What one to buy

[harley1782000]

I have some money coming in about a thousand bucks, I want to know what solar panels are good to buy?

There is alot of manufactures out there, no clue witch ones to order from.  So a little help from the solar experts here.  I found some nice ones made from sharp but again anyone have any thoughts on what ones to buy?

Jim

[DanG]

Are you where you're going to stay for a while? Much larger than 120w and the panels get hard to carry, store and use.

Are you able to have an upgrade path in mind? Split the purchase with a MPPT charger and chose panels you can stack identical or near-identical panels on later - but remember you usually can't add batteries into a aging string so there is a limitation.

You just want simple 12V charging I'd be tempted to haunt Craigslist and the local re-use centers until a quality batch became available...

http://www.sunelec.com/ usually has best prices and so-so shipping. Beware the 70-100V open circuit thin-films that require $$$ chargers.

[harley1782000]

What I would like to do is get at least 2 200watt panels and buy a grid connect inverter.  That way I can just add to the system as I can to make it bigger.  Is that ok to do?  Maybe add a panel here and there as I can afford it.  I am not sure thou on what size inverter I will need.  Should I buy a real big one that way as I add on to the system it can handle it and I don't have to buy another one after time goes by.

My goal is to get at least 2 200watt panels per year, that way I can expand the power output.  Not worried about a back up battery system for it.

Jim

[DanG]

Where in the world do you live?  Local weather history?

[harley1782000]

I live on the eastern side of PA.  The weather history here,  Summers are 90% sunny with temps in 80's and higher, Winters are 50/50 on sun.  There is two gentlemen that live up the road from me both have 5 - 200watt panels and they both have said they have excellent results with solar power.  So that is why I am willing to spend the money for panels.

Jim

[hydrosun]

The grid intertie inverters that I know about, limit what you can do. Most require a fairly high input voltage, meaning needing to buy more than two panels at a time to run in series. (Like 6 to 8 at a time.) Some that can run with two panels need to have a minimum sized battery bank to operate( Outback and some Xantrex inverters will work on a 24 volt system) The small Enphase inverters will work with a 24 volt panel or possibly two 12 volt panel. They don't match up well with many types of panels.  They are designed for panels with 72 cells (24 volts nominal) and around 200 watts. The only metering available is online from the company and carries an annual fee. If you buy one large inverter to start it will take more than the $1000 you have just for that. So to do like you contemplate you should look at the Enphase inverter requirement closely and get solar panels that will work at that voltage and wattage. Then you could add panels and new small inverters each year.
You didn't ask about grid intertie requirements from the utiliy, costs of meters, permits, or inspections but you are going to have to  learn more about that also.
Grid intertie seems simple but all the other pieces double the cost of the installation over just the cost of  panels.

Chris