Posted: 10/7/2010 2:27:36 PM EDT
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While cleaning the deep dark recesses of our shop the other day we came across 2 brand new solar panels still in their shipping boxes, these panels were manufactured by SolarEx based in Frederick MD. We probably purchased these to retrofit some solar powered message boards years ago but they were never used.
The measurements of the boxes are approx 4ft x 2ft, I will not be able to open them until our manager returns from a meeting in Georgia Monday to see if there are any specs for the panels inside. Question 1: Since these have never been exposed to the sun, should these still work? I will have the opportunity to check the voltages in full sunlight once I can inspect them. Question 2: Directly correlates to question 1, if indeed these panels are producing power, any idea how much $ I should offer for them? I should be able to post details and pictures once I'm able to actually check these out. |
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Disclaimer: I'm no expert.
Having said that, if they were not defective to begin with (or damaged during shipping or storage), there is no reason to think that they would not work now. Without specs it's hard to say what they would be worth. For comparison purposes, a set of (low-end, amorphous) solar panels from Harbor Freight (including a charge controller) that is rated at 45 watts was on sale last weekend for about $120, or roughly $3.00 per watt (if you ignore the controller). Other arfcommers have stated that prices for better solar panels (crystalline silicon or newer technologies in larger arrays) are expected to sell for less than $2.00 per watt (but I haven't run across any small setups priced like that). I could be mistaken, but my guess is that the square footage of each panel that you have (based on the size of the box) is roughly the same as the square footage of the set of panels in the Harbor Freight kit. If that is correct, and if the panels are a better grade (more efficient in producing electricity from equivalent sunlight) than the ones from HF, then you can do the math. If they were purchased several years ago, it's possible that each panel originally cost hundreds of dollars or more. Obvious statement: Find out what the specs are, then try to get them for free. 
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I had some of the old Solarex panels 
Exposure to sunlight is what degrades the cells. Exposure to the elements is what causes panel failure. If they've been in their boxes all that time they should be just about as good as they were when new. I'd offer $2 a watt. That'd be a fair price if you can't get them free. It's irony that $2 a watt is a little less than the going price for new panels today and about a third of what those panels went for when they were new. I for one am happy with this trend. |
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they should still work, as long as they haven't been damaged.
wild guestimate based on rough size is that they may be about 75W each. open boxes, stick panels in sun, measure open circuit voltage with a meter. that will be higher than the voltage they'd crank out when actually charging something. once you have a model number, you should be able to google up the specs, if there's no info packed with them or on a sticker on the back. |
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SOLAREX was bought out by BP ( Amoco) in the middle nineties.
They were well built panels, I have one ( MSX-60) in continuous use since 1989, still making rated power. My recollection is that I paid $365 each for a 3 lot of the 60 watt rated modules, plus a chunk of freight. |