Cheap solar (PV) panels?

 Hey guys,

  I ran across a site with cheap solar panels a while back,and now I
can't remember the name of the company,and Google hasn't turned up thier
site yet. (I was sure I bookmarked it,but..)
I'm looking for a small panel or two for a friend's project,and I told
him I knew of a place to get cheap panels,but I think I fibbed - since I
can't find it again!  He probably won't need much power, 50W should do
him well.
And I might be in the market for some solar panels myself,sometime soon.
My little 10W Solec panel was great to start experimenting with PV,but
now I want more power! :-)

So,uh,I'm asking for all your links to cheap solar panel (PV) suppliers!

Anything- Assembled panels,kits,raw cells,etc..
We can make panels from raw cells,if needed.

Thanks In Advance!  Patrick.

 
 > So,uh,I'm asking for all your links to cheap solar panel (PV) suppliers!

The first one that comes to mind is one right close by in Indiana.

http://www.theenergyalternative.com/

They sell a 20 pack of 1.2 watt panels (24w) for $65 dollars.
Less than $3 a watt

http://www.theenergyalternative.com/energy_efficient_products/index.html?itemA2

They also sell a number of other things.

http://www.theenergyalternative.com/energy_efficient_products/index.html

And you also want to look around walmart or home depot.
They have 10 packs of solar lights for around $40.
Buy them, throw away the plastic, and part out the solar light heads.
For $4 a unit, you get a 2x2 solar panel that puts out about 4.5V, and 70ma.
And you get two 600ma nicad batteries, and a high intensity LED.

So, for $40, you get, 20 600ma nicad batteries, 10 high power LED's and 10
nice little solar panels.
Almost as good of deal as the TEA store I listed above.
The ten panels can be configured for anything from 45V at 70ma, or 4.5V at
700ma
Or about 3W at $40 not including all the other stuff.

Personally, I just stick with the $40 ten packs from the local store for my
source of small solar panels.

Needless to say, I have plenty of 600ma rechargeable nicads hanging around
here.
No shortage of them at all.

 
The exact model I buy is the LZ1
In the 10 packs.
http://www.intermatic.com/images/fact_sheets/LZ1-10.pdf

I usually see them going for $40 to $45 for the pack at the local home
improvement stores.

The panel that's visible on the top of the units on the product literature,
and the picture on the box, looks like it has 4 cells, like would be used to
charge one nicad. Like the one you see in the PDF.

But all of the lights I have ever bought have 8 cells.
I guess the ones in the product literature have just one battery, with a
step up inverter to run the LED.
It may depend on what factory they come from, and you may get a different
type of LZ1, But the 8 cell panels are all I have ever seen in the top of
them.

 Hi Patrick,

You're addicted to PV now... I can see it in your wording.  You can join us
between 6 and 8pm every
2nd monday.   ;-)

"Ptaylor" wrote

 

And here is also two others that I had in my favorites tray.

http://www.affordable-solar.com/gepv-50-watt-solar-panel.html

Around $5 a watt

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Category.taf?CategoryIDV3&pricetype=

Little under $5 a watt

How cheap are you exactly looking for anyway?