Unbelievable how low panel prices are. Solar Blvd has some 250W panels down to just .60/Watt! I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on my Solar project but might wait & see where the prices go.I located a nice internet solar house in MA that would allow me to pickup rather than ship. They have some Kyocera 250W panels for .99/watt.I wish I could say the same for Solar Blvd. but I'm in NH & they are in CA.

You might try calling some solar installers in your area and seeing if they have any left overs. Many order a extra panel or two per project but don't want to go thru the hassle of selling them.

Good Idea Jim. I'll look into that!RM

DH bought 2 145w each off Amazon... He had done some searching, and one day an email or ad popped up with a sale price. Total cost was $340.....shipping was free because we're Prime members. Yes, we paid for prime, but with what we do, it paid for itself the first month. :)

Are those any of those critters that can fit into a 3' X 5' toad rear seat?

Hi Mex,There are still some flexible Unisolar's for sale at Sun Electric. They would fit for sure.

Price of Solar! WOW | Good Sam Community

66 Replies

Almot
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
smkettner wrote:
I think of the extra solar same as a spare tire. And I carry no generator.

Yep. I told him (i.e. CA) - no such thing as too much solar. He wouldn't listen :)... I myself didn't listen, when installing mere 500W system.
Almot
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
Jeez, Jim, hold your horses. Nobody tried to cut any product down, or make other look better.

Eco specs says 300W, but realistically with 12V bank you can only have one panel up to 280W because 300W panel will likely have Voc over 43. Rogue with 100 Voc input could handle any 24V panel. The biggest that I've seen on the market so far, were 350W.

Yes, you can run 2*245W in parallel on 24V bank. Rogue could do this in either parallel or series, and up to 640W as per specs.

And, Rogue 20 does have a reverse polarity protection.

Major differences, as I see them, are low Voc of Eco, no remote temp sensor, no voltage sense (not terribly important at this current, but still), and no remote monitoring option. And I'm pretty sure that if we dig deeper into specs and go through on-screen menus, there will be other differences as well.

But, like I said, neither Eco 20 nor Rogue 20 work for me. Multi-controller solution would be rather un-elegant, in Mex's words a "wire nightmare" that I'm trying to avoid.
time2roll
Nomad
Nov 11, 2014
I think of the extra solar same as a spare tire. And I carry no generator.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
I'm resigned to shore power when the A/Cs are needed. Can also use the gen. OR vent fans sometimes.

But I'd like to think that when the A/Cs are needed I didn't plan well or I'm headed to cooler climes.
JiminDenver
Explorer II
Nov 11, 2014
Yeah, not much COOL factor with the Eco-w BUT being able to run the air conditioner without draining the bank will be very COOLING. :)
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
ME
BFL13 wrote:
On controller features, there is: want and need CHECK ; geek factor PARTIAL CHECK ; cool factor CHECK ; peer pressure; bragging rights CHECK ; Redneck factor; age, sex HOPEFUL, and religion factor; and anti-CHICOM factor to name a few :)
JiminDenver
Explorer II
Nov 11, 2014
It's not a battle of good and evil, it's to do with filling you needs within a budget. Some have the need for certain features or the budget to get them even if they don't. I'll be the first to admit I don't.

As a casual, fair weather camper, getting two 20a MPPT controllers for the price of the MS 15 meant I could run both of my $50 CL panels. Twice the power was more appealing than features that MIGHT be useful IF one panel or even solar would work for us at all. Then they would only be useful IF I mounted that one panel AND left the battery in the rig all year. That's a lot of ifs to run a $50 panel.

Buy what you need, over buy if you can. For those that can't or don't want to over buy, there is a option.
BFL13
Explorer II
Nov 11, 2014
Generally true that if your solar is just right for winter it will be more than you need for summer. What I meant was there is no sense in buying a set-up for winter if you only use it in the summer.

On controller features, there is: want and need; geek factor; cool factor; peer pressure; bragging rights; Redneck factor; age, sex, and religion factor; and anti-CHICOM factor to name a few :)
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
BFL13 wrote:
If you need the fancy features, you can pay for them with a fancier controller. You don't have to pay for those features if you don't need them just to get a controller that will run a 24v panel. Yes but the trend is favoring higher end controllers for 700W+ systems.

It helps to know what you need of course. There is a trial and error aspect learning curve for how solar will work in your own situation. Your first set-up is bound to be too small or too big for your actual needs. Not always easy to figure out what you need. Perhaps largely trial and error to figure it out.

Yes you can indeed have too much solar, just as you can have too much battery. Money wasted if it doesn't get used. You can tell you have too much solar if you always get to float before lunch instead of before supper :) Don't necessarily agree as not every day has full sun. And NO winter days have as much sun as summer days. If you don't get to float by supper on a sunny day you don't have enough.
CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Nov 11, 2014
MS remote battery voltage and temperature are also important for my installation. And I'm thinking that computer access to the controller will enhance my ability to understand solar are pass that on to others, so worth something to me.

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