Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

System
System Posts: 2,511 admin
in Solar Product Reviews & Opinions #1
Hi--Newbie to this Forum. Found it when researching the Rogue Solar charger. Good discussion!

My question: I'm looking for solar panels for use in powering wireless internet repeater towers. We're a non-profit society so we need to squeeze every penny before we let it go... and solar panels seem to be a problem--the last ones we bought this spring (175W) were $1100 each.

I tripped over "Everbright Solar" which seems to have a pretty good price at $500 for a 175W panel. ($2.49/W) Here's the link: <Link Removed>

Does anyone care to relate their experiences or opinions on this brand?

Thanks in advance!
Jon
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Comments

  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    Personally,

    I have no history or information about said Pv. I would suggest however that you spend time doing your homework before you purchase ANY hardware. This site is a good start, as it is populated by some very smart, very experienced folks who have forgotten more about RE than most of us will ever know.

    That said, if I was building a critical system in a remote site that is hard to service, I would consider "name brand" hardware that has a reputation in the field by folks who really use it. Bargains may indeed be bargains, but if they are cheap, and the wheels fall off are they really bargains.

    Good luck, and welcome to the forum.

    Tony
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?
    Sawmilleng wrote: »
    the last ones we bought this spring (175W) were $1100 each.

    That's a bit on the expensive side. The host here, has decent prices, but I don't know where you have to have them shipped to.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?
    mike90045 wrote: »
    That's a bit on the expensive side. The host here, has decent prices, but I don't know where you have to have them shipped to.

    Nope. He lives in BC like me. $1,100 for a 175 Watt panel isn't that expensive here, tax included. Sharps, were they?

    Oh the joy of Canadian taxes!
    Next year our stuff will cost more, because they are going to "harmonize" the GST and Provincial Sales Tax here in BC so panels which had NO PST will now get the full 12% tax treatment. :grr
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #5
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    Thanks, guys.

    I guess I'm not so worried about reliability--after all, a solar panel, pretty much, either works or it don't! We don't guarantee ANY level of service, nor are required to by law, like the telephone service guys, so if something fails we go fix it. Tough luck, if our failure interrupted someone's porn download. :p

    But seriously, we use two or three panels in parallel, so if one fails the failure could be "graceful" where our power harvest just gets a little less, so over time the battery bank loses ground. This can buy us time to do something before it gets to be a screaming panic. We normally size the battery bank to run the system for about 5-7 days without any power input. The only awkwardness comes in the wintertime, when some of the goat trail access roads get a few feet of snow so you have to con a few of the local guys to help out with their snow machines or find a friendly face who happens to own a bulldozer....

    CaribooCoot, yeah, they were Sharps--bought through a local reseller, so they probably had 14 dealer and distributor markups on them by the time we got them. The first two we used were a German brand- Schott. By the way, where are you located? I'm down near the US border not far from Creston.

    I've had a price quoted to me to ship 10 of these "cheap" panels to me via truck freight to a close US address of $200. Seem reasonable?

    Jon.
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    I've got 4 of those Sharps - very good panel. Cost me about $100 less than you paid (+/-) probably because I bought them with $6,000 of other stuff!

    If the application is non-critical, it's a good deal. Providing you can also get them across the border without good ol' Gov't sticking its fingers too deep into your pocket.

    I'm up near 100 Mile, where it snowed last August (no joke).
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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    Welcome,

    I almost bought the Grain elevators in Creston a bunch of years ago! I still spend a lot of time in Nakusp and Rossland when I'm not here!

    Tony
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  • System2
    System2 Posts: 6,290 admin
    #8
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    Egads--small world!! A guy in Ontario knows Creston, near me--and I grew up in Lillooet, near 100 mile! My sister always said Lytton was the A.H. of the world, and Lillooet was 40 miles up it!

    Yeah, I think it's worth a try for inexpensive panels. The same outfit flogs a lot of solar cell parts on eBay and claim they are part of a Chinese outfit that manufactures the solar cells and related silicon stuff. If so, the outfit is more than a 1 horse show and the panels may be solid, if only Chinese quality.

    Does anyone know if bringing solar panels into Canada attracts duty? I hadn't thought of that angle--most other stuff I've imported has been duty free--just pay the PST and GST.

    By the way, they are UL and cUL approved. I think that takes some financial authority and commitment to the product.

    As it doesn't look like anyone on this list has tried them, maybe I will be able to make a small contribution to the group by being able to report back what I find out. Although I'm a little concerned that a report might be wiped by the list owner...They blew away the page link I put in on my first post, although I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same, if I was in the solar components buz!! :D

    Jon.
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #9
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?
    Sawmilleng wrote: »
    Although I'm a little concerned that a report might be wiped by the list owner...They blew away the page link I put in on my first post,

    Link to a mfg site should be OK, linking to a competing vendor, BOOM !
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #10
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?

    Lillooet has lytton beat hands down!

    I had a great late friend who was a captain on the Kootani Lake Ferry.

    T
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #11
    Re: Everbright Solar panels--is anyone using?
    mike90045 wrote: »
    Link to a mfg site should be OK, linking to a competing vendor, BOOM !

    The link was removed not so much because it linked to a competitor, but because of the particular panels it linked to. As mentioned in a couple of other posts, people buy that particular brand of cheap panel, and then call us for technical support when they have trouble making them work as advertised.
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