At the onset of California's solar rebate program, the California Energy Commission wanted to level the playing field for solar panel manufacturers, so they hired an independent testing laboratory called PVUSA to test and rate every solar panel that was to participate in the State's rebate program.

For example a solar panel that had a manufacturer provided STC (Standard Test Condition) or labeled rating of 100 Watts would have their panel tested by PVUSA and might be given a PTC rating or PVUSA rating of 89.4 Watts. It wasn't that the manufacturers were being dishonest it's just that PVUSA uses different parameters that they feel represent more real world conditions.

So the higher the PTC rating, the more power you'll get from a solar panel.

Here's a comparison of the Sharp PV-MF165EB4 165 Watt solar panel PTC rating to the PTC rating of several other manufacturer's 165 Watt solar panel as listed on the California Energy Commission's website.

A higher PTC rating means a bigger cash rebate and better real world performance !

And Sharp uses no lead in the construction of their solar panels !

Manufacturer Name Module Model Number Description CEC PTC** Rating Notes
*Sharp Corporationâ PV-MF165EB4 165W Poly crystalline lead-free solder module with MC connector 146.9 NA

*Sharp Corporationâ NE-Q5E2U  165W Multisilicon Module 145.2 NA
*BP Solarâ BP4165S 165W 24V Mono
crystalline Module w/ Multicontact Conn.		 146.1  NA
*GE Energyâ GEPV-165-MCA 165W Single Crystal
Module w/MC connectors		 146.7 NA
*Schott Solar, Inc.â SAPC-165 165W Multisilicon Module 145.4  NA

*The above mentioned company names are the property of and/or the registered trademarks of their respective owners. With exception to Sharp, Solatron Technologies, Inc. does not have any affiliation with any of these companies.

** PTC stands for "PVUSA Test Conditions." PTC watt rating is based on 1000 Watt/m2 solar irrandiance, 20 degree Celsius ambient temperature, and 1 meter/second wind speed. The PTC watt rating is lower than the "Standard Test Conditions" (STC), a watt-rating used by manufacturers.

 Visit the State's website and compare Sharp's performance for yourself !                 

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/cgi-bin/eligible_pvmodules.cgi

The difference in PTC rated wattage may not seem like much, but add up the difference over 365 days per year for the next 25 years and the difference is obvious !

 

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