5 ms·

Are panels cheaper than the servo motor & Arduino used in this tool? Not to mention that at mass produced scales chip costs are usually 1/5 the price of an Ard

by psyguy 4y ago

Are panels cheaper than the servo motor & Arduino used in this tool? Not to mention that at mass produced scales chip costs are usually 1/5 the price of an Arduino. What if every panel used these tools, we could increase the amount of power we gather from solar.

bushbaba 4y ago
Yes. A 400w watt panel is 250$. When you account for labor and cost of all. The parts for a moving panel that can withstand high wind speeds…Placing more fixed panels is cheaper.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
  > A 400w watt panel is 250$. Wait, panels are that cheap? Could you point me to a good place to buy them?
  - kurthr 4y ago
    https://watts247.com/product-category/solar-panels/new/pallet-new/ https://watts247.com/product-category/solar-panels/new/palle... I don't know what, where, or how many you want, but these are by the pallet (~30ea) and about $6500. You can get much cheaper with used ones. You get conservatively ~3hr of effective peak power per day (so a 400W panel will give you 1200Wh). You also need a DC converter for these to charge a battery or go to AC. Of course you'll want to mount them at the correct angle with a good view of the sun.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    You generally have to buy them by the pallet-load, FOB ("free on board") at the source, which means you arrange shipping. Home Depot marks up 4x for local purchase. But used panels, at 80% rated output, are even cheaper, as low as $150. A few of those will fail, so you keep spares. They are often repairable in a few minutes if you are not afraid of a soldering iron, e.g. replace a diode or MOSFET. Any roofer will put in mounting brackets, and almost any electrician is happy to put in the panel.
    - walrus01 4y ago
      Decent vendors such as sunelec.con will easily quote you a price for a one pallet load LTL freight shipment of a pallet of, say, 22 panels. Not like you have to arrange your own freight and often they get a better price because of they great monthly spend with the major us48 state LTL freight carriers. Be sure to specify if you need liftgate service at the destination or not, because that will affect cost, otherwise by default a pallet by LTL freight will need a loading dock to receive.
  - hedora 4y ago
    $3 per watt, installed on your roof is typical these days: https://www.remodelingcosts.org/solar-panel-costs-increase-seia-march-2022-report/ https://www.remodelingcosts.org/solar-panel-costs-increase-s... That includes labor, mounting hardware, inverters and grid tie in. It also assumes high efficiency panels. Watch out before buying older technology (lower efficiency) panels. Some have significant efficiency losses per degree Celsius increase in temperature.
    - dn3500 4y ago
      I paid $1.47 per watt for 3200 watts last summer but that's in Mexico.
    - zbrozek 4y ago
      I bought 42 Sunpower X21-335 panels used for about $4700 shipped to my door a few years ago and couldn't be happier. As far as I could tell they weren't actually ever unboxed.
      - ncmncm 4y ago
        For the numerically challenged, that is $4700/42 = $112 each. $112/335W = $0.33 per watt. Installed, well under $1.
        zbrozek 4y ago
        Yeah, the whole system has been fantastic. I'm so glad I did it. DIYing it was also fun.
    - yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
      > $3 per watt, installed on your roof is typical these days Which is why I was so fascinated by someone saying that you could get panels at 250USD/400W=0.625USD/W; I suppose it's possible that all the other stuff (electrician, mounting, inverters) is the difference, but a factor of 5? That feels like an chance to do something hacky and come out way ahead (like, say, DIYing a panel to run your computers, thus cutting out rewiring the house and needing an inverter).
- fy20 4y ago
  In Europe they are even cheaper as we don't have high tariffs on Chinese panels. I can buy a 350W panel for €150 including taxes, or €100 if I go to the equivalent of Craigslist and don't care about warranties.
rockostrich 4y ago
Maybe not bulk cost upfront, but surely the maintenance cost tips towards fixed place panels.
hedora 4y ago
Our solar panels are rated to 115mph winds. What are these servo mounts rated to? Also, installation of the panels currently costs more than panels. They don't say (or I didn't find) how efficient the optimal fixed mount is, but the agent starts at 80%, so assume some fixed position is 80% of optimal. They increase that to 96%, so they reduce the number of solar panels by about 13%. If the installation labor cost increases more than ~26% because of the servo mount, then the servo mount hardware and frame would need to be cheaper than fixed mounts for it to break even. Similarly, the amount of aluminum being consumed by solar panel installions is non-trivial, and the movable frame is likely to increase that. However, this is still a cool hobby project with a nice writeup.
- ehnto 4y ago
  > Also, installation of the panels currently costs more than panels. That's partly the racquet people set up to snag government grant dollars, but still true.

by psyguy 4y ago

bushbaba 4y ago

Yes. A 400w watt panel is 250$. When you account for labor and cost of all. The parts for a moving panel that can withstand high wind speeds…Placing more fixed panels is cheaper.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
> A 400w watt panel is 250$. Wait, panels are that cheap? Could you point me to a good place to buy them?
- kurthr 4y ago
  https://watts247.com/product-category/solar-panels/new/pallet-new/ https://watts247.com/product-category/solar-panels/new/palle... I don't know what, where, or how many you want, but these are by the pallet (~30ea) and about $6500. You can get much cheaper with used ones. You get conservatively ~3hr of effective peak power per day (so a 400W panel will give you 1200Wh). You also need a DC converter for these to charge a battery or go to AC. Of course you'll want to mount them at the correct angle with a good view of the sun.
- ncmncm 4y ago
  You generally have to buy them by the pallet-load, FOB ("free on board") at the source, which means you arrange shipping. Home Depot marks up 4x for local purchase. But used panels, at 80% rated output, are even cheaper, as low as $150. A few of those will fail, so you keep spares. They are often repairable in a few minutes if you are not afraid of a soldering iron, e.g. replace a diode or MOSFET. Any roofer will put in mounting brackets, and almost any electrician is happy to put in the panel.
  - walrus01 4y ago
    Decent vendors such as sunelec.con will easily quote you a price for a one pallet load LTL freight shipment of a pallet of, say, 22 panels. Not like you have to arrange your own freight and often they get a better price because of they great monthly spend with the major us48 state LTL freight carriers. Be sure to specify if you need liftgate service at the destination or not, because that will affect cost, otherwise by default a pallet by LTL freight will need a loading dock to receive.
- hedora 4y ago
  $3 per watt, installed on your roof is typical these days: https://www.remodelingcosts.org/solar-panel-costs-increase-seia-march-2022-report/ https://www.remodelingcosts.org/solar-panel-costs-increase-s... That includes labor, mounting hardware, inverters and grid tie in. It also assumes high efficiency panels. Watch out before buying older technology (lower efficiency) panels. Some have significant efficiency losses per degree Celsius increase in temperature.
  - dn3500 4y ago
    I paid $1.47 per watt for 3200 watts last summer but that's in Mexico.
  - zbrozek 4y ago
    I bought 42 Sunpower X21-335 panels used for about $4700 shipped to my door a few years ago and couldn't be happier. As far as I could tell they weren't actually ever unboxed.
    - ncmncm 4y ago
      For the numerically challenged, that is $4700/42 = $112 each. $112/335W = $0.33 per watt. Installed, well under $1.
      - zbrozek 4y ago
        Yeah, the whole system has been fantastic. I'm so glad I did it. DIYing it was also fun.
  - yjftsjthsd-h 4y ago
    > $3 per watt, installed on your roof is typical these days Which is why I was so fascinated by someone saying that you could get panels at 250USD/400W=0.625USD/W; I suppose it's possible that all the other stuff (electrician, mounting, inverters) is the difference, but a factor of 5? That feels like an chance to do something hacky and come out way ahead (like, say, DIYing a panel to run your computers, thus cutting out rewiring the house and needing an inverter).
fy20 4y ago
In Europe they are even cheaper as we don't have high tariffs on Chinese panels. I can buy a 350W panel for €150 including taxes, or €100 if I go to the equivalent of Craigslist and don't care about warranties.

rockostrich 4y ago

Maybe not bulk cost upfront, but surely the maintenance cost tips towards fixed place panels.

hedora 4y ago

Our solar panels are rated to 115mph winds. What are these servo mounts rated to? Also, installation of the panels currently costs more than panels. They don't say (or I didn't find) how efficient the optimal fixed mount is, but the agent starts at 80%, so assume some fixed position is 80% of optimal. They increase that to 96%, so they reduce the number of solar panels by about 13%. If the installation labor cost increases more than ~26% because of the servo mount, then the servo mount hardware and frame would need to be cheaper than fixed mounts for it to break even. Similarly, the amount of aluminum being consumed by solar panel installions is non-trivial, and the movable frame is likely to increase that. However, this is still a cool hobby project with a nice writeup.

ehnto 4y ago
> Also, installation of the panels currently costs more than panels. That's partly the racquet people set up to snag government grant dollars, but still true.