Best new flex panels on the market?

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by john61ct

If they sold direct not many dealers would carry them.

True, but I don't see the dealers listing them online either. It is 21st century

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That's pretty funny logic. So are you implying that the fogging of flexpanels used in the tropics is caused by leaving the protective shipping cover on, or is this only true for the fogging of Solbian panels?

Nothing funny implied.

I was replying specifically to that one individual who's friend apparently left the protective film on his Solbian panels, then blamed the company for the failure. A company representative told me that this actually happens occasionally, there's a warning sticker on the panels when new instructing buyers to remove protective film immediately prior to use or it will glue itself on from the heat. But some people ignore the warning, thinking it will be like the protective film on a cellphone screen, then the film becomes cloudy within a short period of time. Mine came with the same protective film and warning, and I removed it before I installed the panels.

This was also mentioned earlier in the thread by others.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Nothing funny implied.

I was replying specifically to that one individual who's friend apparently left the protective film on his Solbian panels, then blamed the company for the failure. A company representative told me that this actually happens occasionally, there's a warning sticker on the panels when new instructing buyers to remove protective film immediately prior to use or it will glue itself on from the heat. But some people ignore the warning, thinking it will be like the protective film on a cellphone screen, then the film becomes cloudy within a short period of time. Mine came with the same protective film and warning, and I removed it before I installed the panels.

This was also mentioned earlier in the thread by others.

Yeah, when I posted that my flexpanels had fogged after 3 years someone who had never seen them quickly posted back here on CF that I must have left the protective cover tape on them - In the CF tradition of blaming the victim. Fogged flexpanels are common when used in the tropics and it has nothing to do with leaving the shipping cover on. Tgats is just BS. Both cheap panels and very expensive ones have fogged.
Hopefully the newer coatings will hold up better.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Paul L

True, but I don't see the dealers listing them online either. It is 21st century[emoji2]

Price wars lead to zero profits.

[daletournier]

I spoke to a guy recently about his Solbians. His started fogging after three years but he said the fogging polished out, overall he was very happy with them.

[Velanera]

Originally Posted by Paul L

That's a good price. At this point in the market I think those are the way to go, assuming you can find a dealer. Surprising that you don't see them listed online for direct purchase.

I think is a dealer/reseller price. Sun power never sold B2C and I don’t think they will start with flex panels losing many dealers. So 234,00 plus plus the dealer's profit and tax (it is specified that it is a price without VAT) . Yes for sure less than Sorbian, but for sure not 234,00 at the end client

[Bleemus]

Fogging can be mitigated using Prism Polish. I have used this on solar panels, headlights on my truck and hatches. Pretty amazing stuff. Wish I had some before and after shots of my headlights as the improvement was dramatic.

Prism Polish on Amazon.

http://amzn.to/2xXZBX0

[Sailsgood]

Originally Posted by Training Wheels

Check out Sunbeam Systems, as they use Sunpower cells. I bought mine from Teknikhamstern. Shipping to US was cheap, like less than 20 euros.
[ATTACH]157126

Are those simple PET or ETFE?

I want to make a general note (referring to no one), we must not pass the message that the monocrystalline sunpower is the best cell in absolute. It is the most efficent, but it is not said that Sunpower is the product with the best production in any circumstance. If you use production comparison sites for installations such as pvcompare.net or pvoutput.org, you will see that sunpower panels are not always the ones with the best productions (almost never). We do not have to confuse efficiency (W / m) with production (wh / wp). Very often a common polycrystalline has wh / wp higher than a Sunpower monocrystalline. Obviously it affects the space, but if you have ten or fifteen centimeters more you can also consider other products.

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by Bleemus

Fogging can be mitigated using Prism Polish. I have used this on solar panels, headlights on my truck and hatches. Pretty amazing stuff. Wish I had some before and after shots of my headlights as the improvement was dramatic.

Prism Polish on Amazon.

http://amzn.to/2xXZBX0

Thanks for the handy hint.

[OceanPlanet]

We at OPE have been working with Solbian for many years, and they never fail to impress with their responsiveness. They back up their products as good or better than any other Mfg we've ever dealt with. I visited the factory last year and was treated like a king. Great location near the mountains.

[Kenomac]

I just left the Solbian factory in Avigliana an hour ago. The work that was done to the bimini was superior, and I'll post pictures of the work sometime next week when I return to the boat. Many thanks to Mattia, Karin, Antonio and the entire staff, it was a pleasure.

[OceanPlanet]

SunPower is trying to get us to buy hundreds of their new flex panels. We have a sample 100W in our shop for testing, will be running it vs Solbian SP (with SunPower cells), SR (Merlin cells), etc.

The problem for us and our dealers is that if they are sold online and Home Depot, etc. then no one will want to stock them, and no installers will want to deal with them. There are only two sizes so far, so still need the Solbian product range (and Solara). Really on the fence as to what to do...

[OceanPlanet]

The one thing we know for sure is that we don't want to throw Solbian under the bus, after all their years if dedication and product development. They and Solara have essentially built up the SunPower brand (despite the competition from knock offs), only to have SunPower jump in the game themselves.

[Galues]

We also have Gioco flexible panels on two separate boats
Both boats the panels are faulty
Supplier in US said there was a bad batch made from the factory!

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by OceanPlanet

The problem for us and our dealers is that if they are sold online and Home Depot, etc. then no one will want to stock them, and no installers will want to deal with them. There are only two sizes so far, so still need the Solbian product range (and Solara). Really on the fence as to what to do...

State outright you as a small co don't compete on price, your business is service, install work, system integration.
Cover costs in your low-end pricing, minimal profit as part of other work, there as an option but not recommended vs high-end.

Quote higher prices for PV buy-only, cover those overheads, don't go crazy on warranty if you're not installing