ACOPOWER 100w 12V Compact Monocrystalline Solar Panel Module (Panel Only) Expired

I plan to add this to top of suv. Do i need to buy the "BougeRV Solar Connectors Y Branch Parallel Adapter Cable Wire Plug Tool Kit for Solar Panel" for installation or does panel come with something already? I assume i have to buy the mounting kit thats suggested

This wouldnt be feasible in a matter to reduce your power bill.
These smaller panels are good for smaller uses, not attaching to your existing grid.
Slap a few of these on an RV, keep your travel trailer batteries topped off, plug them into a power bank while camping, etc.

same deal on the poly, it's been going at least two weeks now:
https://smile.amazon.com/ACOPOWER...B01FXEW65Y
(thanks to whoever started the deleted thread abt ten days ago.)

Ay suggestions on how to implement one of these to lower electric bill at home?

I don't know much about solar panels, but after you mentioned it, I dug into it a little bit. From what I can tell (source [literoflightusa.org]), monocrystalline is better in just about every respect, except price. So if poly and mono are the same price, you should always choose mono, unless I'm missing something?

Dead?

Dead?

Yep you need to purchase the parallel kit if you are planning to have more than 1 panel because it doesn't come with it.

I'm seeing it as $170 and the clip coupon is $20 so that make it nowhere near $66 as stated. And don't see any other way to knock it down to that $66.

Sure, I can suggest a couple ways that might help reduce your expenses. But keep in mind, a lot of the possible uses weigh heavily upon how much you're willing to spend to buy x number of panels and infrastructure.

1.
A. With one panel you could use a small charge controller, an old battery and an inverter to power non-critical small/infrequent power draws, like window fans, patio lights, external flood lights and things of that nature. You would be saving money on your bill by not using electricity from the power company.

B. With a dozen of these panels, one or more 200ah LiFePo lithium battery($650) and a 3 KW inverter you could easily run small appliances like a dorm refrigerator, a microwave, and for shorter periods, even heavier wattage draws like a small toaster oven, coffee maker or hotplate. You can do much more during the day while the sun is shining and your batteries are already topped off. This would all be considered "off grid" because even though you might be still at home you won't ever be connecting any of the equipment to your house wiring in any fashion.

2. See if your power company has a "Net Metering" program. Net metering is an agreement between you and the power company in which allows you to put energy back onto the electrical grid using special equipment, effectively rewinding your electrical meter. You save because the amount of electricity you produce offsets a portion of what you use. This means you can effectively use the power company to "bank" all of the power that your system produces, even when you're not using it directly.
⚠️This is huge because you don't have to spend $600-$800 each for multiple batteries, and because any power that would have been produced when your batteries were full would have been completely wasted. By net metering that power doesn't have to go to waste. You also don't have to deal with the significant energy losses that occur when converting electricity from your solar panels to the charge controller, and then to charge the battery, and then to later use that energy with a power inverter. The power loss between these steps can easily lead to 40-60% of the net energy being lost and wasted as heat from those devices. Which is pretty awful when you think about it. You don't really have to worry about any of that when you do net metering.
With net metering all you really need is a special type of inverter that is called a "tie grid inverter" that directly and immediately converts the power coming from the solar panels into usable electricity that is fed back into the power grid through your meter as it is produced. A tie grid inverter is a special type of inverter that has built-in safeties and it's the only type of inverter that you can ever connect to your house electrical system.

A lot of cities require a permit for installing solar panels on the roof of a building (because the modifications have to follow the same building codes that are required for roofing) but it is much simpler to get a permit if you are setting up your panels on a rack support system directly on the ground. After you have your PV system installed and approved, you would then schedule an installation inspection from the power company where they would come out and swap your standard electrical meter for a special net metering meter, and then inspect your generation system to make sure that it is safe to run while linked to the grid. It's only at that point that you can get the okay to connect the tie grid inverter, and the power company worker will witness and verify that it is functioning correctly and not causing problems.

It's a bunch of work up front, but after that, you can pretty much just let it be and allow it to passively offset your energy usage. If you have a big enough system and you produce more electricity than you use, most companies will give you a credit towards your bill. If you have a big enough credit to offset any service fees the utility company will either continue giving you a credit to your account or cut you a check at the end of the year (at a significantly reduced rate) for the value of the credit.

I have two locations with panels and wind turbines that produce an excess of power(25kw) and because I have three locations on my single account, the excess is applied as a power credit towards the electrical usage of the third building, which is kind of cool.

It's important to note that most utility companies have a minimum kilowatt power generation requirement before they will even consider setting up net metering at a location. My local utility company requires a minimum of 1.2 KW of power generation before they will allow you to do net metering, which on paper would be at least 12 of these little 100 watt solar panels.

If you are big into DIY and are willing to put in the time to learn what is required to safely install a PV system, this is totally doable, but you'll have to expect to spend a significant amount of time and about $1,000-$1,300 or so to make it happen. let's say $750 for the panels after tax, $129 for a good 1,300w tie grid inverter, let's say $80 for the electrical cable, splitter/merge connectors, fuses and misc, and the rest comes down to how you're going to mount it.
If you're going to put it up on the roof, you'll need to pay for the permit to the city, ($50-100), $100-150 for the roof rail system and then pay for labor to have it all installed.
Some cities will allow you to set up solar panels on the ground on dedicated metal frames anchored to the ground without needing a permit, and that's something most people can build with materials from the hardware store on their own over the course of a weekend. This will allow you to save a few hundred dollars on labor and materials. You'll need tools like a grinder or cut off saw, but at least you'll have the tool afterwards instead of just paying labor.

If you're going to be going much larger than 1,200 watts, or aren't comfortable doing this kind of work then you really should contact an electrician that specializes in photovoltaic / renewable energy systems. It's a booming industry and there are a lot of people out there that can help guide you through the process while providing valuable services to make sure it gets done right and to code. Many states have renewable energy credits that you might be eligible for if you have a renewable energy system installed by an approved vendor that can significantly offset the cost of Labor and even some of the materials depending on the total rebate.


Anyway, it's worked out really well for me to build my own systems, but it is 99% up front time, energy and cash.

Contact your power company and ask them about their renewable programs and if they have net metering available.

Hope this helps. 👍

I got both last time they were listed, the poly is much smaller for the same output. I still waiting on some equipment to do full testing on each panels output