Distributor warns against buying outdated solar panels

[Jan]

South Africans making a big mistake when buying solar panels

South African households and businesses are primarily buying cheap solar panels that are likely to fail within 10–12 years.

That is according to M Solar Power managing director Mark Becker, who recently spoke to MyBroadband about the recommended specifications shoppers should check before buying a panel.

 

[Cranjus McBasketball]

I think I see the problem. Don't set the panels on fire.

 

[RudderVator]

Ah South Africans... who cares about the performance or longevity. As long as it looks good and shiny its fine.

Chinese cars, appliances the examples go on.

 

[Grieta Thanburg]

Ah South Africans... who cares about the performance or longevity. As long as it looks good and shiny its fine.

Chinese cars, appliances the examples go on.

Its more like: who cares about performance or longevity. As long as I have electricity its fine.

 

[FlashSA]

I'm assuming Tier 1 panels are the one's that do not have the inferior properties mentioned in the article?

JA, Longi, Canadian....

 

[ands45]

Bit of a useless article if you don't mention which brands to look out for or avoid. Not the easiest to see as prob not something that is noted in the spec sheet, or at least not prominently.

I did a good amount of research before purchasing and didn't see detail of this. Still wouldn't know if mine are glas back or not. Hopefully Canadian solar are

 

[My_King]

"First Energy Solar is a major distributor of PV solar panels and equipment, specialising in high-end hardware for commercial and residential installations"

And only buy first energy solar right?

Thats why Im with FNB. Their CEO said they are the best so I went with them.

Can't wait for the first CEO of PnP or Checkers to tell me to only buy their brand.

 

[RedViking]

We do what we can with what we have. Some of these suppliers live in lalaland.

 

[lkpat]

TLDR:

Your panels are going to burn your house down... unless you buy them from us.

Useless article is useless.
Talks about glass on glass panels but says nothing about brand names.

 

[Mannydefreitas]

So in a few years an early adoptor may find he has to replace his Solar Panels, in the same month his Lifepo4 batteries start failing, only to be hit by the bill for a new battery for his EV.

Be enough to make the poor chap choke on his vape...

 

[Katelknaap]

If the Glass on Glass panels are so much "better", why do they also just have a 12 year product warranty like the "normal" panels?

In the JA Solar range for instance, you'll have to look carefully at the model number to distinguish the difference in the panels. JAM72D is double glass, whereas the JAM72S is the "normal" panels. No idea how to identify these types of panels from the other manufacturers.

The "Double glass" panels migt be better long term, but only time will tell.

The price difference is negligible anyway. Herholdts is selling the 550W JA Solar "Double Glass" panels for R 2157.40 / panel. You won't find 550W panels for a lot cheaper, so you might as well go for the "double glass".

 

[McGuywer]

If the Glass on Glass panels are so much "better", why do they also just have a 12 year product warranty like the "normal" panels?

In the JA Solar range for instance, you'll have to look carefully at the model number to distinguish the difference in the panels. JAM72D is double glass, whereas the JAM72S is the "normal" panels. No idea how to identify these types of panels from the other manufacturers.

The "Double glass" panels migt be better long term, but only time will tell.

The price difference is negligible anyway. Herholdts is selling the 550W JA Solar "Double Glass" panels for R 2157.40 / panel. You won't find 550W panels for a lot cheaper, so you might as well go for the "double glass".

There is more information in this one post than in the whole article.

 

[W@P]

If the Glass on Glass panels are so much "better", why do they also just have a 12 year product warranty like the "normal" panels?

In the JA Solar range for instance, you'll have to look carefully at the model number to distinguish the difference in the panels. JAM72D is double glass, whereas the JAM72S is the "normal" panels. No idea how to identify these types of panels from the other manufacturers.

The "Double glass" panels migt be better long term, but only time will tell.

The price difference is negligible anyway. Herholdts is selling the 550W JA Solar "Double Glass" panels for R 2157.40 / panel. You won't find 550W panels for a lot cheaper, so you might as well go for the "double glass".

What is the difference between the two? Why is the one better?

 

[lkpat]

It seems this supplier has fallen for the hype.

The weekend read: Double glass can spell double trouble - pv magazine Global

Glass-glass modules are built to survive the toughest conditions and can deliver module lifetimes far exceeding the 20-30 years expected of glass-foil. The module concept is ideally positioned to catch the building bifacial wave, but only if quality concerns are addressed, warn some experts in...

www.pv-magazine.com

At the moment, there is a lot of hype [about glass-glass modules], but the reality is that with some of those products, especially OEM [produced], you might find quality issues later on, which also hits onto us, as glass-glass will generally suffer,” says Bernhard Weilharter, the Managing Director of German module maker CS Wismar.


I wouldn’t touch a company that uses hype and fake news to peddle their wares

 

[Grieta Thanburg]

So in a few years an early adoptor may find he has to replace his Solar Panels, in the same month his Lifepo4 batteries start failing, only to be hit by the bill for a new battery for his EV.

Be enough to make the poor chap choke on his vape...

Not sure about the others, but I already started saving up to replace in 10 years anyway. Small amount every month. If Eskom is fixed by some magic event at that point and I don't need it, it stays in the homeloan to pay off the property faster.

 

[soulie]

What is the difference between the two? Why is the one better?

not maybe on all panels ,but ive seen on some that the outer layer isnt really glass as i would call it it seems to be a type of acrylic which goes hazy after a few years ,never tried to cut into it ,i myself have seen glass panels that are many years old 15 or so that are still pristine ,yes ive tapped them with my teeth ....and you can hear glass versus acrylic ,just open wide in the shop when testing .

 

[rh1]

I have JA 460w panels. 1 year in. No noticable drop in generation. @AchmatK you had solar longer than most, thoughts?

 

[rh1]

From the broken panel that was on the bottom, it appears mine is a some form of shatter proof glass.

 

[PsyWulf]

Not even talking about Fake panels and stuff like Fivestar which is like half the label-rating

 

[Werner1975]

Like all things in life, not all of us can afford the best. You pay your money and you take your chances.