Price of solar panels....

[Sackmycook]

I'm exploring a solar and battery home system with a local company.

I'm getting quoted around £70-£80 per panel. That's a 450w rigid unit, VAT free.

This seems substantially cheaper than ones going on vans ?

Am I missing something ? Is there a difference between panels ?

 

[t0mb0]

Yep, domestic rigid solar panels are dirt cheap, flexible solar panels - not so much…

 

[chimpusmaximus]

I only paid £77 for 545w delivered next day from city plumbing last year. Crazy how cheap and been great. No idea why van ones are so expansive, even rigid seem very over priced. Maybe the smaller size etc is made on a lot smaller economy of scales.

 

[Sackmycook]

I only paid £77 for 545w delivered next day from city plumbing last year. Crazy how cheap and been great. No idea why van ones are so expansive, even rigid seem very over priced. Maybe the smaller size etc is made on a lot smaller economy of scales.

Yeah, that's what I don't get.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Rigid solar panels look shit on vans …pays your money

 

[Dellmassive]

That's the going prices for domestic ridgid panels. As above.

Those panels are normally 50v odd so you need to use a decent mppt controller so you don't fry you leisure setup.... Do not use a cheaper pwm controller. They use flat glass and have a very thin backing. The strength comes from the frame.

On the other hand flat Flexi panels are more money and normally sit around, 19v. If still only use a mppt controller these days. Ir Victron 75/20 smart. They are made from multiple layers, they normally have a fiber board backing layer and PTFE plastic upper layers to enable the flex. The super expensive ones have a aluminium strengthening layer sandwiched in that helps with heat spreading. They are more prone to thermal expansion cycles which can beack the tin foil bus bars and caus the panel to fail.... Look for ones with 9 or more busbars. They last longer... Cheaper panels can suffer from delamination after a few seasons.

Some say the ridgid are more durable.

Some say they look awful on a van.

I personally and not keen on the look of ridged panels. So I have flat Flexi panels.

And the main reason the flat panels fail is that they are not installed correctly, as per the manufacturer instructions.. Installers fit them incorrectly. Then blame the panel when they fail after 24mnths.

Ie....
Fill in ridges under panel.
Don't seal all the edges.
Use the bonding equily to stop hot spots and bubbling.

I've fitted a 530w panel with HD velcro and sealed the front edge.... Been perfect so far.


Stick with branded panels, as there is massive quality differences...

Renogy for example are a good balance of prices and quality....I've got 5year only renogy panels that are still going strong

 

[t0mb0]

That's the going prices for domestic ridgid panels. As above.

Those panels are normally 50v odd so you need to use a decent mppt controller so you don't fry you leisure setup.... Do not use a cheaper pwm controller. They use flat glass and have a very thin backing. The strength comes from the frame.

On the other hand flat Flexi panels are more money and normally sit around, 19v. If still only use a mppt controller these days. Ir Victron 75/20 smart. They are made from multiple layers, they normally have a fiber board backing layer and PTFE plastic upper layers to enable the flex. The super expensive ones have a aluminium strengthening layer sandwiched in that helps with heat spreading. They are more prone to thermal expansion cycles which can beack the tin foil bus bars and caus the panel to fail.... Look for ones with 9 or more busbars. They last longer... Cheaper panels can suffer from delamination after a few seasons.

Some say the ridgid are more durable.

Some say they look awful on a van.

I personally and not keen on the look of ridged panels. So I have flat Flexi panels.

And the main reason the flat panels fail is that they are not installed correctly, as per the manufacturer instructions.. Installers fit them incorrectly. Then blame the panel when they fail after 24mnths.

Ie....
Fill in ridges under panel.
Don't seal all the edges.
Use the bonding equily to stop hot spots and bubbling.

I've fitted a 530w panel with HD velcro and sealed the front edge.... Been perfect so far.


Stick with branded panels, as there is massive quality differences...

Renogy for example are a good balance of prices and quality....I've got 5year only renogy panels that are still going strong

I hadn’t thought of using velcro before. Are you using strips of velcro tape running down the length? How much does it add to the height, a few mm?

 

[Salty Spuds]

In my very humble opinion, rigid solar panels look shit on vans …pays your money

FTFY

 

[Dellmassive]

I hadn’t thought of using velcro before. Are you using strips of velcro tape running down the length? How much does it add to the height, a few mm?

Yes long strips of 50 mm heavy duty velcro, stuck on vinyl wrap.

. It adds a few meal in height but basically un noticeable.

The velcro makes it easier to remove in future. That's also gives the panel room to breathe and move about under the thermal expansion.

..

Post in thread 'Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure'

14 Jun 2025

Right come on - i know you are all waiting for this one, thets do this.


-- 530W solar panel install -

this this is huge !!

but the first problem was getting the old one off.

i tried a multi angled attack, as the panel is still new so i wanted to remove it carfully to re-use / sell on.



View attachment 291613


a combination of plastic scrapers, metal scrapers . . which worked well for the outer edges, but couldn't get to the inner ribs.

View attachment 291614

for those we needed the cheese-wire technique.

but using cotton / string / fishing line. which all snapped.

so ended up...

• Dellmassive

• 
• 

...

 

[Sackmycook]

So, my domestic quote is coming in at just over 10k for the following:-
20x450w panels
2x 5.2kwh batteries
Inverter
Gateway (for powercuts of which we get plenty)
Bird protection
Mounting rails
Full fitting

Seems like a decent price ?

 

[t0mb0]

So, my domestic quote is coming in at just over 10k for the following:-
20x450w panels
2x 5.2kwh batteries
Inverter
Gateway (for powercuts of which we get plenty)
Bird protection
Mounting rails
Full fitting

Seems like a decent price ?

What batteries and inverter are you getting for that? Given the overall investment, and how cheap many batteries are per kWh currently, is it worth increasing the battery capacity?

 

[Howzat]

So, my domestic quote is coming in at just over 10k for the following:-
20x450w panels
2x 5.2kwh batteries
Inverter
Gateway (for powercuts of which we get plenty)
Bird protection
Mounting rails
Full fitting

Seems like a decent price ?

8k last year for same except only 10 panels. Your price seems keen.

 

[Dellmassive]

So, my domestic quote is coming in at just over 10k for the following:-
20x450w panels
2x 5.2kwh batteries
Inverter
Gateway (for powercuts of which we get plenty)
Bird protection
Mounting rails
Full fitting

Seems like a decent price ?

Domestic solar setups over here ...

Thread 'Solar Sheds & Other Non-t6 Solar Projects - How We Done It -'

4 Jan 2020

Solar Sheds & Other Non-T6 Solar Projects - How We Done It -

@Pete C requested it, so here it is . . . . .

Dell,

What do the batteries in your shed power ?
I too have a solar powered shed - perhaps we should have a separate thread for sheds

Pete

Lets Post here any NON - T6 related ECO Power or Solar setups etc....

***************************************

SHED:
Solar Panel: 1x 160w RENOGY flexible (stuck on roof ) 2x 160W semi-flexible, photonic universe (stuck on roof )
charge controller: Victron smartsolar 100/20 (75/15, 100/30 options + various PWM`s)
DC-DC charger...

• Dellmassive
• shed solar
• Replies: 376
• Forum: Electrics, Lighting, ICE, Security

• 

 

[Sackmycook]

This is what the installer recommends based on our annual usage of 5150 kwh, per year. We run an EV (5000 miles a year) and a Shepherds Hut business as a sideline

 

[Sackmycook]

No scaffolding as we are one storey and they can work from their tower. I'm guessing that saves £500 or so

 

[Salty Spuds]

Our daughter has just paid £8k for 6kw of panels, 1x5kwh battery. No gateway (against my advice ). So your price seems keen.

 

[t0mb0]

This is what the installer recommends based on our annual usage of 5150 kwh, per year. We run an EV (5000 miles a year) and a Shepherds Hut business as a sideline

View attachment 317564

How wedded to Hanchu are the installers? I'm asking as those Hanchu 5.12kWh batteries appear to be about £1900 ex vat whereas Fogstar (yes, the same Fogstar that do van batteries) do a 16kWh for about £1500 and a 32kWh for £2750 ex vat. Same for the inverter, you can get a Victron for less than that Hanchu by the look of it. I suspect the price of the backup functionality might go up here though, there's no equivalent to that Hanchu gateway so you'd need a few extra switches and the like I'd think. Your annual usage implies an average daily usage of around 14kWh so it would be nice if the batteries could at least see you through an average day.

It's going to come down to the installer though, if they install Hanchu all day long they're unlikely to want to deviate into something they're not familiar with.

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

I was £11k for 11 panels and 2 Duracell batteries last year

 

[t0mb0]

How wedded to Hanchu are the installers? I'm asking as those Hanchu 5.12kWh batteries appear to be about £1900 ex vat whereas Fogstar (yes, the same Fogstar that do van batteries) do a 16kWh for about £1500 and a 32kWh for £2750 ex vat. Same for the inverter, you can get a Victron for less than that Hanchu by the look of it. I suspect the price of the backup functionality might go up here though, there's no equivalent to that Hanchu gateway so you'd need a few extra switches and the like I'd like. Your annual usage implies an average daily usage of around 14kWh so it would be nice if the batteries could at least see you through an average day.

It's going to come down to the installer though, if they install Hanchu all day long they're unlikely to want to deviate into something they're not familiar with.

In fact, looking at the prices of that Hanchu stuff, I'm struggling to work out how they're getting down to a £10k quote? Maybe they are getting heavily cut prices on that Hanchu kit versus what retailers are quoting?

 

[The Flying Scotsman]

Rigid solar panels look shit on vans …pays your money

In your personal opinion
I personally think mines looks great