[RE-wrenches] Uni-Solar, Kaneka.now Panasonic?

[jay peltz]

Hi Guys,

I like to use what Photon is doing with real world production values.

jay
peltz power

On Mar 14, 2014, at 9:50 AM, August Goers wrote:

> Hi Larry,
> 
> It sounds like you are talking about the temperature coefficient or energy
> yield per kW-peak? Uni-Solar was great on paper but I'm not so sure about
> real world performance. We have a couple of Uni-Solar systems installed a
> while back and they are not doing so well in the real world. Companies
> keep coming to me over the years claiming that their modules harvest more
> kWh per kW peak and it is really hard to keep everything straight.
> Certainly the PTC ratings help in comparison to STC. Then there are papers
> like this from SunPower claiming 8 to 10% more energy per Watt:
> 
> http://www.solarips.com/admin/content/uploads/SunPower_Yield_Report_BEW.pd
> f
> 
> SunPower also claims that their modules degrade less annually compared to
> others.
> 
> And here's a doc comparing PV module performance measurements:
> 
> http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build05/PDF/b05047.pdf
> 
> Each year we try to compare the actual monitored performance of our
> systems compared to our as-built production estimates at time of the
> installation completion. In general, I've found that both SunPower and
> other standard efficiency modules seem to outperform the normal PV-Watts
> calculation by 7 to 10%. In 2012 our systems were averaging about 17%
> above our estimates! I haven't seen a huge difference between SunPower and
> standard efficiency modules. Furthermore, I haven't seen the performance
> gains that microinverter manufacturers are claiming compared to string
> inverters. I admit that our informal comparison is not perfectly
> scientific because there are simply too many variables that we don't
> capture. My main concern is material and or workmanship degradation in
> modules over the long haul. Only time will tell.
> 
> Best,
> 
> August
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org
> [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Larry
> Crutcher, Starlight Solar Power Systems
> Sent: Friday, March 14, 2014 9:09 AM
> To: RE-wrenches
> Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Uni-Solar, Kaneka.now Panasonic?
> 
> Dave and August,
> 
> I'm looking for high performance (capturing the most energy), not high
> necessarily high efficiency (using less space). Efficiency would be a
> bonus, though. LG are just average performance. Example: Uni-Solar was one
> of the lowest efficiency modules ever made but holds the record for
> highest performance.
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Larry Crutcher
> 
> 
>