Home Solar Packages

[The_Tick]

I don't think I broke $300/month in 2013, which is partially due to replacing our upstairs AC unit with a bigger/more efficient unit....but it's also due to steady/low gas prices.

Remember that Vivint is basically a door to door sales company. I'd be sure to read the fine print with anything they are offering and certainly compare against other offers. Vivint seems to do a better job than most door to door companies, but they aren't below not fully disclosing the terms of financing or costs.

Shoot...I know people in Bako that average $700 a month on the power bill from July to September.

Solar is almost becoming a necessity out this way.

And the kicker...PG&E is asking the State of California to charge an annual penalty to anyone that puts Solar on their home....because they are "losing" money.

[Mormon Red Death]

So we had a hail storm where the insurance company gave us 10k to fix the roof. I was thinking of going solar since you have to fix your roof anyway.

34k total for solar
-10 from insurance
-11 solar tax credit


Anytime done it?

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[PaloAltoCougar]

So we had a hail storm where the insurance company gave us 10k to fix the roof. I was thinking of going solar since you have to fix your roof anyway.

34k total for solar
-10 from insurance
-11 solar tax credit
.

Anytime done it?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

We went solar two months ago. Because the company was a client, we got a nice deal ($20K or so) and with the credit, the thing will pay for itself very quickly. It has a 25-year warranty. It's nice having essentially no electricity bill (PG&E charges a modest connection fee).

[Green Monstah]

If you're going to do it, now is the time. The tax credits are going to be phased out. I would likely avoid a lease/PPA situation. While they cap the annual increase in price for the lease/kwh, by the end of the contract you can be paying 2-3x for what you paid at the beginning. Also, I don't believe you get a tax benefit if the system is leased.

[Uncle Ted]

So I have been seriously considering putting up some solar panels and have been getting some bids... I would actually considering install it all myself but I don't care to get on my roof. I may do the inside (in the attic) wiring myself because I don't want conduit going down the side of the house. Why are installers so afraid of pulling out a little drywall in the garage to run a new conduit?

Anyway, the best bid I have so far for a 7000 watt (22 panel) system is:

$31,185 - $3,811.50 (Oncor, our local power infrastructure company, rebate) - $7,117.11 (26% Fed tax credit) - $11,781 ("Carbon Credit and Marketing Incentive Program")

So when it is all said and done: $8,475.39 (or about $1.21 per watt!).

There seems to be an accounting trick here, however. The Fed tax credit is calculated on the $31,185 figure which makes me worried. They do state on their bid: "Includes free basic tax filling service for 1 year through our network CPA partner MyTax Filier, LLC". This makes me wonder if they are trying to help me game the system in a gray area of tax accounting.

The components seem all good. Trina solar panels with 25 year warranty. SolarEdge inverter with optimizers (12 year warranty). The company is willing to swap string inverter for Enphase micro inverters (25 year warranty) for another $950. I like the idea of micro inverters in concept. The problem I see with them is they sit up on your roof under the panels so they will have to withstand the heat. But from what I have read they have a pretty good reliability record (so far). Of course, with the string inverter if the inverter goes out the entire system is down. One advantage of the SolarEdge string inverter is that it includes an electric car hookup. Apparently on the DC side.

So to the guys that have gone down this path before what should I be worried about?

Edit: Given the price looks so good I am thinking about adding 10-14 panels but this would be on a west facing roof (instead of a south facing roof like the original 22 panels above). From what I read, with a west facing roof, you take a 25% hit in efficiency. So it other words, the cost would go up to $1.62 per watt or maybe higher.

[Katy Lied]

Couple thoughts:

We used to have customers double dip on the rebates all of the time- especially residential rebates. Make sure you have an invoice from your installer with "pre-rebate" pricing. Then submit that invoice to all of your rebating agencies. Also make it clear who is going to file for and collect the rebate. Some solar guys build the rebate into their discounted price, but neglect to tell the customer, and the customer thinks that they will get the rebate.

I'm torn between buying cheap vs. quality components. The cheap stuff wont last as long, but no matter how quality the expensive stuff is, next year it will be old technology and expensive pricing. So if you get quality components and calculate payment of the higher price over a longer period of time, in two years you will be paying much more for way lowered performance, because the solar industry is advancing at such an expanded rate.

I do like the idea of the electric car hookup. This wont work for you, because you have cheap power, but lots of people are using electric cars as time shifters - charge them up at night when the rates are cheap, and pull the power from the car during the day when the rates are high.

[Moliere]

I’ve considered looking at solar but just can’t get myself to even get a quote. Maybe I’d save money but this summer, during the hottest month, my electric bill never crossed $400. I’ve got two big AC units, a mini split in the garage (garage stays at 75 degrees), a pool pump that runs 12 hours a day and a lot of kids. Electricity is just cheap now.


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[PaloAltoCougar]

Our system (20 panels) was installed last year and I'm very happy with it. After tax credits/rebates/etc., out-of-pocket was around $14K. My bills have gone from as much as $500-600/month (peak AC use and the December Christmas light nonsense) to a steady $9.95/month. Even with the lower usage months, the system will pay for itself in 3-4 years. And it has a 25-year warranty although I expect tech advances to make it obsolete well before that time. Still, a good deal.

[Kleingbreth]

Solar panels are one of the best investments atm... they pay for themselves in like... 4/5 years

[All-American]

We looked very closely at getting solar panels but the numbers just did not work out to do it. The problem for us is that our electric company imposes a peak/load surcharge if you do not buy enough electricity from them. Ostensibly, this is meant to recoup the fixed expenses of providing the grid and network for which they typically receive variable revenue in the form of rates per kilowatt/hours. That cut into the margins enough that the return on investment, assuming other favorable circumstances, would end up being about five or six percent per year. Not a bad investment, I guess, but at that rate I am just as happy putting it in an S&P index fund. But for that peak/load surcharge I'd have done it years ago.

[beefytee]

I crunched the numbers a little while ago too. We paid just over $150 list last month for electricity and I think that is the most we've ever paid. We've paid as little as $43 last November. Outside of about 3 months in the summer the bill is below $100. It would take decades for us to pay off solar panels.

[Uncle Ted]

Couple thoughts:

We used to have customers double dip on the rebates all of the time- especially residential rebates. Make sure you have an invoice from your installer with "pre-rebate" pricing. Then submit that invoice to all of your rebating agencies. Also make it clear who is going to file for and collect the rebate. Some solar guys build the rebate into their discounted price, but neglect to tell the customer, and the customer thinks that they will get the rebate.

I'm torn between buying cheap vs. quality components. The cheap stuff wont last as long, but no matter how quality the expensive stuff is, next year it will be old technology and expensive pricing. So if you get quality components and calculate payment of the higher price over a longer period of time, in two years you will be paying much more for way lowered performance, because the solar industry is advancing at such an expanded rate.

I do like the idea of the electric car hookup. This wont work for you, because you have cheap power, but lots of people are using electric cars as time shifters - charge them up at night when the rates are cheap, and pull the power from the car during the day when the rates are high.

I don't see inverter technology changing much. They are already like 97-99.5% efficient so not much of room for improvement there. The reliability might be a concern but the enphase micro inverters have a 25 year warranty. I even read somewhere they are including labor to replace the faulty ones which makes me wonder if this company is going to be around for 25 years.

Yeah, I don't even have an electric car (and I drive a diesel truck). If they were cheap I would maybe get one. Speaking of which I was reading that the LAPD was dumping their fleet of very lightly used BMW i3s for cheap: https://www.thedrive.com/news/36119/...is-up-for-sale If I could get a low mileage i3 for what they are dumping these for (like $15K) I would get one.

[Jarid in Cedar]

We have a 38 panel array. ROI break even will be about 5.5 years. We are almost 3 years in at this point

[Uncle Ted]

I’ve considered looking at solar but just can’t get myself to even get a quote. Maybe I’d save money but this summer, during the hottest month, my electric bill never crossed $400. I’ve got two big AC units, a mini split in the garage (garage stays at 75 degrees), a pool pump that runs 12 hours a day and a lot of kids. Electricity is just cheap now.

We are adding a pool and we have a 2 hp pump that pumps gray water to irrigate. Running pumps adds up quick.

I have been thinking about putting a mini split in my garage as well. Did you insulate the walls?

Yeah, electricity is cheap in Texas and there are power companies that encourage you to game the system (and even have an app for it). For example, there are at least a couple of companies that sell you electricity at wholesale rates (+ the TDU charges) and buy it back from you at the same rate (- the TDU charges).

[Uncle Ted]

We have a 38 panel array. ROI break even will be about 5.5 years. We are almost 3 years in at this point

Yeah, ideally the system would pay for itself in 4-5 years (after the credits, rebates and incentives). I think it would be more like 7 years given that every day is not sunny so the system won't always being running at peak.