Sharp 165W NE-165U1

It seems like the Sharp 165W NE-165U1 solar panel is one of the most installed panels out there today. So I thought it would be interesting to compare prices on this panel, a quick search found the following prices:

• $755
• $870
• $791
• $695
• $870

I wondered out loud what a professional contractor buys them for – I am guessing 30% less than these prices.

So then a question pops in my head, “what do they sell for used”. So I went to Ebay.com and I couldn’t find any for sale. In fact I couldn’t find many used panels for sale on Ebay – most of them are for RV’s, trailers and such.

So my conclusion is that once a Sharp solar panel goes up on your house, it would be pretty rare for it to come off the roof and listed on Ebay.

I was talking with a heating contractor last week and he said something interesting – he mentioned that he lost count how many solar heating roof systems he has pulled off roofs in the past 5 years in the Boulder Colorado area.

He said that a ton of people installed them in the late 70’s and early 80’s and most did not make it to their 20 year life span or they cost too much to repair or new people move in to the house and thought it was an eye sore.