Used Solar Panels - How Hard Is It To Find Good Ones?
Used Solar Panels - How Hard Is It To Find Good Ones
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It is getting much easier all the time to obtain used solar panels. There are dozens of merchants you can find on-line and likely retailers close to where you live.
Solar panels feature long life spans (20-30 years) which means that the majority of used solar panels that you locate for sale will often have plenty of life left in them. Anytime buying used solar panels you'll many times obtain a terrific bargain of a price. You simply must do a little research as to what questions to ask and what to look for and you can locate some good bargains. Call a few of the renewable energy contractors close to you to learn if they have any used solar panels to sale. Other places such as Craigslist or eBay on the net or in periodicals like Home Power, Mother Earth News or Solar Today.
When finding out about used solar panels it is recommended to check the panel with a multimeter in full sunlight. This will show you the number of watts the panel gives off. Electrical power production will cut down just a bit if the photovoltaic cells (PV) have been in constant use over a period of years. Lots of solar panel systems have been in use for 12-15 years with little electrical power loss .It's also possible to check used solar panels by setting your voltmeter to DC volts and measuring across the positive and the negative terminals of the panel. You ought to acquire 21 volts from a 12 volt panel while in bright sunlight.
Determine if there are any problems including broke connections, cracked glass or condensation under the glass. Complications such as these can be repaired quickly and inexpensively .Broken glass may be replaced but preventing water from condensing on the new glass might be hard. They can still be used with broken glass, however with greatly reduced output. It is far better to change the glass.
Burnt out diodes can easily be taken care of so if you find someone selling a panel at a really cheap price because of the diodes you should take it. Do not worry if there are loose connections, these can easily be fixed by using an electronics solder with 2% silver or by using a conductive epoxy. Make sure you don't use acid core solders as the acid will weaken the circuit and the connections.