[RE-wrenches] PV ratings

[William Dorsett]

We began buying Canadian Solar thinking that their third party insurance
would cover when other module manufacturers were going belly up i.e.
SunTech. We thought this meant that their factories would at least meet
certain CS licensing requirements. But with module prices dropping to very
low points you have to believe there is a lower expectation of quality. So
at this point, the question might be whether the insurer (the Chubb Group)
is willing to cover CS modules because they are especially reliable, or
whether CS or its third party manufacturers will be tempted to lower their
expectations because they are covered. Apparently BoViet is producing at
least some of their product line and there must be tension between the
branding company and the insurer. They may be good and I've seen advertising
where BoViet is willing to insurer their modules for one year...not long for
a 25 to 30 year product. Third party insurance may have become more common
in the industry but at the time of our decision, it was only CS. I think it
is especially important to keep updated on this with new low prices.

Bill Dorsett
Manhattan, KS

-----Original Message-----
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Garrison Riegel
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 9:45 AM
To: RE-wrenches
Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] PV ratings

It's not exactly what you're asking for, but Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
ranks module manufacturers by social and environmental responsibility, which
I appreciate.  You can find results from 2009 through 2015 on their website,
and 2016 is coming soon.  

http://www.solarscorecard.com/2015/2015-scorecard.php

I haven't seen a performance comparison in a few years.  You can find the
Photon module yield tests up until 2014 online, but even those were limited
to sometimes one model from a manufacturer which did not necessarily
represent the available technology.   

Garrison

Garrison Riegel
PV Manager | Solar Service Inc
[p] 847-677-0950 | garrison at solarserviceinc.com

NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional(tm)



-----Original Message-----
From: RE-wrenches [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On
Behalf Of Ron Young
Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2017 2:30 AM
To: RE-wrenches <re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org>
Subject: [RE-wrenches] PV ratings

Hi Wrenches, anyone have a link to a recent study on PV ratings, solar panel
performance type data? Something within the last two years? Many thanks!

Ron Young
earthRight Solar
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