I have had a few quotes on a system for my home here in Southern California and I am confused on what brand panels I should buy.

I think that I have narrowed down my choice of a gride tied inverter.
I am going with two of the Xantrex GT 3.0 units.

The panels I have been looking at are either the Mitsubishi MF170EB3's or the BP Solar 4175's.

I am kind of confused on which way to go. Has anyone had any experience with either of these brands?? Bad things or good things???

The BP solar panels appear to be the same size as the Mitsubihi panels but the BP panel are rated at a higher minimum output than the Mitsubishi panels.

Roof space is a concern on my installation, so it would seem that I would need a panel that has a higher rated minimum output.

I just want to make sure that I am making the right choice.

Also the way I figure it I will be using 2 strings of 10 BP panels for each Xantrex inverter for a total of 40 panels and 2 Xantrex inverters.

Do those numbers seem okay?

Also does anyone know what both brands are made of? I can seem to find any information on the materials used in the construction of either of these panels. Does one certain brand use a better process to make the panels??

Thanks for your help and ideas!

Marshall

The BP's are Mono Crystalline which is 1-2% more efficient than Poly Chrystalline which the Mitsubishi are:

http://www.bp.com/subsection.do?categoryId=3050527&contentId=3060177

http://global.mitsubishielectric.com/bu/solar/

BP has been doing solar MUCH longer and are generally considered one of, if not they top brand. Having said that, All manufactures are basically within 1-2% of each other, excluding the Sanyo HIT and the new Sun-Power panels.

The Sanyos's are a hybird Si & A-Si and the Sunpower came-up with a way to get ride of the conductive strips, though their technology is locked to positve ground systems for some reason, and ONLY the PVPowered inverter works with that

If your looking for the best power per/sq meter, go with the Sanyo's, otherwise the BP's are a very good choice and the safest as its the most mature and proven technology.

The 2 GT's and 40 panels will be a good performing system, hope you can make the commitment to the system!

One other note, you should look at the cost (net) of this system, compared to a refit of your AC with a high SEER unit (about 8-9K for SEER 16). Your only going to get about 700-900kWh month from this, or about 100-150$ depending on your cost per kWr

Also, solar thermal has a much better payback, with the 2K rebate, you can get a decent system for 3-4K installed and it will save about 500-700kWr, especially if you have lots of hot-water needs!

Okay that was some really good information and answered some concerns I had regarding panel choice.


Solar Guppy says:
BP has been doing solar MUCH longer and are generally considered one of, if not they top brand. Having said that, All manufactures are basically within 1-2% of each other, excluding the Sanyo HIT and the new Sun-Power panels.

Okay, I think it will be safe to go with the BP panels then. I don't want to be the new kid on the block that is testing a new un-proving technology!
I would rather be a little conservative than have to take a chance on something new.



Solar Guppy says:
One other note, you should look at the cost (net) of this system, compared to a refit of your AC with a high SEER unit (about 8-9K for SEER 16).

Okay, I do not mean to sound stupid here, but I have seen this "NET" cost phase used before. What does that actually mean in regards to the cost of a PV system. I need a little education on that to run the numbers.

Solar Guppy says:
Also, solar thermal has a much better payback, with the 2K rebate, you can get a decent system for 3-4K installed and it will save about 500-700kWr, especially if you have lots of hot-water needs!


Well we are using natural gas here and it is still pretty cheap bill at the moment. But I do have a swing pool. In the summer I do not even need to heat it. Get pretty warm on its own. But I like the idea of extending the months that I could use the pool if I had solar heating connected. Yet another option to look at. I notice you have a PV system just for your pool pump motors that also looks like a great way to save on electricity.

Thanks again.

Marshall

Net as in the system costs X and you get rebates of Y , X - Y = NET COST YOU PAIDED



You need to change your mind set to using facts, not assumptions , Natural gas is at an all time high. What is your cost per month?. Solar Thermal for Domestic hot water will save about 50-100 dollars (depending on the number of user in the household and size of the system) per month. Systems cost 4K for say a 80 gallon to 8K for double size. They are the BEST return on invest ment about 4-10X better than PV depending on the costs and 2006 has a 2K federal rebate to boot





If you heat the pool now with gas, yikes, thats like heating the outdoors. Solar Thermal for pool has a payback of about 2-3 years. The dc pump failed after 6 months on my system, DC motors and brushes are not anything like AC pool pumps. I now just have the pool PV panels running on a GT and doing gridtie, nothing to break!

By the way, there is another power pig, make sure you have your timer set to no more than 8 hours in the summer, 4 hours winter. Many people just run 24/7. Also what size pump (HP) do you have. Pool people love putting oversized pumps. Nothing more than 3/4 HP is needed. I do my 6K gallon pool and it handles the head for the solar as well no problem on 3/4 HP, which by the ways uses 1.2 kWr , which is about 10kWh/day (300 kWh month)

Roughly $80.00 per month.





Okay you have me interested in the possiblity of Solar Theremal. Currnetly I have 5 users in the house hold. My water heater is a 100 gallon. Solar thermal seem like a good thing to do!




No I have not really heated the pool with natural gas. The summers are pretty hot here and do a fine job with out me doing anything. On rare occassion I have heated the pool for a party in the fall or early spring.



Sorry to hear that the project did not work out. It sure seemed like a good idea.





Well I have my timer set to 4 hours, just checked. I think my motor is a 1 HP. I will take a look at it in the morning. Another area to look into!
Man you have me thinking about all kinds of other ways to save power and $$$. Just going to take some time to sort it all out!

Thanks for all the information and thoughts.

Marshall