Charging Batteries With Solar Panels
All types of rechargeable batteries can be charged-up using solar panels, wind turbines or a mains connected charger. While it is possible to charge a 12-volt battery directly from a 12V solar panel without regulating or controlling the amount of charging current it isnt the best way of doing it.
To continually charge deep cycle storage batteries in a better and controlled way you will need some form of the charge controller. Charge controllers deliver the right amount of power from the solar panel to the battery in a precise and controlled way and are an important part of any well designed DIY solar power kit.
Keeping the deep cycle batteries of your solar power kit full of charge and healthy is also important because they will last a long time if you look after them giving you a return on your investment. Overcharging and/or undercharging a battery will eventually damage it, so keeping batteries healthy means charging them fully, regularly and in a controlled way.
Of course, theres a huge range of charge controllers available to choose from a few Dollars or Euro to several hundred. The more expensive models have built-in digital displays that allow you to monitor and see exactly whats going on in your system. The charge controllers here are an excellent high-quality example and would control a system well, but choose one that suits not only your system but your budget.
What Is The Value Of A Used Solar Panel
Second-hand modules are sold according to cost per watt as this is the most standardized way of pricing them, similar to how the prices of new solar panels are compared. As of 2021, the price of a used solar panel can be as low as only $0.10 per watt. Even at $0.60 per watt, used solar panels are easily snapped up.
The low price does not mean that the panel is at the end of its lifespan. No doubt, the older the panel is, the lower its efficiency level will be and, thus its cost. Most used solar panels for resale are aged between 1 and 9 years. These still operate at a high-efficiency rate.
The value of used solar panels also lies in the materials used to make the solar cells. Photovoltaic cells contain elements such as silver and tellurium. These are rare and non-renewable resources that can be extracted from the used solar panels.
Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash
A strong market exists for used solar panels outside of America. The demand goes as far as Africa, Asia and Europe. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, there are already thriving online platforms in Europe for the resale of used panels. For example,www.secondsol.de andwww.pvXchange.com.
Buying Cheap Solar Panels
If you dont feel like doing all of the work involved in the methods for getting free solar panels listed above, you can opt to buy cheap solar panels from people who did use the above methods to get them and now want to make a small profit from them.
You can find these exceptional offers on websites such as ebay.com or craigslist.com, start a free account and buy as many cheap solar panels as you want.
Although this method involves you dishing out some of your own money, it also eliminates a lot of the hard work of getting free solar power panels. Since these people probably got their solar panels for free, they are usually more than happy to get rid of them for very cheap and you end up getting them for practically free.
One of the advantages of this approach is that, unlike free solar panels, the panels you get have usually already been tested and proven to work. You dont have to end up with 47 useless solar panels in your garage. Always get a receipt for what you buy, just in case of foul play.
In essence, you are trading a little bit of money for the luxury of having a lot of the leg work done for you. That works for me.
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Used Vs Refurbished Solar Panels
Refurbished solar panels are a type of used panel that could be a good fit for you: because theyve been restored, theyre more likely than used panels to perform at a similar level as new panels. Theyll be much less expensive than new panels and typically come with some warranty, unlike many used panels. However, you should expect their lifespan to still be much shorter than new panels.
Where To Find Used Solar Panels In Europe
In Europe, solar panels are easier to come by than in North America because the demand is a bit higher, and the infrastructure generally operates a higher percentage of solar panels, around 18% in the European Union alone.
Youll be able to find them primarily in the wholesale market, and there is a great place called SecondSol that specializes in the used marketplace.
Here, you can filter on the left-hand side to only show used products, condition, age, and more. There is no shortage of pages to scroll through and find some options, and most likely, there will be one close to your country. Plus, there are other useful resources, and they sell inverters as well!
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Solar Panels Kits For Sale
If youre installing used solar panels, you may want to look around for solar panel kits for sale to help you get the best one for your DIY installation. Fortunately, there are many solar panel kits for sale on various websites. However, not all solar panel kits are equal, so choose the one that best suits your needs.
A solar panel kit is a bundle of solar panels and other solar essentials to help you install and operate your entire system. Whats great about the solar panel kit is that it helps you cut out the extra cost youd pay to a middle man by doing the installation yourself.
Solar panel kits are excellent for RV, van dwellers, or solar energy for small vehicles and electronics. You can also use a solar panel kit for your off-grid home.
Here are some of the best solar panel kits available on Amazon.com:
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Renogy 400W Solar Starter Kit. This solar panel kit includes all the essentials, except the battery bank, which you can purchase separately. Whats great about the kit is that its easy to install and comes with a Rover MPPT charge controller.
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Renogy 3600W Solar Cabin Kit. This kit is best for off-grid living, thanks to the 3600W it offers, which is also great as a backup in regular homes. It offers a 25-year power output warranty for the panels, a 5-year warranty for the materials, and a 1-year warranty for the accessories.
Is Buying Used Solar Panels Worth It
Lets face it. A brand new solar power system is expensive. No doubt, the latest photovoltaic technology can generate twice the power of used ones.
However, new models naturally come with a price tag at least double the cost of used ones. Even with the reducing cost of new solar panels each year, it still cant beat that of used panels.
The efficiency rate of a used solar panel is definitely lower than a new one. The reduced efficiency is caused by impurities creeping into the crystals of the photovoltaic material. Some of the electrons generated are attracted to these impurities instead of flowing into the electrical circuit.
A solar panel loses between 0.5 and 0.8 percent efficiency per year. Sooner or later, the panel will become completely dysfunctional. However, even with a 0.5 percent efficiency loss per year, a solar panel is still operating at 86 percent after 30 years.
For the thrift-seeker, used solar panels are a lifesaver. Some people even buy enough used panels to cover their roofs. This makes sense when there is an existing solar system and youre just switching out the panels on your own.
The cost of the panels constitutes a relatively small part of the entire solar system installation. According to NREL, solar companies are charging around$2.60 per watt to install rooftop solar systems. About 63 to 91 cents of that go to making and delivering the panels.
Photo by Vivint Solar on Unsplash
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Other Used Solar Equipment
As with panels, you may come across other used or refurbished solar equipment, such as solar racking, solar inverters, and even DIY solar kits. If youre looking to go off-grid, other components like a charge controller might also be available secondhand. Again, your best bet is to work with a trusted, local solar installer to determine the best quality equipment to install for your needs. While you may save money upfront with used solar equipment, the long-term implications likely arent worth it youll probably lose out on efficiency and warranty coverage, you could have damaged equipment that impacts performance, and youll likely have to repair or replace things sooner than if you install new equipment.
Think Before Trashing: The Second
Over the next five years, a growing number of U.S. solar owners and operators will choose to repower their systems. Total supply of decommissioned material will increase, but not all equipment is bound for recycling. Brokers engaged in the trade of used goods, particularly second-hand modules, are seeing more quality equipment uninstalled years prior to their end-of-life.
One online exchange has seen second-hand modules for resale as young as two years old. Demand for such material is booming, as resellers broker deals in the megawatt levels. Installers can also play a role in the circular economy by redirecting energy-producing decommissioned modules to the secondary market.
Repowering and decommissions increase second-hand supply
The repowering trend is expected to spike this decade in the United States. The primary reason for repowering has to do with aging components. Wood Mackenzie expects 800 GWDC will be repowered between 2021 and 2025 due to inverters reaching the end of their 10-year lifespan.
Beyond repowering, the industry is seeing a number of uninstalls taking place prior to system end-of-life. Sometimes a property with a rooftop or ground-mount is sold, and the new owner dismantles the array. Or, a building with an existing array is demolished. Other times, an array is partially destroyed by a natural disaster, but instead of replacing just the damaged components, the insurance company decides to replace all components.
Buyer considerations
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Calculating Your Energy Requirements
The actual electricity generated by a DIY solar power electric system is basically a function of its panel size , its solar efficiency, positioning, amount of sun exposure plus a variety of other such factors, so it is important that when you are designing a DIY solar power kit that its size will generate enough electricity to cover your average households electricity usage throughout the year.
The electrical power rating of a typical appliance is generally given in Watts which you can find by either looking at the appliances identification sticky label or by the product data are given in the user manual. Some manufacturers give the appliances wattage value in volt-amps, for example, 200VA . This volt-amps rating is more or less the same as that given in Watts because Watts is just voltage times current, that is volts times amps, or V*A which is shortened to just VA.
The appliances daily energy consumption is simply calculated as the VA or Wattage rating multiplied by the number of hours per day it is switched on or being used . So for example, if our 200VA appliance is used for 5 hours during a 24 hour period, then the total consumption of energy would be 200VA multiplied by 5 hours which gives 1,000 watt-hours or 1 kWhr , as 1,000 watts is equal to 1 kilowatt .
Any Place In Southern Ohio To Buy Used Solar Panels
We are star stuff harvesting sunlight.
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hello alldan here this is my first post and I am looking fir some used panels in or near southern Ohio I am centrally located about 60 miles from Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus . Thanks
We are star stuff harvesting sunlight.
- Joined
joe I check it every day. I finally found some that were not too terrible far away away .I am paying a friend of mine to go pick them up plus his gas its going to be about 300 to get them hereI am getting 20 q plus l-g4.2 345 watt panels for 800 plus the 300 for getting them here . so I will be 1100 into them . they were supposedly bought in 2020 and used for 1.5 years . when the guy bought the house they were told by the realtor that the system was not to code and it had to be removed before the bank would give them a loan
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When Should Used Solar Panels Not Be Used
If youre installing a large system to power your entire home, you may want to think twice about buying used solar panels.
And, keep in mind that certain rebate or tax credit programs have rules against used solar equipment. Additionally, some states like California or Florida have lists of approved solar panels, so be sure to check before purchasing any used solar.
Purchasing a solar power system for your home is a long-term investment. So using new solar panels is the best way to ensure that your investment will last and pay for itself as intended.
Note that solar panels generally have a 30-year lifespan and lose 0.5 to 1% of their power output every year due to degradation of the solar cells. Dont forget to factor in power loss due to natural degradation as you calculate your payback period.
Guide To The Most Affordable Solar Panels
The cost of solar panels has declined roughly 80% in the last decade, bolstering the technologys reputation as an affordable energy source like never before. Now that solar power has reached this cost-effective price point, customers and businesses looking to capitalize on the benefits of solar energy are flooding the market looking for cheap solar panels.
this article, well discuss the most affordable solar panels available and whether its better to save money upfront or invest in high-quality models. Well also give recommendations for solar panels at the crossroads of affordability and efficiency, providing the best bang for your buck.
If youre looking for cheap solar panels, one way to find them is to get free quotes from multiple installation companies.
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Choosing Your Solar Panels
Now its time to choose the solar panels for your DIY solar power kit. Photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into DC electricity and come in a wide range of types for different applications and power needs from different manufacturers, but it is worth mentioning here that solar panels arent all equal and just because it says 100 Watts on the manufacturers data sheet does not mean it will produce that. Photovoltaic solar panels are usually rated with a solar irradiance of 1,000 W/m2, at a temperature of 25oC.
As well as PV panels variation in size, shape, wattage rating and other such specifications, standard PV panels are made of two different types of silicon-based cells. The Monocrystalline cell uses a much higher and purer grade of silicon, offering the best sunlight-to-electricity conversion efficiency, and thus are more expensive to make.
Multicrystalline or Polycrystalline cells use less pure silicon materials and are therefore easier and cheaper to make. Having said that, the solar conversion efficiency of these types of a photovoltaic cells is slightly less than that of their more expensive monocrystalline cousins. So if you are on a tight budget, then multi-crystalline or polycrystalline cells will work just as well.
Buying Used Solar Panels What To Know
People are starting to realize that their energy uses have severe impacts on the planet, so many have turned to solar panels reducing their carbon footprints. Of course, solar panels are expensive, but that shouldnt discourage you from going solar. There are many used solar panels for sale you only need to know how to find them.
Used solar panels for sale can be found on online platforms like Facebook, Craigslist, eBay, and Alibaba. The best place to buy used solar panels is on Facebook Marketplace. Facebook Marketplace allows you to search for used solar panels in your location, nearby places, or within your country.
Ill explain the pros and cons of using used solar panels and how they compare to brand new solar panels, but before that, Ill share some tips on finding used solar panels.
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Solar Technology Is Continuing To Improve
The solar industry is constantly developing and selling new panel technologies at competitive prices. Even a used panel in good condition from a few years ago will have outdated photovoltaic technology and produce electricity less efficiently than a new solar panel. For this reason, you save more money over time by installing newer, more efficient, and often higher-watt solar panels instead of paying less upfront for an outdated model.
For example, most new solar panels installed today are monocrystalline, meaning they include solar cells made from a single crystal of silicon and are more efficient. On the other hand, used solar panels may be polycrystalline, with solar cells made from many silicon fragments melted together and tend to be more affordable. Youll want to weigh options to best fit your needs an experienced installer can help you do that before making a purchase.
