FUZZY MATH SOLAR

Does your solar dealer have you confused with performance claims that simply don't add up ?

For example: "Our solar panels generate up to 50% more power than conventional solar panels."

Well then, if you compare let's say their 210 watt solar panel to another manufacturer's 210 watt solar panel, shouldn't their panel actually be rated at up to 315 watts ?

Let's put it another way: If someone said "You get 50% more soda in our 12 ounce glass than our competitor's 12 ounce glass" wouldn't you expect 18 ounces of soda ?

Even if the claim were true, what about the price ? How much more would you have to pay for their higher power claim and how would that affect your return on investment ?

Visit these manufacturer's websites and you'll find lots of testimonials from customers who lowered their electric bills to $5.00 or even $0.00 or how happy their customers are with their systems. But absolutely nowhere will you find how much more these people paid for their solar systems. Why ?

There's an old saying in the electrical industry and that is "Watts is Watts". A 4 kilowatt hours solar system is a 4 kilowatt hours solar system no matter who manufactured the solar panels. A solar panel might be up to 50% more efficient, but "up to 50% more power" ?

A 210 watt solar panel that offers a higher efficiency rating simply means that the solar panel might be physically smaller than a 210 watt solar panel that offers a lower efficiency rating.

Don't get us wrong, if you can buy a higher efficiency solar panel for the same price as a lower efficiency solar panel, then that's a good thing if you're short on roof space. But why would you spend thousands of dollars more simply to get a panel that's maybe 10 to 15% smaller than another name brand manufacturer's high performance solar panel.

If you're paying a lot more money for the same 4 kilowatt hourss of power and all you're getting is a slightly smaller footprint on your roof, does that really make financial sense ? We don't think so.

In fact, if you compare the dimensions of one of these "Higher power" manufacturer's 210 watt solar panel to let's say Suntech's 210 Watt solar panel you'll find that there's only a difference of 1.62 square feet between these two solar panels.

If you compare the difference in price between two identically sized 4.2kW systems using these same two solar panels, the same inverters and mounting racks, you'd be amazed at how much less our Suntech system costs for the same number of solar panels and the same amount of power.

More Power Per Solar Panel Means Less Solar Panels ?

Another claim that is actually on one of these manufacturer's product specification sheets is that their solar panel reduces the system installation cost because "More power" per solar panel means less solar panels to install, which saves both time and money.

Hmm, let's get out the calculator on this one.......

I know that a few of us here at Colorado Solar might have dozed off during high school math class a few times but the last time I checked 20 panels equaled 20 panels.

So how could their statement "More power per panel means fewer panels per install" and " This saves both time and money" (which is printed right on their specsheet) be true ?

Why don't these manufacturers boast about their negative tolerance rating ?

That's because their solar panels offer a poorer negative tolerance rating. A solar panel's negative tolerance rating is a guaranty of how low a solar panels rated output can be in a brand new panel, right out of the box.

So for example, this manufacturer guarantees a negative 5% tolerance on their 210,215, 225 and 230 Watt solar panel. This means that their 230 Watt solar panel for instance is guaranteed not to fall below 218.5 Watts. Wow you paid for a 230 Watt solar yet you might only get 218.5 Watt right out of the box and you can't return the panel because it's within their negative tolerance warranty.

Compare their 5% negative tolerance rating to our U.S. made Siliken solar panels that offer a 0% percent negative tolerance rating, meaning that you are guaranteed of receiving 100% of the power that you paid for and you soon realize the importance of this critical specification. I wonder if this manufacturer factored in their poorer negative tolerance rating into their claim of higher efficiency ? 

 Greatest Returns ?

And if this weren't enough of the fuzzy math, one of these "higher power" manufacturers actually claims on their website that their products offer the "greatest returns" The truth is that all CEC listed solar equipment (including ours) offers the same tax credits and the the same per PTC watt rebate and all of Colorado Solar's premium line of solar panels offer a 25 year warranty.

If you were to take the additional several thousand that you would pay for their " higher power" system and invest that money into a higher wattage name brand system from another lower priced dealer, the "higher power" dealer's claim of the "greatest returns" no longer makes any sense at all..

The bottom line here is despite the radio ads and the websites and all of the rest of the "high powered" marketing that these manufacturers are using, always check for the following:

• Name Brand.
  

• Financial Strength Of The Manufacturer.
  

• Proven, Verifiable Performance.
  

• And Price.
  
  
  Don't get us wrong we're not out to knock anyone's solar panel. But if you're claiming to offer the most powerful solar panel in the world then we feel that as a manufacturer you have a responsibility to the consumer to explain exactly what you mean by that claim. In addition if you're going to claim to offer the the most powerful solar panel in the world then you also have an obligation to reveal your solar panel's weaknesses such as a poorer negative tolerance rating, a much higher price and a far shorter period of time of field proven performance and reliability.
  
  
  If a manufacturer is making claims that you don't understand, demand that they explain their claims. Never take a salesperson's word at face value. Remember higher efficiency simply means a slightly smaller solar panel and possibly a small improvement in low light performance. Considering that we live in the West and are literally bathed in high intensity sunlight, when would you really need slightly better low light performance ?
  
  If you're being quoted thousands of dollars more for the same Wattage system just to save some roof space and you're not concerned about your return on investment then that's ok.
  
  On the other hand if you are looking for technology that offers the best overall performance and proven reliability as well as the greatest return on your investment, then we offer the finest name brand products that are manufactured by publicly traded or U.S. based manufacturers that can help you achieve your goal.
  
  If a $5.80 electric bill or even a $0.00 electric bill is your goal then we'll help you get there for thousands less without using any fuzzy math.
  
  We Promise !

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