDumping.cfm

The EU runs a self protectionism policy which ensures high installation costs for end users.
Its nothing new. They do the same with farming which ensures eu farmers get rich whilst the peasant farmers and peoples from poor nations starve.

Also...
http://www.dutycalculator.com/dc/104416-import-duty-rate-for-PV-Solar-Panel-is-0/

From the eu you have a 40% mark up then another 3.3% mfn mark up and then sales tax of 20% which totals over 70% mark up from when the panel leaves Chinese shores.
And of course when the panels reach british shores the box ticking eu arze licking jobsworths in Whitehall ensure every single levy the eu has imposed has been paid.

 

[lizard1975]

What you mean is that in practice if he wants to take advantage of people poorer than him, and force them to pay more for their electricity, probably causing more old people to die in the winter, so that the costs of his useless vanity project can be subsidised.

Vote UKIP then, its the EU thats driving this
Blame people who stop power stations being built, probably people like yourself who rant about everything, but rarely offer a sensible solitulition
There are plenty of companys offering free instalation so the "poor" are hardly exclued.
Why is it a useless vanity project? Do you have facts to back this up, or is it just another rant?
PS planning on adding a battery storage device, so that should cut down on subsidised that even i will still have to pay.
PPS trust you feel the same way about free loft insulation, poor poor having to pay for other poor people to be kept warm in winter, better to let them die than to take from other poor people and killing them of in turn
PPPS love how you asumed i must be rich to be going down this path regardless of wheather i am or not, but then some off us like to reseach things before we make descions

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Vote UKIP then, its the EU thats driving this

Feed-in tariffs? Please tell me which directive(s).

Blame people who stop power stations being built, probably people like yourself who rant about everything, but rarely offer a sensible solitulition

Care to show how tiny-scale PV installations in a country at our latitude and with our climate are going to make a large enough contribution to our energy needs for us to need fewer power stations. Even if everybody in the country has them, where would we get the electricity we need for lighting, heating, cooking, transport, industry etc between, say 7AM and 7PM from October to March?

Oh - and I'd also like you to show where I've tried to stop power stations being built.


Of course you could take the option of not doing any of that if you feel that would be a quicker way for you to confirm that you are a t**t.

There are plenty of companys offering free instalation so the "poor" are hardly exclued.

Apart from those who don't own a roof, of course.

Why is it a useless vanity project? Do you have facts to back this up, or is it just another rant?

See above - tiny-scale domestic PV installations will not produce a worthwhile amount of electricity in a country at our latitude and with our climate. We simply do not get enough sunshine.

If you had to pay the full costs of installation, and only got paid for electricity at the wholesale rate which the DNOs pay and only for the electricity you actually generated, would you still go ahead?

Distorting the economics by putting more OAPs etc into fuel poverty does not change the underlying delusion that solar panels installed on people's roofs by companies whose motivation is to sell them almost irrespective of how well they will work, and whose skills are those of sales and marketing not solar power engineering will enable us to avoid one single power station.

 

[Norcon]

"If you had to pay the full costs of installation, and only got paid for electricity at the wholesale rate which the DNOs pay and only for the electricity you actually generated, would you still go ahead?"

I would.
But only if the equipment was smuggeled in from china or the states.
So no.. I wouldn't be paying full installation costs for starters.
I'd be cutting out a few middlemen intent on feathering their own nests.

About 3600 watts worth of monocrystalline panels in the states = £2132
The same in rip of britian = £4245
If you can displace government meddling from Whitehall and get rid of the eu so we can control our own trade deals then its viable imo.
Vote UKIP!

 

[lizard1975]

Feed-in tariffs? Please tell me which directive(s).

Read what i said, not what you think i said. I made no mention of feed in tariffs, but said that the eu was behind this ie solar. in answer to your question, that would be the Kyoto Protocol binding legislation for 2020, and i quote "Raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20%" so forcing goverments like britain to offer feed in traffis as an incitive to people so as this target can be achieved.

Care to show how tiny-scale PV installations in a country at our latitude and with our climate are going to make a large enough contribution to our energy needs for us to need fewer power stations. Even if everybody in the country has them, where would we get the electricity we need for lighting, heating, cooking, transport, industry etc between, say 7AM and 7PM from October to March?

Agree, but then i was refeering to the lack of them in this country, the power we import from frances, and stations past there designed life span. Resulting in a sure increase of prices over the long term and increase likelyhood of power shortages, both excellent reason for solar power investment

Oh - and I'd also like you to show where I've tried to stop power stations being built.

clearly stated probably

Of course you could take the option of not doing any of that if you feel that would be a quicker way for you to confirm that you are a t**t.

And yet you were the first one to insult with no justerficatation other than a differance of a opinion. need i call you a t**t for that?

Apart from those who don't own a roof, of course.

Applies to rich and po0r a like

See above - tiny-scale domestic PV installations will not produce a worthwhile amount of electricity in a country at our latitude and with our climate. We simply do not get enough sunshine.

If you had to pay the full costs of installation, and only got paid for electricity at the wholesale rate which the DNOs pay and only for the electricity you actually generated, would you still go ahead?

I wasnt aware i was getting a discount for the cost of the equiment or installation, so can not comement on this. In regards only being paid for the electrity i generate, yes i agree with this and will be seeking to have meters installed to ensure this

Distorting the economics by putting more OAPs etc into fuel poverty does not change the underlying delusion that solar panels installed on people's roofs by companies whose motivation is to sell them almost irrespective of how well they will work, and whose skills are those of sales and marketing not solar power engineering will enable us to avoid one single power station.

Agreed. Hence my original post to try and found out the reality of the situtation, but instead i have been attacked by a sales man for the anti movement

 

[lizard1975]

"If you had to pay the full costs of installation, and only got paid for electricity at the wholesale rate which the DNOs pay and only for the electricity you actually generated, would you still go ahead?"

Please explain. If we are being over charged for the panels (nothing new there) how are they being discounted? Equally how is the installation being discounted?In regards only being paid for what you produce, i fully agree with

 

[Norcon]

You'll have to ask bas.
That was his sentence.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I would.
But only if the equipment was smuggeled in from china or the states.
So no.. I wouldn't be paying full installation costs for starters.
I'd be cutting out a few middlemen intent on feathering their own nests.

So I suggest you either emigrate or stop buying cars, electrical goods, food, tobacco, alcohol....

Vote UKIP!

I can't.

By their own admission I am too well educated.

You, on the other hand, must obviously be not.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Read what i said, not what you think i said. I made no mention of feed in tariffs, but said that the eu was behind this ie solar.

Err...

What you mean is that in practice if he wants to take advantage of people poorer than him, and force them to pay more for their electricity, probably causing more old people to die in the winter, so that the costs of his useless vanity project can be subsidised.

- paying more for electricity is all about FITs.

Vote UKIP then, its the EU thats driving this

So yes, you did say that it was the EU that was driving FITs.

in answer to your question, that would be the Kyoto Protocol binding legislation for 2020,

And the Kyoto conference/agreement/protocol/whatever-you-want-to-call-it is an EU initiative, or something "driven" by the EU, in what way, exactly?

and i quote "Raising the share of EU energy consumption produced from renewable resources to 20%" so forcing goverments like britain to offer feed in traffis as an incitive to people so as this target can be achieved.

Will you please show how the only way they could have done that was via the incredibly, and yes, lethally, regressive way of funding FITs by increasing electricity prices rather than a subsidy paid via a tax which did not push more people into fuel poverty?

Agree, but then i was refeering to the lack of them in this country

Lack of power stations? Or lack of micro-PV installations?

the power we import from frances

Most of which is produced by nuclear power stations. France only generates 0.8% of its electricity from PV.

both excellent reason for solar power investment

Please look at this:

and tell us how much of our peak demand at 17:30 in Winter months could be met by solar PV, and therefore why it's an excellent idea to invest in it.

clearly stated probably

So because I am opposed to the FIT scheme, and because I don't think that cheap PV panels on houses in a country at our latitude and with our climate are going to produce enough electricity to make a significant contribution to our required generating capacity I'm probably opposed to power stations?

WT...?

And yet you were the first one to insult with no justerficatation other than a differance of a opinion. need i call you a t**t for that?

Well, let's look at the facts.

1. Maltaron said what you would need to do to take advantage of FIT payments.

I rephrased that to say what you would need to do to take advantage of a terrible and lethal system, i.e. the FIT scheme.

And you quoted my rephrasing, a criticism of the FIT scheme, and said I should blame the EU for it.


2. You said I should also blame people who don't want power stations to be built for the FIT scheme.


3. You said I was probably opposed to power stations being built.

Applies to rich and po0r a like

But it is the poor who are disproportionately affected by the increase in electricity bills. It is poor people who get into fuel poverty. It is predominately poor people who don't own suitable roofs.

Being unable to take advantage of free PV installations does NOT apply to rich and poor alike.

I wasnt aware i was getting a discount for the cost of the equiment or installation, so can not comement on this. In regards only being paid for the electrity i generate, yes i agree with this and will be seeking to have meters installed to ensure this

I asked "If ... and ... and ...", so describing a situation where if you had to pay all the costs and got only the market rate for what you actually produced would you... Apologies if that wasn't clear.

Agreed. Hence my original post to try and found out the reality of the situtation, but instead i have been attacked by a sales man for the anti movement

Then look at the reality of the situation without the distortion of FITs. Decide if you think it is worthwhile to have solar PV installed if you do not take advantage of FIT, and if so then go ahead and do not make people pay more for the electricity they consume so that you can be paid an artificially high rate for what you produce.