16 x JA Solar JAM6-60-250 250W and FRONIUS IG TL 3.6

stan321 · Feb 3, 2012

16 x JA Solar JAM6-60-250 250W and FRONIUS IG TL 3.6

Hi, apologies as I assume this and many similar questions has been asked before.

I have been quoted for the above PV system by a reputable local firm (£9500 all in inc VAT) and was looking to install prior to 3rd March, obviously taking my chances with the Supreme Court judgement re 43.3p/21p. My own feelings after a little research are that the panels and inverter are both good quality but I would appreciate any more qualified opinions.

Thanks in advance
Stan

SpitfireW'sale · Feb 3, 2012

Looks like a fair quote to me. Reasonable quality panels, and a quality inverter brand.

stan321 · Feb 3, 2012

Thanks, I have just received another price for 16 x Sharp NU-R250-J5 panels and an Aurora Power One inverter, £500 more than the other quote, worth the extra in terms of quality?

SRE · Feb 3, 2012

I have Sharp - they are pretty poor in terms of performance and build. JA are cheap and cheerful, performance wise they don't appear to perform as well as Suntech or Luxor panels or actually a lot of other panels that I've quickly run through PVSOL that we're doing for similar prices. We use both inverters, depending on which gives the best result for the house we're installing on.

My advice would be to go with an installer who offers a range of products that are adaptable dependent on your circumstances but leave Sharp well alone.

dansk · Feb 3, 2012

Sounds like a Ploughcroft quote to me! I ditto SRE.

FB. · Feb 3, 2012

I posted the following "retail price" estimates
"......With a 4kW Sanyo-panel system likely to retail for around £12500, a 4kW "mid-range-panel" setup around £11000 and a 4kW "cheap-ish-Chinese" setup for around £9500......"
I assumed that the systems would be virtually identical in every way, except the panels.

So your price quote is about what I'd expect to see from a medium-sized company.

My pricing comment drawn from this discussion:
http://www.electriciansforums.net/p...50523-panel-efficiency-why-does-matter-3.html

SRE · Feb 3, 2012

I'd be over the moon to ge those sort of prices in today's economic climate ;-) just had another potential client decide to wait and see what happens with the 43p before they make their decision. That's another 1 to Barker & Co. 2 lost in the same week for the same reason!

GaryM · Feb 3, 2012

That's exactly the spec of my system which I had installed yesterday. Is your inverter coming with a 20 year warranty?

http://www.electriciansforums.net/p...nally-had-my-pv-installation-carried-out.html

Considering the scaffold is casting shadows half way up four of the lower panels I'm pretty happy with todays output of just short of 10kW at this present time.

FB. · Feb 3, 2012

GaryM said:
Considering the scaffold is casting shadows half way up four of the lower panels I'm pretty happy with todays output of just short of 10kW at this present time.

It's surprising how any kind of shadowing can seriously reduce the output; scaffolding shadows could easily cut the output by half, so don't fret too much until you've seen what the installation can do after the scaffodling is removed and on a day with full sunshine.
Having said that; at the moment I'd guess that an unshaded, South-facing, 4kWp system might reach 16kWh per day in full sun, while a SE/SW-facing might make 12kWh per day and a E/W-facing system might make 8kWh. On dull days you may not even generate 2kWh. I think that my 3.75kWp, SE-facing system managed about 10kWh today in what were mostly sunny conditions; most of it generated between 9am and 1pm - when the panels have direct sun on them. After 2pm the sun moves round the other side of the house and output drops considerably.