Can you folks post your Solar Panel installs and recommendations.

[loosenut]

I was in a lengthy meeting concerning alternative energies including solar. 

The usable gist: look for panels with at least 25% efficiency; if you know of a solar installation going up, ask about extra panels.

Both leaders from different areas said there are a lot of "extra" panels because the architects and contractors don't know the shrinkage rate during construction.  This leads to leftovers which lead to storage costs which lead to bargains for the persistent.

There is a chance that both are blowhards but they were quite certain that there is a large number of panels available.

[David Anderson]

Maybe there is an over supply.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/09/04/half-of-solar-firms-to-fail-analyst-says/

[Sean]

Maybe there is an over supply.

http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2009/09/04/half-of-solar-firms-to-fail-analyst-says/

Thanks for that link -- very informative.

It looks like I bought my panels more or less at the top of the market; I paid about $4 a watt at retail, and that was a good price at the time.  Right now, it looks like waiting a bit is a good strategy.

This makes some of my numbers above a bit harsh.  However, even at $1 a watt, solar is an expensive way to make power if you've already underwritten the capital cost of a generator.

-Sean
http://OurOdyssey.Blogspot.com