Some advice please Sanyo vs Hyundai

[Wp1234]

Hello ,
Am really hoping that someone with a lot more knowledge than me can help me decide on the type of Solar Panel to buy and fit ... I seem to be wavering from one to the other and getting nowhere fast.
The choice I have is :-
1) 12 X Sanyo HIT-N235SE10 panels ( 2.820 Kw ) at a cost of £10800
Or
2) 12 X Hyundai HiS-S218SF mono crystalline panels ( 2.616 Kw ) at a cost of £8950
The SAP 2005 estimate gives the Hyundai panels a year 1 benefit of £1109 and Sanyo set a year 1 benefit £1259 a difference of £150 .The 25 year payback on the Hyundai set up is £50,400 and Sanyo £57,200.
I am given to understand that the Sanyo panels will outperform this estimate by as much as 10% but is this for real I wonder ?
My dilemma is a simple one is the extra £2k outlay at the start for the Sanyo system and the hype that comes with them about better low light high temp efficiency really worth it for the extra £150 p.a or am I missing something .The way I see it will add over 12 months to the payback period at least .
Not that it makes a difference I suppose but I am also after black framed units to blend with front slate roof and I believe both makers have this option.
Any advice very gratefully received .

 

[SolarCity]

Id say that the Sanyo option is the better one. It's an excellent price also.

I shouldn't take too much notice of the SAP calculation. Different firms use different techniques to give their figures a 'boost' and they're about as much use a solar horoscope.

 

[MorganPVI]

If you have room for 12 Hyundai why not have 14 or 16 Sanyo, or have 12 x Sanyo 250's.

Sanyo are black framed and will look very pretty on slate, the N series especaily. Like Biggs I'm firmly in the Sanyo camp.

 

[Wp1234]

Many thanks to you both for your input it seems your both Sanyo fans. The price of the Hyundai panel seems very attractive and most say the Sanyo units are way over priced . Does anybody on here have any experince of Hyundai

 

[MorganPVI]

Sanyo are expensive but not overpriced, they should generate 20% more than another 250w panel due to better performace at low light and at high tempertures. If you wanted maxium yield and maximum return over 25yrs Sanyo are the panel to have. there are many older threads that have figures to back this up.

Have you considered the 250w Hyundai panel - that may be the best comprise.

 

[tlsambo]

Got to jump in and put you right Morgan. A Sanyo 250w panel will not necessarily perform better than say a Suntech 250w panel. The advantage of Sanyo is to get more power per square meter. Their claim of 10% more due to low light levels is true when compared to poor panels like Sharp.

Get someone to run your system through PV Sol. Then you'll really know the difference. PV Sol takes low light level performance, temperature co-effecient and heat capacity in to account in line with your local weather. There is no better way of calculating performance. SAP simply takes the kWp in to consideration, which is why your SAP is higher for the Sanyo.

In our tests BP, Conergy, Schuco, Schott and Suntech all out perform Sanyo so we only end up selling Sanyo when space is an issue.

 

[jerriais]

TL is quite right, there are a few panels on the market that actually outperform Sanyo for the same kWp when two identical kits are run through the PV*Sol simulator. I've just compared 9 Sanyo 240 with 9 Winaico 240 on two strings of an SMA 4000TL inverter (as you do on a Saturday evening) and the Winaico came out ahead by 2.9kWh. Not a huge difference but the Sanyo install will certainly be more expensive.
The efficiency difference just means that the Winaico install takes up 15 sqm whereas the Sanyo is 11.4 sqm so as TL says the Sanyo only make sense where space is limited.
Morgan is correct about the better Sanyo performance at high temperatures but for low light performance they are nothing special and that is a more significant factor in the UK climate.
I think the major reason people prefer Sanyo is because they've heard of the company before, same with Sharp although their figures are even less impressive (175kWh a year less than the Winaico for the same 2.16 kWp system)
And just to answer the original thread question, the Sanyo setup (with SMA 2500HF inverter) is 2560 kWh and the Hyundai setup with the same inverter gives 2201 kWh so 359kWh a year difference, say that's about £150 a year more. Unusually that does seem to match the SAP estimate, sometimes SAP gets lucky.

 

[Worcester]

@tlsambo

'In our tests' - in that case please share the info.

Presumably this is either a control site with multiple istallations and data logging, as per the Photon tests or is this 'laboratory' conditions?

So that the results can be validated, can you please also supply full details of the test conditions.

Thanks

 

[6rick4]

Re: Some advice please Sanyo vs Hyunda

Hi there, both prices are high for install. Sanyo is a far suprior product but we are fitting 12 panel sanyo 250w systems at £10,300 so unless your install is incredibly difficult, you are paying over the odds. 4K systems using chinese panels are available for under 10K now. Schuco also not that far different in performance, we use sanyo where roof space is limited but schuco if it is not. Hope this helps. PS Schuco is a much sturdier module.

 

[cjapeterborough]

Re: Some advice please Sanyo vs Hyunda

The results of what should be an impartial survey by Photon are available on the link below.

http://www.photon.info/upload/2011_PHOTON___Yield_Measurement_en_email_972.pdf

Now there appears to be a very strong following on this forum for Sanyo and I do believe myself that they are hight quality panels,however what I dont agree with is the premium price that seems to be paid for them when there are many others on the market offering better value.

As one of the market leaders(Sanyo) I find it hard to understand why they do not figure at all in such a prominent survey-can anyone comment?

If they are so good why are the results not published?

Any end user results I have seen(eg uksolarcasestudy) show them to be up there with the best but many others do the same job at less cost imho

 

[6rick4]

University of Davies in the USA tested them december 2010 against other modules, sanyo came 1st with schuco 2nd. Surprisingly schott modules performed very poor

 

[MorganPVI]

Running a test roof on PV-Sol gives Sanyo in #1 and Suntech #2 for our variables and location.

I've no doubt the value calculations probably favour a Suntech or other well priced panel, but we prefer to recomend Sanyo for a number of reasons.

 

[cjapeterborough]

University of Davies in the USA tested them december 2010 against other modules, sanyo came 1st with schuco 2nd. Surprisingly schott modules performed very poor

Can you provide a link to this ? Any of the university site data that I have seen has been virtually impossible to assess(eg Warwick).

It still doesnt explain why Sanyo have not participated in what is an impartial European based study -surely if they are so good why not
unless off course they cant afford the fees at 10K euro