Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Anyone know much about solar panels in general?

I have some unisolar 64W panels, these were supposed to be extremely good panels in their day, and the ones I have are unused. Now I'm looking at setting up a camper and want to use solar for all the power requirements, so I figured that as space is a premium, I'd sell the unisolars and get some higher capacity panels 150-200W.

Had a quick look on gumtree and a guy is selling unisolar 64W panels for $450 each second hand. You can buy 130W panels brand new for less than that. Anyone know if there's something especially good about the unisolar panels? Am I perhaps better off keeping the unisolar ones even though they are only 64W? I was told they are good for power production in increased heat and partial shade, where as some newer cheaper panels will stop with a little shade and their output goes down with heat.

I sell solar for boats. But I have not heard of that brand. The question you should be asking yourself is how can you minimize power consumption. Switching all of the incandescent lights for LED is an economical option when you consider how much the panels cost. Sometimes paying less for a panel with higher wattage is not the best choice. Perhaps you should look at the amp rating specified at 12v. Not all 64 watt panels are puting equal ammounts of power into batteries.To help determine your energy requirements click here.

Thanks Ron, I'll work on filling it out though I'm not 100% sure about my full load yet.. All a work in progress at the moment.

no idea about solar but it's common for sellers to price their items based on what they bought it for, not what it's worth now. e.g "I bought this 486 PC for $2500 back in 1990 so I'll sell it for $1000 grab a bargain!"
gumtree is good for a laugh sometimes

Unisolar panels, 64W, are available on Solar Online Australia brand new for $275. AND they are the flexible kind... http://www.solaronline.com.au/solar-panels.html

The Castle comment comes to mind for the guy on gumtree. Tell him he's dreaming!

They also have 215W panels for $475 or the ones I am looking at, 250W for $540ea.

we do 120w panels for about $350 our biggest panel we get is 150w made in australia too, but if you have them already why not join two together with a hinge and have 120W folding panels so that you can park the camper in the shade and put them in the sun when you set up. can do a 20A reg for about $130 to suit

Keep the 64w ones till you know what your doing. They might fit on the roof better being a smaller panel.
Assuming they are 12v panels and your going to run a 12v system if one gets shaded it is only going to drop its output and not the rest as they will be parallel wired.

Most panels do loose a minor amount in heat. Ie the ones I have are -0.04% per degree over 45degrees.

I just brought 2 250w panels from here. Running them in series into a MPPT regulator with a 48v battery system. Cheap panels but I have seen them already put out close to rated output so hopefully they last the advertised time.
I certainly was not going to pay a grand a panel the local suppliers wanted.

You can always have 2 groups into different regulators thus keeping the 64w units and having some new ones as well.

OK disregard the guy trying to sell the frames but he will show you how to DIY solar panels and they are quality after your finished. you can make the frames easy enough out of stock angle aluminum and a chop saw and source the glass locally. I don't know how serious some might take this but if your inclined to go solar your panel costs can be cut in half this way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2UxOY_w ... r_embedded

CLM1981 where do you get the individual cells from ?

I am unsure of naming directly but he suggests a company in his video he uses which he may or may not be affiliated with. I think he is just a guy making frames for sale but idk for sure. I do know the prices on the 3x6" modules are great and at 6watt a panel module it's well worth a look if your a strong DIY. There was a listing on Ebay for 1kw of cells for 389$ USD.

You would still have to purchase some basic tools, encapsulate, and material to make the frames. there are also vid's and plans for power inverters out there but if you can afford an outback system I would highly recommend them.

getting abit much into this but it's an interest of mine sorry if I am yammering on.

Thanks for the info, sometimes it is worth DIY, sometimes it is not
and that changes for each person

Ebay for seconded cells quite cheap. Just wire them up.

There are howto's on instructables that get into a lot of detail. Plus if you want to get really creative you can make custom shaped panels!

Cool, I looked on ebay for cells, cant really find any...

For what you can buy the panels for these days DIY is probably not worth it depending on what you value you time at. Unless you just want to have a fun project of course.