http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjourn ... files.html

does this mean the AstroPower modules sold by SunElec in Miami will cost more or less? Some of the modules thay sell say "for use outside the USA only" or similar. are thes the Astro Powers? are they single crystals?

GE has already won the BK offer and about 3 weeks ago took over astro power

The Outside US thing is a weasle clause Sun Electric uses to sell the modules and not get in trouble with the manufacures. Both the Manufactures and Sunelectric "look the other way" on this as both want to sell product and its just a technicallity as not to get into trouble with all the other sales channels selling "1st's"

Seconds by the way , have varing defects ... some are scratches ,some have chipped or a cracked cells , something got under the tevlar ... ect

On my photowatts all except two , put out more than the name plate rating even though about half have a cracked or chipped cell , but were tested as such and still make about 162 watts on average ... this compares to 175 watts if all 36 cells were perfect and the name plate is 155 watt

almost all solar panels today are multi , not single crystaline .. I know of only two panels , the 175 sharp and the top BP panel as single ... not worth the price differenace IMHO

For what its worth , my ding and dent onsale photwatt system is out performing my old (as in previous house) kyocera 120 based array based on kWh to the grid at a purchase price of almost 40% less

It's not for everyone (seconds) , but IMHO , looking at the array on the roof from the ground or judging from the actual performance delivered .. it is the best deal going today in solar PV.

I have to upgrade my system is why I am looking/asking stuff. I have a “million solar roofâ€￾ grant ($3,200) from Maryland in April/May 98. I have an Omnion 2200 inverter (Omnion out of inverter biz and I got no schematics. Fixing popped diodes is a by guess and by golly) I got 32, 43watt (1,376 watts) Millenium MSX Solarex thin film hi voltage. Plant stopped making them due to some problems. At BEST in clear skies after a thunder storm or cold front went thru when the sun is practically normal to the panels; I get barely over 1,054 watts or a degradation of over 20% in 6yrs! This is why I am looking for single cell vs. multicrystals as I have at best 4.5% efficiency.
I am trying to up my efficiency but am very aware of the $$ vs watts. The best I see is around 13% in the liquadators. Hopefully SunElec will update that comment on their website about greatest clearance ever

As an aside, I am aware that 32% is great for labs and up to 60% efficiency is possible. I have limited space on my roof, about 325sqft (rectangular)
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040424/fob2.asp
(Short term link for 60% efficient PV) WhooHooo!!! 600watts/sqmeter!!)

Asi (thinflim) is known for it horrible degradation curve ... why do you think everyone except unisolar has exited the Asi market ?

On top of this they have 1/2 the watt's per sf of Si , I wouldn't touch them , even if they were donated to me ... I'd sell them , take the cash and buy Si.

With 325 sf , you can put 22 of the pw165-155's on your roof , for a STC of 3410 watts .. the 155's work out to about 11% .... the best are about 14% as you say , but your only talking about 100 watts or so difference in your size installation going from ding and dent 11% at 2.5 ish watt to 4 dollar watt mono Si. , or 8500 vs 14000 for 100 more watts

Your system peak might be limited by the inverter though , I doubt it's much better than 80% efficiency.

What is you VOC and mppt voltages typically ?

if VOC is what it maxes out at when I do a hard reset, I get about +/-180v (i have to check for exact numbers, might be +/-191v on each leg)
I doubt i have MPPT, Omnion inverter was installed in May 98.
I am seriously looking at the Outback PS2 half rack with 2 GVFX3248's.
I am thinking about either selling the ASI's. blessed things are the high voltage ones 26"x48"

When my grid goes down, my house goes down too. I got CF lights, a 24cuft Amana fridge @ 347kwh/ 1/2 yr. (down from 1300+kwh from old one) so a 20kwh battery bank could be good too.

i meant GVFX3648's

SUN-170 170 Watts, 6.8 Amp, 24 Volts $420 2.47/wt
comments?
(is there a great difference between the PhotoWatt and the Astropower)

Si is the same , IHMO makes NO difference who makes it .... , The 170 watt is priced the same as the 155 watt Photowatts I got from them , a very fair deal



I looked up the panel , it has a VOC of 71 volts ... my guess , is you have 8 in a string , with four strings to the inverter

You can run a sunnyboy directly off these voltages , no array changes needed and get allot more power


The Outback route will make a nice backup system , but if you decide straight grid-tie , there are many options !

Be aware that the Omnion inverter based systems are bi-polar. That means that you have 180v on each side of neutral or ground. The millenium modules that you have are not approved for use in other than the original configuration, ie: higher voltage system, due to fire safety concerns. They could conceivably be used in a 48v battery based system.

Brad

Actually, the Omnion does have MPPT, though I'm not sure how good it is. That's why it changes tone up and down and voltage varies so much. I thought they sounded like a huge mosquito myself. I think they were around the low to mid 90's for efficiency.

Brad