sunedison or solarworld

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  • cherryandberry
    Junior Member
    • Apr 2015
    • 4
    #1

    sunedison or solarworld

    Hello,

    I am just wondering if anyone had any advice about solar brands and inverters.

    We are torn between 2 systems and just don't know which is best for the prices.
    ----------------------------
    Our first proposed system is:

    - 14x Sunedison 280w panesl (25 year performance warranty)
    - 1 Solis Inverter - 10 year warranty

    £7395 & £795 for full reroof
    ------------------------------
    -----------------------------
    2nd is solar world and the person said that it is all by the same company. The panels, inverter and mounting system are all solarworld.
    - 1 solar world system design - wind loading and snow loading
    (not sure if this is gimmicky or not or has real value - we have alot of wind where we live)

    - 16 x SolarWorld 250w mono black panels (defect warranty 10 years and performance 25 years)
    - 1 enphase 215 microinverter - (25 year warranty)

    £7000 + £1600 for full reroof

    -------------------------------

    Our quotes differ because of the reroof prices.

    At first we didn't think we needed a microinverter because we don't have shade and we wanted to shave a bit of to make it cheaper.

    I really don't know which is the better system. Are solar world better than sunedison and what is the difference between having 14 panels vs 16?
    Any information about these products would be great. Thanks
    Tags: enphase, solar pv systems, solarworld
    • thejq
      Solar Fanatic
      • Jul 2014
      • 599
      #2
      No they are not made by the same company. Both companies are publicly traded. In terms of financials sunedison is way stronger. The stock went up 75% in the last year. Solar world, well you can check for yourself. Performance wise they are probably similar. Afterall they're both reputable. But if you want bankability, pick sunedison.
      16xLG300N1C+SE6000[url]http://tiny.cc/ojmxyx[/url]

        Comment

        • J.P.M.
          Solar Fanatic
          • Aug 2013
          • 14939
          #3
          Performance and quality wise, they're probably similar. That may mean either will last a long time with small chance of failure, but that's still a probability for either. That's where the overlap with future financial/business failure occurs. With either panel, choose the installer wisely.

          I'd go with a string inverter.

          Reroof is always a good idea if needed, but if you have not done so already, I'd go for an eval./inspection before I assumed replacement.

            Comment

            • cherryandberry
              Junior Member
              • Apr 2015
              • 4
              #4
              Originally posted by J.P.M.
              Performance and quality wise, they're probably similar. That may mean either will last a long time with small chance of failure, but that's still a probability for either. That's where the overlap with future financial/business failure occurs. With either panel, choose the installer wisely.

              I'd go with a string inverter.

              Reroof is always a good idea if needed, but if you have not done so already, I'd go for an eval./inspection before I assumed replacement.
              Thankyou both for your input. Both installers seem reputable and their finances and accreditations check out. I would say in terms of installer they are both equal.
              If the performance is similar then we might go with the solar world as they are cheaper, although I will check the financials and see what I think with that.

              Out of curiousity, why would you say string inverter? I don't really know the great differences.

                Comment

                • SleepingDragon
                  Member
                  • Mar 2015
                  • 44
                  #5
                  Originally posted by cherryandberry
                  Out of curiousity, why would you say string inverter? I don't really know the great differences.
                  String usually costs a lot cheaper, especially for bigger systems. I was glad I went micros instead of string because I thought I had no shade and after installation, I saw that some panels didn't perform up to par and requested the installers fixed.

                    Comment

                    • J.P.M.
                      Solar Fanatic
                      • Aug 2013
                      • 14939
                      #6
                      Originally posted by cherryandberry
                      Thankyou both for your input. Both installers seem reputable and their finances and accreditations check out. I would say in terms of installer they are both equal.
                      If the performance is similar then we might go with the solar world as they are cheaper, although I will check the financials and see what I think with that.

                      Out of curiousity, why would you say string inverter? I don't really know the great differences.
                      For my part, you're most welcome.

                      String inverter:

                      - Usually less expense, at least in the U.S.
                      - One string inverter is one failure point. Micro inverters have (# of panels - 1) additional potential failure points.

                      Micros:

                      - Usually allow for individual panel monitoring.
                      - One panel/micro failure will probably not affect the rest of the array, but one failure may not be noticed unless an eye is kept on output.
                      - In the U.S. at least, for warranty claim, labor is not usually covered, but the warranties are often for a longer period.

                        Comment

                        • cherryandberry
                          Junior Member
                          • Apr 2015
                          • 4
                          #7
                          Thanks for the info on the string and microinverter. That is a good point about more failure points.

                          So even though inverters are covered with the warranty then the labour is not?


                          Also, one of the installers has mentioned that solarworld are chinese panels? I thought they were German?
                          Confused on this now?

                            Comment

                            • J.P.M.
                              Solar Fanatic
                              • Aug 2013
                              • 14939
                              #8
                              Originally posted by cherryandberry
                              Thanks for the info on the string and microinverter. That is a good point about more failure points.

                              So even though inverters are covered with the warranty then the labour is not?


                              Also, one of the installers has mentioned that solarworld are chinese panels? I thought they were German?
                              Confused on this now?
                              Most micros sold in the U.S. have a longer warranty period (~ 25 yrs.) than string inverters (~10-12 yrs.).

                              Panels and their components are made all over the world, the same with assembly - all over the world.

                              I'd get my own info on origin rather than from someone with skin in the game and something to sell.

                              As long as you have a warranty and a spec sheet on a product, you believe what is written, and the product seems fit for your purposes, what's the diff. where the product comes from ? Most everything is made in China these days anyway. I don't see a lot of people taking stuff back to WallyWorld bitching because what they bought is made in China.

                                Comment

                                • cherryandberry
                                  Junior Member
                                  • Apr 2015
                                  • 4
                                  #9
                                  Originally posted by J.P.M.
                                  Most micros sold in the U.S. have a longer warranty period (~ 25 yrs.) than string inverters (~10-12 yrs.).

                                  Panels and their components are made all over the world, the same with assembly - all over the world.

                                  I'd get my own info on origin rather than from someone with skin in the game and something to sell.

                                  As long as you have a warranty and a spec sheet on a product, you believe what is written, and the product seems fit for your purposes, what's the diff. where the product comes from ? Most everything is made in China these days anyway. I don't see a lot of people taking stuff back to WallyWorld bitching because what they bought is made in China.
                                  No it wasn't the fact that I could go bitching about the fact it is from China. I'm well aware plenty of products are made in China. I am from England so I prefer warranties inside the EU because of added protections from EU law. I'm not saying you should never get warranties outside of the EU but it just simplifies things if they don't stand by their warranty you can challenge it much easier if it's another country in the EU.

                                    Comment

                                    • thejq
                                      Solar Fanatic
                                      • Jul 2014
                                      • 599
                                      #10
                                      Maybe different in the EU, but I remember the SolarWorld panels sold here in the US is domestically produced, while the brand was originally from Germany.
                                      16xLG300N1C+SE6000[url]http://tiny.cc/ojmxyx[/url]

                                        Comment

                                        • SleepingDragon
                                          Member
                                          • Mar 2015
                                          • 44
                                          #11
                                          Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think all SolarWorld panels are made in USA (Oregon) and Germany (Freiberg and Arnstadt). The company is a German company and one of the biggest pushers of Congress for tariffs in Chinese made panels. SunEdison is an American company that outsourced to China so theirs are Chinese made panels. Solis is actually called Ginlong Technologies which is a Chinese company that makes it in China. Enphase is a American company that had outsourced most of their inverters to be made in China. As of now, the inverters sold in USA could actually be made in USA in Milipitas, CA. If your contractor is North Star State Solar or Petersen Dean, the inverters must be made in USA to fulfilled the contract. SunPower's panels are made in Phillipines. I'm not a fan of many Chinese made goods even though almost everything is made there now... actually was made there since some manufacturing are shifting productions elsewhere.

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