How much did you pay for solar?

[svelte]

Is it this?

15,300 kwh / 10.4 kw = 1471 hours

1471 hours / 365 days = 4 hours / day.

Do I have that right or am I out to lunch?

4 hours a day seems light…

[an]

[quote=svelte]Is it this?

15,300 kwh / 10.4 kw = 1471 hours

1471 hours / 365 days = 4 hours / day.

Do I have that right or am I out to lunch?

4 hours a day seems light…[/quote]Usually, I’ve seen solar system talked in term of kWh (# of panels x # watt the panel produced per hour). I think that’s a better way to compare system wrt cost. Since every house is different, it would be hard to compare. It better to compare theoretical max production vs actual production, since every house is different.

[svelte]

[quote=AN][quote=svelte]Is it this?

15,300 kwh / 10.4 kw = 1471 hours

1471 hours / 365 days = 4 hours / day.

Do I have that right or am I out to lunch?

4 hours a day seems light…[/quote]Usually, I’ve seen solar system talked in term of kWh (# of panels x # watt the panel produced per hour). I think that’s a better way to compare system wrt cost. Since every house is different, it would be hard to compare. It better to compare theoretical max production vs actual production, since every house is different.[/quote]

OK…I’m seeing how it fits together.

40 panels x 260 watts per panel = 10,400 watts which is 10.4 kw system.

I think they are being conservative figuring 4 hours of output a day as a neighbor with the same roof orientation told me he gets about 5.

Thanks for your help AN.

[moneymaker]

6.2KW system in May 2014
$25K with $6.2K of that for labor
$7600 federal tax credit,already used it all
generates on average $300/mo. in electricity if in tier 3 or 4
payback is like 9-10 years
expect yearly bill to be roughly what used to be 1 month

[LAAFTERHOURS]

I am starting to look at this and wanted to know if anyone used this: http://www.affordable-solar.com/residential-solar-home/Residential-Calculator

I assume we are in the 5.5 or 6 sun days area? I am looking to zero out my bill and possibly swap out some gas components to electric (like the gas pool heater) so want some wiggle room. Based upon the calculator, its look like I need a 7 DC Kw system.

[CA renter]

svelte, if you want more info on a more detailed level, feel free to PM me, as we had our system installed last summer. I think our climate is similar, though you probably get a bit more sun than we do.

[zk]

Got several estimates. Only from highly-reviewed companies. For a 5.2kw system with micro inverters, quotes ranged from $19,800 to $21,500.

We’re going with Home Energy Systems, which was on the lower end of those estimates. They did our neighbor down the street, who gave them a glowing review. We’ll see how it turns out.

[LAAFTERHOURS]

Is that before or after the tax rebates?

[skerzz]

Install date: November 2014
System Size: 7.771 KW, 13,798 kwh (+/- 12%) annual kwh production guarantee for 10 years, 20 year warranty on the two inverters, 25-years of web based system monitoring
Cost: $33,250 before 30% federal tax credit and $500 referral cash rebate.
Contractor: Sullivan Solar
Family Size: 2 adults, 1 child. System purchased covers 110% of pre-child electrical use (we purchased larger system for growing family and plans to add A/C unit). Natural Gas is not offered in our area, so we use more electrical than most.
Payback period is 6.5 years based on current SDGE use. System has been producing more than expected; we are on track for $60 ($5/month charge for net metering agreement) annual SDGE bill vs. $300+ monthly bills before install.

[skerzz]

PM me if you’d like more information about getting a quote from Sullivan Solar. I highly recommend them based on experience; if you go through their referral system (you’d need to contact me) we’ll both get a $500 referral check a month after the install. High recommended with or without the referral bonus, the $500 is just icing on the cake. Can’t beat their professionalism, knowledge of the industry, clean install crews, low pressure sales, warranty (inverters are warrantied for 20 years), web based production monitoring for 25 years, and 10 year production guarantee. Well established Company so you can trust they will be around long enough to make good on their warranty (not just a fly by night Company that will be out of business after the sunset of the SDGE net metering agreements and federal tax credits).

[zk]

That’s before tax credits. Cost after credits will be 70% of those numbers.

Keep in mind, 5.2kw (DC) is a relatively small system.

[skerzz]

Sullivan Solar does not recommend micro inverters. Here’s their argument against micro inverters:

http://www.sullivansolarpower.com/about/solar-power-blog/daniel-sullivan/dangers-of-micro-inverters

[CA renter]

[quote=skerzz]Sullivan Solar does not recommend micro inverters. Here’s their argument against micro inverters:

http://www.sullivansolarpower.com/about/solar-power-blog/daniel-sullivan/dangers-of-micro-inverters%5B/quote%5D

We also used Sullivan Solar, and I’m a bit bummed that we went along with the string inverters vs. panels with micro-inverters (and I knew about the difference going into it, which bums me out even more). We have quite a few trees near our house/yard that shade some of the panels throughout the day. With micro-inverters, I think we’d be producing quite a bit more energy than we are with the string inverters. Just something to think about.

And Sullivan is not a discount installer, so you’re not really getting a break on the price. That being said, we went with the larger, more-established installer for the reasons stated by the OP, above. We didn’t want a fly-by-night company that would go out of business in a few years (and there goes the warranty!).

I would prefer that they NOT pay people for referrals; it taints things. We got the recommendation from a neighbor who didn’t disclose that he would be making money from the referral. Had we known that, we might have considered another company. Good companies should not have to pay for referrals — their work should stand on its own, and people should be happy to refer others because they are genuinely happy with the materials, workmanship, and follow-up from the company.

[joec]

Are there solar panels which can move and point/redirect to the sun as it moves? I see these in those sun farms and seems like it shouldn’t be too much to put a few gears or what not to track the sun for maximum energy generation.

[matt]

What is the groups thoughts on installing solar and car charging station into a SFR / rental as a means of differentiating and extracting a rental premium? Property in question is in la Costa oaks and will likely be my retirement home in the future / 15-20 years. Couple of concerns I have are that the shingle roof will probably need replacing by then and also system efficiency will likely be much lower.

[Author]

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