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Question:

Need help with Solar Panels (FAQ's and opinions)?

this solar panel i saw was for 500 dollars(i get a 25% discount)and i was curious will they produce electricity? or just heat?what do they do?is it a good investment?here is a link to the one i would like, no reviews but it looks new to the site.

Answer:

Also crystalline silicon, but almost triple the power. I would suggest that you have a lot more research to do before just buying a panel. A single panel like that isn't immediately useful unless you have a device that takes exactly that voltage, and is not critical. A solar water pump might fall into that category. For anything else, you would need additional equipment, such as a battery, charger, and inverter. Even at these prices, a single panel is unlikely to save you money over the electric company in the long run, unless your electricity is very expensive. There is economy of scale, so larger systems can and do save money, at least for people located in the right place. If you have a remote cabin where there is no electric company, then this could be worth it.
Solar panels produce electricity. This one isn't very good. $500 for only 80W with such a large panel? It doesn't even come with a battery (car battery) If you're thinking of something to try and run your house off of, you'll need somewhere between 2 to 24 of these panels, plus a voltage converter and other equipment to connect it into the electrical system in your house. If you want something to help charge a cellphone, I guess this would work - if you could get the electrical connections set up properly - but it's still awfully expensive and won't give you a return on investment for somewhere between 5 to 20 years - by which time the panel will need to be replaced, and we'll (hopefully!) have more efficient panels available.
This is a photovoltaic panel...it produces electricity from incident solar radiation. Solar thermal panels produce heat, and they are usually assists for hot water heating systems. Solar thermal panels have piping in them instead of semiconductor cells like photovoltaics do.
You need a plan as to what you are going to with 80 watts of power. 80w at the best, it will usually be less. One problem I have is the limited specs, you don't even know the voltage. And you get a Sharp Module but nothing else is mentioned about it. I wouldn't buy it unless you can get full specs on it and on the Sharp Module. With no specs, it's difficult to get a refund if it is defective. If you are going to store it and use it for an AC appliance, a small one, you will need: a charge controller (to control the charge into the battery) a lead acid battery (to store energy for when the sun is out) an inverter (to convert 2 volts DC into 20 VAC) and all of these cost. .

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