Is eBay a good idea for a novice?

[CotswoldDoItUpper]

I’m looking at ways to go down the PV route and a quick search on eBay brings up plenty of old panels like this:

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Solar-Panel-235watts-Madenin-Germany-20pcs-/313782261543?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

 

What should I be looking out for? Obv they’ll need all of the micro inverters, mounts etc to complete but it almost seems like a good deal…

[J1mbo]

20 panels of 235W each = 4.7kW. Panel output reduces over time, it doesn't say (from a glance) how old they are, let's say they are producing 85% - 4kW.

 

380W panels are as little as £100 (here) - 11 panels, £1100 probably plus VAT.

[JohnMo]

Would not buy second unless they can demonstrate only a couple of years old.

 

Double check all prices against new, some try to charge over the top.  But that said there are some really good bargains.  Just be careful.

[Russell griffiths]

I think @ProDavebrought second hand, but I would only put them on a ground mounted system where it’s easy to play with them if one buggers up. 

There where hundreds on Facebook recently for £10 a panel. 

[Dillsue]

The ebay panels youve linked to look to be poly crystalline which lose their output a little quicker than mono but could still have good output if not too old.

 

Ive just completed collecting components for 9.5 kw of panels split over 2 arrays. Its taken 3 months to get the right kit at the right price but just do your research and take your time. Likely youll need to shell out for a new inverter as cheap/secondhand G98 compliant inverters are thin on the ground. 

[CotswoldDoItUpper]

Thanks all! Seems like it was too good to be true. Guess there is someone making a buck or two out of people like me not knowing enough just seeing bills rise quickly!

[Solarexploits]

On 21/03/2022 at 18:21, CotswoldDoItUpper said:

Thanks all! Seems like it was too good to be true. Guess there is someone making a buck or two out of people like me not knowing enough just seeing bills rise quickly!

Take a look at my recent PV post about solar PV & battery installation on the cheap,

 

I've bought 2nd hand panels & batteries, a large charger (for 5p/kW overnight leccy battery top up), new inverter & 2 x different controllers all for around £1400, total capacity is 3.1kW, with 170Ah of battery at 24V (so usable around 2,4kWh without a top up).

 

It can easily be done, depends how much you're confident of doing yourself - bit of a learning curve, but plenty of info about & helpful peeps on here!

 

As for panels giving out less as they age, I can only say that must be a very slow reduction as I also have a grid tied 4kW array which is putting out more now than it wa 10 years ago!

[RobLe]

What controllers and inverter did you get?  Are you planning trying to match house loads when your PV isn't enough?

We have V2G, which has worked very well in lockdown.  The wife's gone to work with the car again though, the V2G doesn't work so well without a car connected...

[J1mbo]

1 hour ago, Solarexploits said:

I've bought 2nd hand panels & batteries, a large charger (for 5p/kW overnight leccy battery top up), new inverter & 2 x different controllers all for around £1400, total capacity is 3.1kW, with 170Ah of battery at 24V (so usable around 2,4kWh without a top up).

Lead acid?

[Solarexploits]

On 24/03/2022 at 15:53, J1mbo said:

Lead acid?

Yeah, lead acid, I'd love to have bought lLi within that price bracket! 😁

[Solarexploits]

On 24/03/2022 at 15:08, RobLe said:

What controllers and inverter did you get?  Are you planning trying to match house loads when your PV isn't enough?

We have V2G, which has worked very well in lockdown.  The wife's gone to work with the car again though, the V2G doesn't work so well without a car connected...

I've gone for cheap Chinese stuff to try it out, if it goes up in smoke, I can easily switch circuits back to the grid temporarily, so far it's all behaved itself.

 

I have a dirt cheap "Giant of Sun" controller, which purports to be MPPT & PMW, but I strongly suspect it is in fact only PMW, hence I bought a dearer MCU unit which is MPPT, both actually seem to work well, I run them in parallel with each other. The inverter is again a cheapy, Gobor 3kW unit (6kW peak), but I'm rarely drawing more than a few hundred watts from it, wouldn't want to draw kW as it's only 24V & the current would be pretty hefty

 

I haven't really attempted to "match" anything, I mean, I've made some calcs, but the variations are huge, so it's largely suck it & see, today I've added some more circuiots from the comsumer unit to the inverter fed RCD

 

Tp explain  I already have an MCS installed grid tied 4kW array which went in right back at the early tariffs & that also runs a Solic immersion controller which diverts excess power to the immersion heater instead of sending it back to the grid, I'm getting free hot water around 8 months of the year & a reduction in gas usage all year round from this.

 

The idea with adding further panels was to remove some of the base draw circuits from the main house, thus freeing more of the 4kW array power for heating hot water & covering the main household demands for large draws such as cooker, kettle & the EV charging point, as I'm on a dual tariff for the electric car I get 4 hours of overnight leccy for 5p a unit, so I have a large Rohr battery charger to top the batteries up overnight, set on a timer. I still have only 8 of the 10 panels I purchased connected so far, but I'm finding that on sunny days like we've had recently, the smart meter is showing that I'm sending a little back to the grid & getting hot water for free

 

What vehicle do you have for V2G, I have a HYunddai Kona & so far as I'm aware that won't do V2G?