I live in Michigan and by ordering from Signature Solar over the phone I got free shipping, I purchased the Talesun 400 Watt Bifacial solar panels for less than $100 each. The price on their website if you buy a pallet of 36 panels is $3600, but then I also got the Military discount which was $108.00. Michigan Sales tax was $209.52, so technically if you include sales tax, I paid $102.82 per panel delivered right to my home in Michigan. Yes, I did have to purchase 36 panels which I plan to use all 36 of them, but I have friends begging me to sell them panels and are offering me $150 each. So if you don't want or need all 36 panels ( a full pallet ), you can sell the extra.
This is great! I have wondered about used ones, but have always been worried. I didn’t realize new ones could be so low priced. Thank you. This is extremely useful.
EU, Poland here. Few weeks ago I bought bifacial 390W Jolywood hd120n panels for 74USD each, with flat transport cost at about 120USD. All costs include VAT tax. It was from a large seller/distributor that has a lot of different brands, including the Ja, Trina, Hyundai and others. A year ago I bought the same panels, 9 of them, one was cracked. I reported that, got a refund for it and got to keep it for free. I sealed the crack with transparent silicone and it works just fine. There are many panels here that give more 5 watts per dollar. Hyundai was at about 5.6W per USD (18 cents/W). I'm guessing there have to be some additional duty costs in US for the prices to be that much higher, usually it is the other way around (EU vs US).
I showed a few options from Signature Solar in the later part of the video. They have the free shipping going on till the end of Feb. The only downside is that you have to order at least 10 of them. When picking up panels locally, sometimes you can buy 1, 2, or even 3 panels like I did.
Thanks Jason for a great video. You have demonstrated that you can save a lot of money by shopping locally from your neighbors who have purchased pallets of quantities of these panels and are often willing to break up those pallets fewer than a whole pallet. A few questions arise that you haven't talked about in this video.: 1) There are a ton of solar panel companies out there. Almost every day I hear of another company that I've never heard of. Can you offer us any guidance on determining which are higher or lower quality? Are there any standouts that you would steer clear of or give preference to? Are domestically made panels necessarily of higher quality? 2) What do you think about bifacial panels? Are they a time-tested technology or is the jury still out? All the ones I've seen (again, there are a ton of different brands and I'm sure I've only come across a small fraction) have long warranties, but I'd rather not have to make a warranty claim. Now that they are out, do you think that we should give preference to them in for sale listings? Are there situations where they are not better or should be avoided? 3) Speaking of warranties, sellers on Facebook Marketplace often tout the long warranties, but do you really think these companies will honor the warranty from someone who did not actually make the order and is lacking in proof of purchase? 4) Are there any differences in the connections on panels that were produced for the general public versus those made for the commercial and government sectors? 5) I've gone onto the sites of some of these solar panel companies and they will have many panels with just a slight difference in wattage. For example 510, 520, 530 watts. Small incremental differences. Any tips to deciding which are best for you? I'm guessing it comes down to those Open Circuit Voltage (Voc)and Maximum Power Current (Imp) values and whether they are compatible with a particular power station or charge controller. Maybe there are other considerations. Thanks again for empowering us to build the best solar systems for our set of circumstance and budgets. Look forward to your next video. Cheers!
This is so helpful Jason! I really appreciate the video and all the options on how to find them! I am not on Facebook so thanks for the time to talk about the other options Thanks so much! Katy
@@Jasonoid I keep mulling it over.... Maybe I will take the plunge! Maybe I could sell my own little set of treasures there instead of eBay, as we continue to curate our collection (aka get rid of all the *#@*, aka downsize😀)
I would love to see a quick video with some test results using the Talesun panels. They are such a good deal on Signature Solar with the free shipping and the low cost per panel. A bit over $1,000 + sales tax for 10, 400 watt bifacial panels. Wow
You have to wait for signature solar to have a free shipping sale. I just looked at a 10 panel bundle and it was more to ship than the cost of the panels.
Yes, bifacial panels just get extra power from the backside if they are mounted in a way that light can reflect on the back. You can also use them in a normal scenario too.
I found the glass is the main difference of various price panels. Some very cheap panel have very thin glass on them. One small hail can destroy all of them.
The 'expensive' panels shown in the video do not have any thicker glass, they are just using old pricing models hoping to take advantage of people who are unaware of recent price drops. BougeRV and EcoFlow don't even make the panels, they are just purchasing them from a manufacturer and slapping their brand on it. Don't be fooled, the panels from Signature solar are high quality UL listed panels. They do not have thinner glass.
holey shit, i went on to my local facbook marketplace and a guy was selling 650W canadian solar Bifacial solar panels for $250 EACH and he has alot in bulk. the more you buy the more you save, if you buy a pallet of 31 panels from the dude he broke it down to 197 each panel, thats NUTS!
With the extermely overrpriced installation costs I am surperised that there are no solar panel + inverter kits to install them in the garden. In germany you can buy the so called "balcony kits" where you get 1000W solar panels + 800W microinverter and directly connect them to the wall socket. And that's it. No inspection. No installation cost. Nothing. Just net metering or some other deal. Cost is something like 500 euro or less.
Homes in Europe have a built in backfeed safety switch at the meter. If the power fails, it keeps power from going back to the grid. The homes in the US have no such thing so linemen could be hurt or killed during a power outage. That's probably the main reason we don't have them here 😢
That's different than my answer though... If homes in the US had auto backfeed devices installed at the meter, I feel those cheap grid tie systems would be legal without all the red tape and permits... Also homes in the US are split phase 240v while in Europe they just have 240v. If you backfeed via 1 outlet in the US you are only feeding half the main panel and it gets complicated getting the two phases in sync.
@@Jasonoid For small loads it doesn't really matter for the phases to be in sync. If you start using a 120V hairdrier your 2 phases will immediately be out of sync. So much red tape. So much over regulation. America needs to self install kits to be saved. You now have $40K systems (without any battery) and the panels only cost $2K. That's ridiculous.
Only when purchased with a pallet of at least 10 and paying $350 freight shipping. (those low prices are only within the last 4 to 5 months since the demand for home installed solar crashed). I love that the price of solar panels has dropped, but last year the same 400w panel would have been $275 per.
Im a Salt Lake City resident too! Thank you for taking the time to educate us. I need a couple of 400W solar panels and I want to install on roofing. Can you recommend a brand and local installer for small job to power a battery system
@@peckerpeter2078 you find the panel you want locally from Facebook marketplace and then search the tech sheet online. Most residential panels are UL listed since they are capable of being grid tied.
This week I have bough 600w bifacial panels for 130 eur of course new, your video ones are too expensive, but I mean in usa you have higher wages so its just fine
I would never do this unless I am buying one or two panels. The seller on facebook will never give an invoice and with no invoice I can't get the solar tax credits!
I guess it depends on the situation. You can buy panels for double the price and only get 30% back through your tax return or you can save the money upfront.
Mr. Jason , fantastic information and you selected one of my cities to look for solar panels. I had been thinking of buying one or two 400W solar panels just recently to mount on the roof of my shed to run a window unit A/C when I do work in there. All I have is a EcoFlow Delta Max 2000 and the 160W solar panel that came as a package on sale. Off hand do you know if two of these panels normally would be compatible with my power bank if they are connected in series or parallel.
These residential 400w panels put out great power and they also have a 25 to 30 year warranty. I just found another three Q cell 395w panels yesterday for only $100 each! Amazing deal finding them locally so you don't have to pay for shipping or taxes.
Jason can I run 2 200 watt in solar panels parellel with my bluetti ac ac 180 to I know amps will be higher but I think you said the mppt will just limit it to 10 amps . Thanks love your channel👍
If I remember the AC180 has the voltage limit of 60 volts and an amperage limit of 10 amps. Each 200w panel is going to put out 20v & 10 amps so you won't be seeing any additional power with a parallel connection. Parallel connections combine the amperage, so if your panels are putting out 20 amps in parallel, the power station will only allow 10 amps. You'll need to connect those panels in series to see more charging power.
The charge controller makes them compatible. You select a charge controller which can handle the volts and amps from the panels and is compatible with the type and voltage of your batteries.
Demand for solar panels has dropped significantly in the last 6 months. Price is driven by 'supply and demand'. Withots of stock on hand the price drops to clear out the product. The pricing is probably temporary. I'm sure they will go back up eventually and it's hard to say when it will. There's nothing wrong with these panels, they are excellent technology!
Good point about demand for solar panel falling. Some of that is due to the new solar regulations in California where it is now much less financially attractive to put solar on your house. @@Jasonoid
@@Jasonoid he just did a 400w rigid panel on the roof of his FJ like a week ago. Then there was the DC to DC charging stuff. I’m sure it’s coincidence. You have some unique takes on the gear. Not at all a criticism more like Deja Vu
I bought these panels over a month ago and I finally got the time to get to the video. I see that he used a BougeRV 400w panel in his recent video with his FJ, that thing is expensive!
They buy a pallet of 36 panels, they then install their own solar system using half of them. The rest they sell off for a slight profit. Or they are a distributor?
