Advice buying used panels

Trying to get panels as cheap as I can, but around here the cheapest I can get used poly panels is $.75 a watt. Is this a decent price for 6 year old commercial panels? How much are people paying for their solar panels?

I have bought over 3,000 watts of used panels.

I use this link

https://www.santansolar.com/product-category/solar-panels/


I do not buy blemished panels, i get the good used ones, and I research the brand before I buy.

My 260 watt panels are putting out 220 watts of power,  and I got them for $60.00 a panel.

It is a risk, as you do not know the condition of the panels before you buy, but they have delivered for me each of my two times of buying from them.

Research, ask questions before you buy, look up the pdf's on each panel from the manufacture to get how long they last and the degredation factor.

R Webber wrote:Trying to get panels as cheap as I can, but around here the cheapest I can get used poly panels is $.75 a watt. Is this a decent price for 6 year old commercial panels? How much are people paying for their solar panels?

No, not really at all.  I would not pay half that much.  I've bought panels for <30 cents/watt.  I might consider paying that much for brand-new state of the art panels, but not used.

The prices are nasty here. A feature of living in Canada, and for some reason the prices of anything used are near new in New Brunswick in particular.

R Webber wrote:The prices are nasty here. A feature of living in Canada, and for some reason the prices of anything used are near new in New Brunswick in particular.

Sorry.  I forget how blessed I am, being within driving distance to solar Mecca.  Trying going to the NB craigslist page, and didn't find one single solar ad.  Guess you have to take what you can get.

New Brunswick did not have a strong net metered and solar farm presence so there will be fewer used panels fresh from the farms.

Have used numerous used panels and seldom had a issue. If it’s a mobile application then looking for the most efficient and quality panel makes sense. Worth paying a little more. For ground applications I’m not as choosy. My first RV about 12 years ago I could only find 13% efficient panels for a affordable price. The system is rather heavy. Now 22% efficient panels are commonly available.

When we built our home in 2002, we designed it for solar but never finished building the solar system. I would love to get that done but know nothing at all about it. I need to get myself educated on the process. I think our local electric company is still offering rebates for adding solar capabilities as well as buying any additional electricity that we might generate. Never a time like the present, right?

Wow, those are amazing prices!

I am a complete n00b to solar, planning to pick up the jackery 2000 plus next week.

Does anyone know whether these used panels can be used with Jackery?

Thanks!

Mart Hale wrote:I have bought over 3,000 watts of used panels.

I use this link

https://www.santansolar.com/product-category/solar-panels/

Brand new panels in canada go for around $0.88-0.90/watt so don't even bother buying used questionable panels for $0.75/watt.

Keep shopping and you might get lucky.  The issue in canada is embargo's and protectionist market systems, china makes and sells panels for at or under $0.20/watt but both canada and the usa blockade anyone getting those prices to protect canadian and american solar manufacturers.  in the USA you can get around that a bit here and there with some options but not in Canada to any of my knowledge so you're paying the usual canadian premium courtesy of our government.

https://www.wegosolar.com/categories.php?category=Solar-Panels

Thats where I've bought my panels from before, 500w panels look like they're down to around 0.77/watt and those are new panels.  Thats the opposite side of the country from you but still canadian market so you should expect to be able to find something of that nature that you can purchase from.

I've bought panels from Sun Electronics a couple of times and gotten great prices. The first order was B-grade blemished. The bottom panel was cracked in shipping and they replaced it right away. That was about 15 years ago and they are still going strong. The next order was about 6 years ago for REC panels with a discontinued connector. I cut them off the panels at the end of each string and put on the latest connectors. I bought a couple of extra panels to have as spares since they were so affordable.

Their web page (https://www.sunelec.com) currently has panels for $0.33/W in NY. The latest newsletter had some used Powerlight 208s in Phoenix for $0.10/W  ($0.18/W on the web page) with a 20 year warranty from Sun Electronics.

They export all over the Caribbean so they can probably ship to you in Canada.

I have no affiliation with them other than as a satisfied customer.

I retail to people at about 80-90 cents a watt in Canadian dollars. Please remember our dollar is worth 0.75 cents us when people give you pricing. I deal with these people here:
www.chargesolar.com
They have a warehouse in the maritimes. On their website the have a find an installer tool. Contact a local installer and get some pricing from them. Buy new for the small difference in price where you are.
Cheers, David

I found mine on Craigslist cheap and the seller gave me free water heating panels, too. It was a roofing company who offered them as they removed them along with the old roof of the house they were on. Nice, newer panels, too. I suppose rich people get new ones when they replace their roofs? It was in the bay area of Calif.  As I remember, they were $50 and were around 300 watts each.

Look on market place. Also, look for y2k power systems. I bought 8 unused 80 watt panels still in box, and a air-x turbine years ago for 600$, along with 12 ruined 6 v batteries…

solacity has 350w longi panels for .66c a watt !!!
https://www.solacity.com/product/longi-lr4-60hpb-350m/

I believe its located in kemptville ontario.

I went with Santan solar panels. It $40/panel for used 240 watts. So far no regrets.


You can always upgrade in the future when from the amount of money you're saving.

Nicolas Keeton wrote:I went with Santan solar panels. It $40/panel for used 240 watts. So far no regrets.


You can always upgrade in the future when from the amount of money you're saving.

What was the brand of panel did get, and how much output per panel are you getting if I may ask?