It is not that difficult to find cheap forms of solar energy if you know what you are looking for. You may find various alternatives both in new or used solar panels; you just have to be careful you get your value for the money you spend.
The following tips will help you find the various solutions for cheap solar energy and value for the money you spend.
The first step for spending less is purchasing services and installations in your own country. All expenses that may include supplier service and insurance will be more accessible and cheaper bought in your own country.
If you have any issues or problems in running even the smallest solar devices at least your manufacturer is at hand.
The same can be said if you need to return items due to damage or functioning problems, which can be a real hassle when they are shipped from abroad.
Basically the less an object travels around the less likely it is to break and damage, so stick to national products for safety sake and price wise.
You can of course produce your own solar panels or wind generated devices, although it is not easy if you do not know much about these devices. You can always refer to manuals such as e books and some good technical websites.
When you purchase new cheaper versions of solar panels you must make sure you have a warranty and quality label.
Make sure you check with the company that sells you the equipment or device that is responsible for any damage you may have and who is it who deals with repairing or substituting the equipment.
Be sure that you do not have to send any damaged articles to the other side of the country and that you have the possibility of referring to an after sales office nearby.
You will obviously spend less on solar panels if you purchase them directly from the manufacturer or the main supplier, for this will cut down on costs such as vendors profits.
If you purchase directly from the manufacturer you will find they are more reliable as far as warranty issues are concerned.
Be on the lookout for scams, for with the boom of solar energy installations many companies are popping up like mushrooms, just to disappear a few months after you have started installing your solar panels and you can be left with half the equipment yet to be installed.
You can also find some websites that propose effective solar paint options that are much cheaper as opposed to actual solar panels; however this method is still a utopia.
Another option are used solar panels, for these can be really good deal. However you must watch out for certain issues.
Check with the seller and find out the age of the panels for this will affect its productivity especially if it is a thin film panel.
However, if the panel is made of polycrystalline or monocrystaline material the age of the panel will not condition its effectiveness.
Check that it is sound in structure and properly sealed, look for moisture condensing on the inside of the cover for this will have an impact on the way the panel performs.
In general, check for any damage on the outside an inside circuit caused by corrosion.