SolarDIY
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Used panels are very cheap off the pallet locally (see craigslist, fb marketplace, etc).
If you describe the DIY setup (off-grid, grid-tied, hybrid) people might have specific suggestions for budget components.
Thanks for this tip! I just checked my local CL and am finding deals around $0.50/watt with most panels being around 325W. The output voltages are all over the place though, definitely need to pay attention to the charge controller specs.
I'm new to all this and as a result I am coming from a learning and interest perspective. I believe that 50W or 100W would be sufficient to get some minor use out of. Do you know of any other decent 50W-100W options that are more economical in $CAD? Once I have a panel in mind then I'll look into a battery, inverter, charge controller, etc.
Very small setups (sometimes called "toy" setups because they are typically for fun and learning) are the most expensive by the watt, typically $1USD/watt. I don't know the Canadian market at all, sorry.
Also why is it that panels are so cheap off the pallet? I'm seeing a lot on the sites you mentioned whereas they're much pricier ordering online.