Why Buy Solar Panels Wholesale?

by Philip Paine

If you want to get solar panels as cheaply as possible, realistically you have three options:

* Buy Solar Panels Wholesale. * Find Retail Bargains. Hunt for bargains such as those we found on Amazon where they are selling the various solar panels at very competitive prices * Go DIY. But only if you are really keen to do this and want to make just a couple of solar panels as a project.

Let us take a closer look at the issues surrounding buying solar panels wholesale.

There are an increasing number of renewable energy wholesalers who are buying solar panels in bulk and selling these at very competitive prices to the customer direct.

However, there are a number of points you need to be aware of:

1. These are Often NOT the Latest Products. When you buy solar panels wholesale you are not likely to get the latest solar panel designs or products. The latest products command a premium. Suppliers want to sell the latest products and are therefore keen to shift older products to make room for the new. The older products may not be as technically advanced and may not be as efficient, but as you are buying a panel than produces a specific number of watts, the only downside may be that the older product produces uses a larger panel to produce the same wattage. Not really a big issue.

2. Mounting Kits. Make sure there are readily available mounting kits for the panels before you buy them. Panels aimed at the commercial market can be adapted to residential use without any problems, just make sure you can get the mounts.

3. Delivery Costs. Check out the cost of delivery, as this can be significant. Also, many wholesalers will charge a re-packing fee if you buy a single or odd number of panels.

4. Warranty and Terms & Conditions. Check the warranty and terms and conditions regarding returns, etc. Make sure these are acceptable. If not, find another wholesaler.

5. Minimum Order Quantities. We thought this was going to be the biggest issue as most wholesalers will only sell solar panels by the pallet, often the equivalent to 20, 24, 30 or 60 panels. However, we have found minimum quantities that ranged from 1 to 368!! So, as long as you are not too picky, this should not be a problem.

6. Access and Fork Lifts. Before you order a pallet load, make sure you are aware of any possible issues regarding access to your property (it might be a very big truck!) and find out if they expect you to have your own fork lift to take the pallet off the truck.

7. End of Line Products. For some solar panels only limited quantities may be available, so if you want additional panels in the future, the exact same solar panel may not be available. Again, this is not really an issue. Just be aware that you could end up with two different solar panel models on your roof or in your yard.

Make Sure You Get a Bargain

Finally, just because you are buying solar panels wholesale does not mean you are always getting a bargain. Always check the cost per watt (price of panel delivered / panel wattage). The wholesale solar panels that we checked varied considerably from $1.85 to $4.76 a watt.

Keep in mind that some great retail bargains may be available, so check out the retailers such as Amazon.
Increased production facilities in China and the recent fall off in demand from Europe (one of the ramifications of the credit crunch) should result in the continual lowering of prices. I wish you all the best in your search for cheap solar panels.


Before buying solar panels or considering making you own, check out this excellent site on solar energy and look at why you should buy solar panels wholesale.