Todd Dabney, who was going to the Burning Man Festival since 2011, needed a way to keep his tent cold in the sun in Nevada. So, the Information Technology Adviser created what he calls the “final quagmire cold” from an arduous plastic storage container, pumps, tubes and fan.
The operation of the device is the Jinkosolar 385W panel that it cut on Craigslist several years ago from a nearby seller for $ 100. Dabney recalls that the seller was upgrading his solar array and getting rid of his current paintings, which were about five years old.
“There was no reason to buy new paintings,” he says. “I knew that I was taking this to burn the man, and it will become dusty and hit.”
When factories turn more and more new panels, the supply of those used in turn increases. Dabney is among a group of solar shoppers in the United States who choose to purchase its used, often through the lists of EBay websiteCraiglist and Facebook Marketplace. On letters like Reddit’s R/Solar andDIY solar energy forumThrifters can share their experiences and exchange installation tips.
The previously owned panels are an attractive choice for the economic, as well as DIY fans, and tampered with singles. Its costs differ with age and production. Old panels, which usually have lower permeability, can be found online with less than $ 50. The latest tends to have a higher medical power and can cost it several times. But any used painting from the next city will be free from customs tariffs, while the majority of new panels installed in the United States are imported, so it is subject to a tax.
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Experts say that giving second -life stereotypes has environmental benefits, and since more solar energy is installed worldwide, the specialized market may grow.
Arizona -based Santan Solar Santan Solar is selling no newuserPanels through its website and Ebay. Her mother company, Fabtech Solar Solutions, runs aSolar recycling worksThis takes panels from the projects that have been stopped and their quality tests. Santan sells the stereotypes used with one year warranty.
Attention to the previously owned panels increased during the Covid-19s, when the Americans were spending more time at home, according to Santan Russy’s sales manager. “The final users are more independent people, who really realize the budget-they are really looking for a cheap alternative to other energy sources,” says Tascher. He adds that they may want to prepare a solar system for reference to RV or need to replace part of an existing group.
Samir Sajid turned into a Facebook market in his search for forever -owned solar energy to operate an electronic bike charging station, a project he made “only for fun”. Within one day, the Massachusetts -based software engineer has found a seller near him offering a 250W Renology.
Buy – along with the charging console, needed to regulate the power flow to the bike battery – for $ 100. He says that the creation of the shipping station took less than 30 minutes.
“If you are trying to do this cheaply as possible, you will use 1000 % on the way,” says Sajid.
Using also avoids sending workboards to the premature waste. The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that the cumulative waste of photovoltaic cells will arrive4 million tonsGlobally in 2030, about 50 million tons in 2040.
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The panels usually have a 30 -year warranty, but many of them do not reach their full age before replacing it. Their manufacturing results in the same environmental effects, whether they are in use for three or three decades.
“Once manufactured a photovoltaic plate, her life extends through reuse, the amazing environmental effects, or embodied on more electricity generation, reduces the effects of every kilowatts per hour,” says Jarfin Heath, the main environmental engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and an expert in energy technology assessment.
However, the units used are not for everyone or every project. There is a clear defect in having to examine the quality of a classified advertisement. shipping Get panels can cause a spiral cost. Low or damaged panels may have an attractive but weak output, especially since the efficiency of the panels decreases slightly over time. The panels often represent a small part of the total cost to create solar energy. Other required parts – such as inverter and wires, and in many cases, the battery adds – quickly.
The new solar panels notice very cheap thanks to their abundance in the market, as the Bloombergnif -Jenny Chis analyst notes. She says stereotypes are usually designed to be prepared and left on their own, and can be considered in mind.
Based on use, people may be better in investing in completely new panels to increase the amount of energy captured.
He says: “If people are looking to put a new solar set at their home, they want to get for 30 years, I am still usually recommended for new paintings,” he says. FederalismTax creditsIt can help reduce cost.
The family in the United States needs about 11 kilowatts to cover the use of electricity, and a system of this size with new panels that usually cost about $ 20,500 to install after federal tax credits,according toData from Energysage. The average time it takes to re -re -this is a little more than seven years.
After creating an electronic cycling charger, Sajid says he is shopping for new panels for his home, to increase the amount of energy he can produce. But he still sees the advantages of using this used in some situations. For example, they will be well suitable for his brother -in -law’s molten cabin in the mountains, he says, to meet the basic electricity needs.
Dabney was telling the lovers of other burning man about his DIY cooling system and referring them to Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for the used panels.
“Having a free energy generator at reasonable prices, as I think, is really wonderful,” he says.
This story was originally shown on Fortune.com
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2025-04-19 15:15:00
