[RE-wrenches] How to evaluate chinese PV modules?

[Mick Abraham]

Props to Charlie for stating these issues clearly & fairly. There are too
many new manu's for me to sort through so I typically delete/spamreport all
offers from unknown/chinese sources. That's the "knee jerk reaction" that
Charlie mentions, but it's only partly due to anti-communism. It's also due
to information overload.

As a small timer, I am not likely to import for myself from Asia so one
thing I would look for is American based warehousing  & distribution...and
American based warranty procedures. Can I trust that my "big name"
wholesalers would not hitch their corporate wagons to a manu which does not
have the technical chops or financial staying power? Maybe...maybe not.

The wholesale distributors would do well to develop a list of whys &
wherefores about their alliance with a particular Chinese PV manu...not for
broadcast to the Wrench List but for helping their dealers to feel OK about
the latest product offering.

Come to think of it, an annual report on all their PV manus du jahr would be
a good thing, because the biz landscape can shift, right?

Jolliness~

Mick Abraham, Proprietor
www.abrahamsolar.com

Voice: 970-731-4675


On Mon, Jul 26, 2010 at 10:59 AM, Aladdin Solar
<cpickard at aladdinsolar.com>wrote:

>  Wrenches:
>
> Like it or not, there is a huge volume of PV modules manufactured (in part
> or completely) in China. And we're seeing U.S. producers moving operations
> there, too. If we can put aside some of the knee-jerk reactions to the idea
> of Chinese manufacturing and face the fact that it's a major force in the
> industry, isn't is possible, even likely, that some of these products are
> every bit as good as those we are more familiar with?
>
> How can we rationally evaluate modules from manufacturers we are unfamiliar
> with? Obviously UL and CEC listings/certifications are an important starting
> point but this doesn't narrow the field much. Warranties also do not narrow
> the field, either. Module specs aren't likely to very many products.
> Evaluation of the quality of modules seems not possible without long-term
> testing and in-field hands on experience. But we don't really know how the
> new models from Sharp, Sanyo or SolarWorld will hold up over time either but
> we tend to trust them because they are familiar. Age/history/trackrecord
> eliminates newer companies but still leave numerous large manufacturers as
> viable. Will they, can they, back up their products... how can you know?
> Shipping distance could be a reason to resist Asian manufacturers except
> that modules from Europe are also shipped half-way around the world to us.
> Employee human rights and environmental concerns would be important if there
> was some way to evaluate these--but how to research this? I've tried and
> don't have the time to find objective information.
>
> So, how do we evaluate these Chinese modules? Do we just lump them all into
> a "low quality" category? Is there a source of objective information where
> quality and other issues have been investigated? Are there some Asian
> manufacturers you trust and some you definitely stay away from?
>
> Thanks.
> Charlie Pickard
> Aladdin Solar
>
> _______________________________________________
> List sponsored by Home Power magazine
>
> List Address: RE-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org
>
> Options & settings:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List-Archive:
> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
>
> List rules & etiquette:
> www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
>
> Check out participant bios:
> www.members.re-wrenches.org
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org/attachments/20100726/bd0bf402/attachment-0004.html>