How To: Cheap or Free Solar Panels

February 7, 2008 By Michelle Bennett 80 Comments

My cousin mentioned to me that her family wanted to install solar panels on their roof. She said it was a huge disappointment because it was far too expensive. It would take twenty years for them to regain the cost in energy savings, even with state solar initiatives! I decided to do some digging and came up with a handy solution to help reduce the cost:

Find used or discounted solar panels. Maybe you can even get them for free.

It may be the next-best option for installing solar power after joining a solar panel group discount program (if one’s available in your area). And it’s a little simpler than going all out and building your own homemade solar panels.

Solar panels are ideal for electric equipment when one doesn’t have access to the power grid and are widely used for such purposes (i.e. by the U.S. military). But being “in the field” can be rough on rigid silicon wafers. Any time a solar panel gets chipped or cracked, it becomes “unsafe” and must be replaced. Fortunately for us, “unsafe” is relative to rough road-side or wilderness conditions, not a cozy rooftop. Those panels have to go somewhere and they can be expensive to dispose of. Some companies would rather give them away to greenies. Sound too good to be true? Well, consider that some of that damage, cracks or chips, also degrade the efficiency of the panels — anywhere from 10%-60%. It’s not going to generate as much energy as a swanky new panel. But if you buy it for a song, or even convince them to give it to you for free, who’s complaining? Subtract 10% off a 22-watt panel and you still get 19 watts. That panel will still reduce your electricity bill.

So, where do you find used solar panels?

Step 1: Collect Contact Info.

Next time you spot a panel “in the field,” there should be a sign on or near it with a contractor’s name and contact information. These are the people who provide solar panels for “in-field” use. Just be careful: it is dangerous and sometimes illegal to stop on the side of a highway just to jot down a name and number. Instead, look for weather sensors or portable electric signs on local roads. If that fails, try scouring your local phone book for contractors who provide equipment for road construction. Make a list of these names, phone numbers, and their addresses.

Step 2: Go see them.

Convincing someone to sell/give you an expensive piece of hardware is less likely to happen over the phone. You’ll want to talk to the mechanics or the maintenance department: gentlemen who are probably very busy. Be friendly and always offer to pay for the damaged panels — they’ll appreciate the offer even if they don’t intend to charge you. If they do want cash, bargain. Keep in mind that they are doing you a favor by selling/giving something to you. Forging a good relationship will help in the long run. They wear out panels regularly — if they give to you once, they’re more likely to do it again. Remember to call back every few weeks to check if they’ve “received” (i.e. broken) any more panels.

See the rest of this post on page 2:

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Filed Under: Solar Energy Tagged With: DIY, Energy, solar

About Michelle Bennett

I'm an environmentalist who loves to write.

I grew up across the southeastern U.S.A. and especially love the Appalachian mountains. I went to school in the north east U.S.A. in part to witness different mindsets and lifestyles than those of my southern stomping grounds. I majored in English Lit. and Anthropology.

I've worked as a whitewater rafting guide, which introduced me to a wilderness and the complex issues at play in the places where relatively few people go. I also taught English language in South Korea for a year, which taught me to take nothing for granted. Currently I'm applying for grad school to study international environmental policy.

http://www.brisbanesolarelectrical.com.au/ Solar brisbane

Return on investment in Brisbane Australia, with,the government incentives is around3.5 years
Moshe V. Toussaint

I’m Moshe Toussaint. I currently live in Haiti. Our country has amongst other problems a great elaectrical problem. I as a concern citizen have for a long time thought what I could do about it. Solar electricity is a solution when I was in the United States, I thought could help, But I soon saw that the cost would be too overwhelming. Maybe you as an enviromentalist could give me an idea even on a small scale bases.
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Steve Mitcham

EnergyCare I believe offer different panels (UK ones with 10 year guarantees) to buyers than to “renters” who get European ones with longer guarantees – 25 years, installed for free but only get the electricity but not the Feed-In Tariffs.

This is makes wary and suspicious. Can anyone shed any light on this? (pardon the unintended pun)
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Paulaosull

I would love solar panels i live in a maisonette i am soley responsible for the roof and any maintenance but can’t get on the free scheme due to rules and regulations Good old Government !
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Snowbeardvc

We are disabled and are trying to get by on very small Soc. Sec. income. At 80 and 79 yrs. we are not able to install panels, batteries or wind power equipment. We live in Apache County AZ, so get good sun. We are off the grid and would have to pay a kings ransom to get power to our home. We are trying to find new or used equipment and have a small amount of money saved for this purpose. If you might be able to assist a couple of old foogies to obtain a system for their very rural home, please let us know….. Thank You !
Anumakonda Jagadeesh

Good post. After oil crisis in 1973 there was big push for Renewables. Later I received some offers from US to supply used solar panels and Wind Turbines at a throw away price. Our Indian Government did not permit installing used Wind Turbines imported from abroad.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
Wind Energy Expert
E-mail: anumakonda.jagadeesh@gmail.com

Eyecam286

wah there was an oil crisis in 1973? it was the private companies winning that the Government wanted to supply all fuel at thier prices like in mexico PEMEX… no deals for the end user. that is why every one striked out on the Government …silly there was plenty of crude oil then .. we didnt have to wait in fuel lines and it was a short time remember? .. not 5-10 years.. just companies flexing their corporate muscles against the Government

Anonymous

Bull.

” The *1973 oil crisis* started in October 1973, when the members of Organization
of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or
the OAPEC (consisting of the Arab members of OPEC , plus Egypt
, Syria and Tunisia)
proclaimed an oilembargo . This was “in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military” during the Yom Kippur war . It lasted until March 1974. ”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis

Alex

Hi my brother in law and I are both are unemployed and we can install them. But we don’t have experience but we would like to learn to install them. We both of us have the tools for the installation if any one have some ideas please let us know.
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Anilyadav

plz tell me how to achieve a solar panel

plz mail me at anilyadav461@gmail.com
http://Web Gustavo

quem me pode vender um painel solar 30 cm x 10 cm de 9 ou 12v ?
http://makesolarpanel.net Todays deal

Good Discussion about solar panel, I hope people will study about it more,
http://Web Bill Perry

Would like to get solar power in my home, but am handicapped and cannot affort to hire it done and unable to do it myself. Could you offer any suggestions and or help. Bill Perry

JeremyPhelpsFL

Bill, perhaps try asking greenie friends and family. I would gladly donate my time and effort to a handicapped (or even able bodied) friend that needed assistance. We are all in this together, as the more we start to do to help each other the better off everyone will be.

JermFL

Of course also keep in mind, at some point, you will have to hire a licensed professional if you plan to hook up to the grid through your meter.

http://Web Jim

Gentlemen,
If someone is purchasing a used solar array and when tested shows that it is not putting out the amount of amps it should be, can’t you dismantle a solar array (carefully) and test each piece within it to find those not working and then replace these with a part from another used solar array. Know these pieces are very delicate and can be damaged easily, but is it possible to do the above and make a fully functioning solar array.
http://backpackercabin.com Brendan Killilea

I’m a pretty serious backpacker and will admit that I’m anal about my equipment. If there’s one nuance that I highly dislike, it’s when my gear give way. This is why I always buy quality gear to outfit myself and be ready for most anything the dusty trail throws at me.
http://www.squidoo.com/HealthyGreenSmoothies GreenTeaSmoothie

One of the healthiest options out there are green tea smoothies,it’s like my coffee in the morning now! p.s. great post
http://www.classicmontecarlos.com monte carlos

Great post. Thanks!
http://www.liquidfoundry.com/ SC Web Design

You can even earn a return on that investment – A friend recently told me that if you generate more power than you use, the utility company is required to pay you back for the energy you generate at cost (not market price).

There’s more info on the subject here:

http://www.solarpanelnexus.com/installsolarpanel/powercompany.php

01indianbob

I would think that for that to happen, one would have to have solar panels covering the entire roof of his/her house…and their neighbors, too. I could be wrong…don’t know. Somebody reply with some solid stats, please.

http://knobs@roadrunner.com Thomas May

You can save a lot more money immediately through conservation and RECLAMATION, (extracting waste heat from furnaces, fireplaces, waste hot water and basically anything that uses a fuel to make heat. 20% of the heat you produce can be recovered with some innovative devices I found at greenhousecoalition.com and some other related sites. Some need custom fabrication, but make hot water like you know what. I have some links and more info and I can be reached at tmay dot greenhouse at roadrunner dot com One simple device installed on my shower reduced my electric bill by 20%. Another one reclaimed hot water from my washers, dish and laundry, increasing that enough to warrant investigation of meter tampering by the electric company. Im also working on a hydrogen powered generator which may eliminate it all. Wind power makes more juice anyway if you get up high enough, there’s always a breeze. Good luck and God bless.
JJ

I would also second what George says, I would rather deal with new parts that I know will work well to spec with no surprises.

I see lots of spam here already, like Ambigrid seems to be another “buy this book for secret info”, and the blogs that pump it are obvious shills. There are plenty of these “energy4free” books, stay away from them.

Anyway that said, you can buy the raw PV cells on Ebay for about $1/W. They usually come in 3″x6″ tiles about $2 each sometimes with minor cracks. The specs are 1.7W at 0.5V*3.5A. You solder 36 in series for an 18V stack. There is an Aluminum frame for about $35 to hold 36 of these. You buy tempered glass sheets locally, place in the frame and lay the PV cells over the glass, solder up the connections, and seal the whole thing with silicone?. A regular DIY might take a couple of hours per panel, more panels go faster.

After that you have a 60W panel for about $110. There are videos too on youtube. These panels can then be used to charge up a deep cycle battery pack and that will add more $ for the batteries, charger, inverter, wiring. The battery power though will only give about 40W per panel. You have to figure in your own time value, but you keep the savings.

I would do it myself except my house is a bad candidate, too little sun in the winter and I don’t fancy climbing up on the roof yet. If I had a better located roof or clear garden, I would put 25 of these panels up and wire it with the rest of the system for about $2500 for a 1KW system. I would use it to go half off grid, put all the electronics on separate solar AC outlets and leave the rest of the house on the grid. Start with 1 panel to get some experience and measure the results before going further.

To actually do a grid tie system means ruling out a DIY home build, I don’t think any utility would deal with that. That means looking at quotes that price like a luxury car installed by pros with a long payback time.

If you are going to pay contractors to build a solar system, you would get quicker payback to do solar thermal water heating. Also better payback by replacing energy guzzlers with lower power models.
rex

my parents have solar panels and they dont know how to hook them up is their any info that i could send them that whould help them.

Chrismiller

hook it up to the braker box with a 50 amp bracker! I can answer your questions if you need it.
Kirtg

You need an inverter to change the DC from the panels to the AC for the house system first.

Manavjain15

yes i want for project ,,,,n if u can i also wann the pv panel n votage controller too, con me at manavjain15@gmail.com

http://www.plans2reality.com George Grenley

Nothing wrong with the idea of using used panels, per se, but…. there are some tradeoffs.

- a random assortment of panels will not match well when hooked to a common inverter. You may need to buy several inverters or use micro-inverter technology.

- if you really can find cheap or free panels, great, but most markets are efficient most of the time. I’d bet that a used panel that runs at only 80% of rated power is going to sell at 70% or so of new price; at least once the secondary market begins to develop.

- Electricity is the most fungible commodity in the world; one kWH is pretty much identical to the next. Thus, panel prices tend to move to the point where the price of one panel, installled and making juice, nets the same cost per kWH as some other panel.

On the other hand, especially for a smaller installation, it could work very well.

AS for batteries, a used battery is no bargain. Batteries have well-known, and fairly rapid, wearout cycles. A corporation that is selling used backup batteries at a low price has probably done the calculation and knows that there isn’t much life left in the battery, either in terms of remaining amp-hours or remaining charge-discharge cycles.

Okay, I’ll stop being a wet blanket now.

George
Prahallad

Its a realy nice idea.

Could u please help me..I am looking for a cheap solar pump.
http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com Ambigrid Plans

You can build your own solar panels for UNDER $100 and Solar Water Heater for about $7 with the Ambigrid Plans!
http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com Ambigrid Review

I found the best DIY solar panel plans to be at http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com

I was able to make my own panels for UNDER $100!
http://www.mysolar2020.com badarinarayan

Is it worth installing Solar Panels on your Roof? Now you can decide for yourself.

————————————————————————- ———————————————————

Installing solar panels requires a big initial investment. Before you make this investment you should check to see if the money you will save by installing solar panels will pay for this investment. This website “www.MySolar2020.com ” provides you an opportunity to examine how much money you will actually save if you install solar panels.

To calculate your savings, the website considers the area (square feet) you currently have available to install solar panels. It looks at the available sunlight and its intensity in your state each month of the year. Based on this data the website (www.MySolar2020.com) estimates how much energy your solar panels will generate. It compares that with how much energy (kWh) you currently consume. You can find average energy (kWh) usage from your monthly utility bill. This data along with the savings is presented in a simple report on the website.
http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com Ambigrid Review

I used the plans at http://ambigrid-review.blogspot.com to build my own solar panels and solar water heater for under $80. I am getting enough energy to power half of my 1500+ Square Foot home in Florida!
DeBee Corley

How about today? Where are the least expensive solar panels?

Why is the solar power industry a fraud? Without government tax credits, the whole thing collapses.

Because it doesn’t make sense to pay $.20 a kilowatt for solar when you can buy $.15 grid power.

I have the technical ability to install solar power, but all I see are government style prices.
http://generatepower.blogspot.com/ Suk

Learn to build a solar water pumps
tayyab

i need solar panels at very cheap price that can be useful for people living in pakistan where electric power is in shortage send me response through ,mail and help people in hot summer you can send used but repairable ones free of cost as donation contact me at tayyab.urrehman@yahoo.com plz
http://www.smuntzwood.com Nick Blackmore

Thank you for the article it has given me some ideas to try following up. With the space I have for solar panels I don’t care if they put out 10% if they are really cheap!

Cheers and well done Michelle
http://www.bup.bd.com Mahbub Hasan

I think cheap renewable energy should be disseminated climate change vulnerables in the thirdworld such as Bangladesh. We have chronic shortage of electricity among 65% rural farmers. most of them are victim of some kind of disaster based on geographical location. How can you help us in promoting cheap solar energy to eliminte sin of darkness from poor in Bangladesh.

I think a little collaboration to HRD and technical support would be good enough

Thank you for positive response.

Dr. Mahbub Hasan

Head, centre for water and Environment

BUP, Dhaka

Tel: 88028853958

cell:801925157199

http://Web sam

Has anyone responded to your aid for electricity in rural areas and countries?

Isaiah Justin

Hey guys, Could you tell me where i can get the free panels, because i have seach all around i could not get it.
http://www.beanpies.com Renay Ingram

Does anyone know where we can get free solar panels from a company willing to showcase their products in a college/school community?
Edward

I wish I could have solar power or wind power for my home. Not just for my self, but to even give to others. And today jobs are hard to keep and money runs short. Most people cant afford to buy of install green energy.
abel

I payed $49 for the same information at earth4ehergy

to bad I din’t search here ,well I thought i will get more for $49.99
STEVE CHERAZ

I’M A THIRD GENERATION ELECTRICIAN/CONTRACTOR [AC ELECT. 50+ YRS.] AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTRESTED IN NEW TECKNOWLOGY AND ECSPECALLY EFFICANCY. [POWER MANAGEMENT] RECENTLY, ME AND MY BROTHER DID A JOB FOR A COMP. THAT CONVERTS CARS,TRUCKS,EVEN A TRAIN TO L-ION IN MONROVIA,CA.. TODAY WE WIRED AN ARRAY OF APPROX. 72 PANELS ON THE ROOF TO THE INVERTERS,ISOLATION DELTA/WYE TRANS AND TO SOB PANEL. ALSO WIRED WAREHOUSE W/T-5 HO HIGHBAY LITES /1ST TIME AND IMPRESSED. OK NOW THAT IM DONE BABBLING—–IM COMPUTER WEAK, LIKED YOUR SIGHT, AND JUST NOTICED THE TIME. PLEASE SEND ME ANYTHING ON USED PANELS,ARRAYS AND SETUP MONITERING,EDISONKICKS, OTHER TECKS. WHATEVER YOU CAN.THANKS….IM TO OLD TO BE THIS INTERESTED/TO YOUNG NOT TO BE
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http://dotcommodity.blogspot.com Susan Kraemer

Great story, Michelle.

An update, though: Since the bailout bill last month, we finally passed the solar tax credit, which reduces the cost of a solar roof by 33%.

That is the Federal tax credit.

Many states (like CA for instance) also have state reductions and even (here in Northern CA: PG&E) utilities who reduce the amount as well to encourage more people to lower electricity use.

So if you are not a DIYer, check to see what it would cost now, with the investment tax credit in place finally.
Utility Guy

I don’t think your idea is any better than installing new solar panels.

You must have a certified solar panel reseller company (on your utility company approved vendor list) who could sell your the approved solar panels(on your utility company approved list), for any utility company to qualify you for your rebate.

Refurnbish solar panels would not qualify.
http://www.diygreenproject.com cheap solar panels

though some options are expensive, there are cheaper routes. I know the system I put in my house was bid at over 9 thousand dollars but with what I was able to do, I brought the cost down considerably!
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Looking to save

Thank you. I have often wonder about the solar panels along the roads and if they ever had to replace them.
Jonas

Just lower the prices of solar systems,and tell people about the advantages of solar power.
Alex Chase

I had read an article about this several years ago and did a lot of leg work on it. I found the contractors who rent/lease them in my state and talked with State/local highway departments. After contacting them and working with them for several months, I netted two very damaged panels. One 50 w panel produced < 0.1W and the other produced ~ 2 watts. Why so few panels available? The contractors were very thrifty, the panels are pretty standard, if one is badly damaged, it is replaced with another salvaged off another unit. May be different in other areas, but not much to be had in Massachusetts.
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Eliana

Michelle: thank you for the great post! I am in the market for some solar panels and seems that my financial whoes are echoed by many. This gives the opportunity to still pursue solar energy at a cost that is actually feasible for me. And Brent: thank you for the suggestion for batteries! Moving to sustainable energy is a great idea, it’s just so expensive initially, and it’s really exciting for me to hear that I also have all these alternatives to make sustainable living more affordable for the “fresh out of college” too.

Thank you!
http://none Mike

We saw the same twenty year scentance, chained to a heavy repayment !

Guess what the price of power went up and in 4.5 years we are paid for and making a profit!

Do not be discouraged, just look at the pricwe of gas over the last 2 years!!!

Mike
http://yahoo.com pijush roy

I interested to solar energy then you will give some tips.
http://cleantechnica.com Michelle Bennett

Jose,

I’d love to, but unfortunately I’m not a business. Just a humble blog. However, if you see anyone with solar panels in your country, ask them where they got them and for how much. They might know some way to get a great deal.

Actually, I have a friend in Cape Verde. She’s an English Teacher. Unfortunately, she probably doesn’t know anything about solar panels.
Jose C. Gomes

I think in my country Cape Verde I’m paying too much on electricity bills and I’m looking if I can get a deal with a solar panel? My output is 220 volts so tell me if you have something with total price and I’ll see if we do business.
MichelleBennett

Dennis,

It’s true that there are a lot of exciting innovations in solar technology right now. It’s getting cheaper and more efficient every day – with important announcements cropping up almost weekly. As for the economic impacts, electric companies actually save money when demand on their infrastructure decreases to a certain amount. It’s not just that they’re producing less, but they don’t have to produce more. Building new power plants of any shape or size is expensive. If they can keep what they have (without losing *all* of their business of course), they can spend more time earning profits instead of expanding and upgrading an already-stressed system.
dennis

This hopefully will all be a moot point soon as some smart guy from MIT just developed a new solar panel design that will make new panels of 50 watts cost around ten bucks instead of 300. This new material he found performs just about as well as silicone , but is very cheap to make. He claims you could put the chemicals into your ink jet printer and make your own panels by spraying the stuff on to a plastic paper and soldering wires on to a certain pattern. I saw the units on their web site and later in the same month I saw it again on a program on the history channel called green power I think. Anyway, I goggled the stuff and it was true, but a lot of big money was put into a large corporation and I’ll bet it will be years before we see this stuff because of all the damage it could do to our economy. It could cause everyone in the nation with sun to unhook from the grid and buy electric cars and how would all of the power companies make money? I hope you see my point instead of thinking I’m just paranoid. Well, look it up and maybe they actually have the stuff in production by now, as this was four months ago. Good Luck.

dennis
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MichelleBennett

James:

I used WiseLiving as one resource (and credited them)but drew information from sources that they didn’t link/ include. If you think the “author” could have done more, please let me know how and include your resources.
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MichelleBennett

Natalay:

But if they did that they wouldn’t sell or give them to us!
http://gimps.de Nataly Short

I wonder why they are giving them away.

They should sell them on eBay or at least contract a reseller company to do so !
http://iloveteh.biz James W.

I like how the “author” of this article essentially reworded the same thing from Wise Living Journal from almost 3 weeks ago.
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http://blog.cubicledropout.com Cubicle Dropout

Good post. I know I will looking into this more when I build my own house.
Brent

As for the batteries you’ll need I have a friend that gets batteries from the power company they periodically replace back up batteries that are just simply scheduled to be replaced as part of routine, but still have lots of life left in them. Maybe talk to your local power company and see if they have any deep cell solar batteries they are getting rid of.
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