Wholesale Solar
Reduced Price on Solar Equipment
The possibility of getting wholesale solar equipment is attractive considering the relatively high prices of residential solar power systems,
The Food Chain
The chain start with the manufacturers. The different parts of the residential solar system are manufactured by different manufacturers. For grid connected homes the two most expensive parts are the solar panels and the grid connected inverter. Solar panels are manufactured by a variety of manufacturers such as Kyocera, Sanyo and BP Solar (a very limited list). Inverters are manufactured by other vendors, such as Xantrex and Solectria (a limited list)
The next link in the food chain are the wholesalers. They buy from the manufacturers in large volume at discounted prices the panels, the inverters, the necessary frames and other mechanical installation accessories and the necessary wires and connectors. They stock the parts and deliver them to the buyer, as parts or as solar energy kits. Their usual buyers are solar dealers and solar contractors. Two US examples are wholesalesolar.com 1-800-472-1142 and aeesolar.com 1-800-777-6609.
Some wholesalers are ready to sell to individuals at slightly reduced retail prices
Discounted Prices are for Higher Volume Purchase
In order to achieve wholesale solar prices you need to get a leverage by increasing the purchase volume. The only way a homeowner can do it in this business segment is by forming a group with his neighbors. The group can negotiate with more than one wholesaler and with more than one contractor. If you live in the US and other countries that have energy tax credit plans pay attention to the following:
- The tax returns are filed by the buyer, therefore you need to work out a plan to get an individual sale bill to each individual household
- State level benefits are sometimes granted only to systems that were installed by certified licensed contractors (California is an example)
In most European countries, there are generous feed-in tariffs rather than tax benefits and VAT rather than Sales Tax. These factors, make the buying process by a group a more streamlined procedure
Off-grid Homes
There are a few points that distinguish off-grid solar systems:
- Off-grid homes need also to install batteries and a charge controller
- It is economically recommended to add a offgrid wind turbine because wind turbines are cheaper than solar generators
- A group of off-grid homes located in the same remote neighborhood can join together to install a central community clean energy production facility
If neighbors can form a group wholesale solar is a good way to reduce the cost of solar energy
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