Discuss another perspective on comparing different brands of panels in the Solar PV Forum | Solar Panels Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

Welcome to ElectriciansForums.net - The American Electrical Advice Forum
Head straight to the main forums to chat by click here:   American Electrical Advice Forum

Reaction score
0
So having had a bit of time to play with a loaned laptop running PV Sol I decided to analyse some 4 kWp systems using differrent panels all using an SMA SB 4000TL inverter. Here's a summary table.

qtypanelwattkWpPV SolsizeareatheoreticalPV Sol%
efficiencyefficiency
16Sanyo HIT-H250E01250400040501610*8611.38621180.3182.6101.3%
16Trina TSM-DC05 230230368034071650*9921.6368140.5130.192.6%
16Sharp NU-E245J5245392036291652*9941.642088149.2138.192.6%
16Yingli YL-250Wp250400037221650*9901.6335153.0142.493.1%
16Suntech STP250S-20 Wd Plus250400039531655*9911.640105152.4150.698.8%
16WINAICO WSP-240 Wp M6240384038841650*9991.64835145.6147.3101.1%
16Upsolar UP-M230P230368036051640*9921.62688141.4138.598.0%
16Solarworld 240240384038331675*10011.676675143.1142.999.8%
16znshine ZX250(48)MS250400038401575*10821.70415146.7140.896.0%





The columns qty, panel, watts and kWp are self explanatory.
The next column (PV Sol) is the suggested annual output from PV Sol in kWh for my potential installation location and azimuth and roof angles.
The next column is the physical size of each panel in mm (HxW).
The next column is the size in square metres.
The next column is the theoretical efficiency - simply the rated output divided by the panel's area. This is often what's quoted as a panel's efficiency.
The next column is little bit of apples and oranges; I've divided PV Sol's annual output by the number of panels and then by area of one panel to get an annual efficiency figure. I.e. how many kWh does PV Sol think 1 sq metre of that panel will generate over the course of a year.
And the last column is my annual efficiency column divided by the theoretical efficiency expressed as a percentage. Sort of a measure of how well a panel really does as opposed to what the manufacturer claims.

So what does this say?

Sanyo panels are the most space efficient but that's fairly common knowledge.
Sanyo panels also appear to perform slightly better than stated. The previously unknown to me Winaico panels also appear to do well but I can't find out much about them other than someone else asked about them today.
Suntech, Upsolar and Solar World panels are in a cluster of similarly performing panels.
Trina, Yingli and Sharp are in the bottom cluster.

And the proverbial $64 question - are Sanyo panels worth paying extra for as compared to those in the lowest cluster? They would appear to generate 10% more over the course of a year so will generate the same in 9 years as the lower cluster panels do in 10. Given the rising fit rates the answer would seem to be yes.

The 2nd question - are Sanyo panels worth paying more for when compared to the middle cluster? Probably not unless you're space constrained (a 4 kWp Sanyo system will use 4 sq metres less roof space than, for example, a Suntech system).

The health warnings:
This data is only as accurate as the PV Sol model - does anyone know where the model gets its performance predictions for different panels from?
Different panels from the same brand may not perform identically so don't necessarily jump to conclusions about one brand versus another.
This is obviously only a small subset of the panels available on the market.
 
Last edited:
This data is only as accurate as the PV Sol model - does anyone know where the model gets its performance predictions for different panels from?

I believe the manufacturers input their data onto the PV Sol database - this data is then checked by the team and then the user database is updated.
 
Very useful table, thanks. I don't suppose you could add znshine panels to that list for comparison? - you've coincidentally included all the one's I've had quotes for (to install) except those.
 
As far as I can see from the demo, PVsol has data for the output of the panel at STC and at a lower light intensity. It also has temp. coefficient data. It would appear to extrapolate the output at other intensities from this (please correct me if I'm wrong here).

It would be interesting if anyone can shed any light on how accurate this model is in practice.
 
Hi,

A friend told me this morning about this thread. Let me introduce myself, I'm Mike Doherty and I work for WINAICO in the UK.

WINAICO is a major brand in German, selling direct to installers and we are looking to replicate this model in the UK. As you can see from the analysis done by liquidity, our panels perform well under PV*Sol. This increased performance over other panels, can also be proven by various installed systems currently being independently monitored, with the results available on-line.

Details of our panels, including the enhanced insurance scheme, can be found at www.winaico.com.

In addition to the standard polycrystalline panels, we supply monocrystalline panels and a range of black panels.

I can also be contacted at [email protected] or 07952 426080, if you have any questions or want to discuss working with WINAICO

Regards

Mike Doherty
 
This increased performance over other panels, can also be proven by various installed systems currently being independently monitored, with the results available on-line.

Hi Mike what's the online results url please (web address)

Thx
 
Hi,

It's a different site to the Photon results, although thank you for publishing them ;-). I am happy to PM people with the link to the real-time monitoring site. I don't feel that posting it on the forum is the right thing to do. The forum is for installers, electricians, etc to share information, such as your original PV*Sol findings. It may not be appropriate for manufactures / distributors to openly sell to the community via the forums.

Mike
 
Could you add REW 230W UM96 to the table please.
They advertise a power tolerance of +7 to +12% which could make them a good competitor to the Sanyo 250W
Thanks
 
qtypanelwattkWpPV SolsizeareatheoreticalPV Sol%
efficiencyefficiency
16Sanyo HIT-H250E01250400040501610*8611.38621180.3182.6101.3%
16Trina TSM-DC05 230230368034071650*9921.6368140.5130.192.6%
16Sharp NU-E245J5245392036291652*9941.642088149.2138.192.6%
16Yingli YL-250Wp250400037221650*9901.6335153.0142.493.1%
16Suntech STP250S-20 Wd Plus250400039531655*9911.640105152.4150.698.8%
16WINAICO WSP-240 Wp M6240384038841650*9991.64835145.6147.3101.1%
16Upsolar UP-M230P230368036051640*9921.62688141.4138.598.0%
16Solarworld 240240384038331675*10011.676675143.1142.999.8%
16znshine ZX250(48)MS250400038401575*10821.70415146.7140.896.0%
16REW 230230368037671575*10821.70415135.0138.2102.4%


REW 230 panels added
 
I have been offered the BLD 250w panels. I've not come across these anywhere before. Could they be added to the list and does anyone have any experience with them?
 
please could you Suntech's PlutoAde-200s to your table, i'm thinking that 20 of these would be better than 16 STP250S-20 Wd, and cheaper if i had to replace any.
thanks.
 
Hi,
Is there any chance you could possibly add Bisol 245w panels to this list so I can compare to Sanyo and Suntech please. Greatly appreciated.
 

Reply to another perspective on comparing different brands of panels in the Solar PV Forum | Solar Panels Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by Untold Media. Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock