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svelte.
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April 7, 2015 at 7:47 PM #784519April 7, 2015 at 7:52 PM #784522
CA renter
ParticipantI have to agree with Joe. Renters aren’t going to pay much of a premium for your solar system, so you might as well wait until you move in their eventually for all the reasons stated above. You can replace your roof at the same time, too, and be done with the whole thing for life if you’re retiring there.
April 7, 2015 at 9:31 PM #784525ocrenter
ParticipantInstall date: 12/2014
5250 watt system with microinverters
$15.6k prior to fed tax rebateApril 7, 2015 at 9:44 PM #784527Participant[quote=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.[/quote]
Are you going with Solar World panels? Is that why the price is so high?
April 8, 2015 at 6:10 AM #784528zk
Participant[quote=ocrenter][quote=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.[/quote]
Are you going with Solar World panels? Is that why the price is so high?[/quote]
I’m going with LG panels. I got quotes for various types of panels, most of which were higher than the above quotes. (The above quotes were all for 17 LG 305s w/ micro inverters). What kind of panels did you use and what company is installing it?
April 8, 2015 at 6:27 AM #784529Participant[quote=zk][quote=ocrenter][quote=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.[/quote]
Are you going with Solar World panels? Is that why the price is so high?[/quote]
I’m going with LG panels. I got quotes for various types of panels, most of which were higher than the above quotes. (The above quotes were all for 17 LG 305s w/ micro inverters). What kind of panels did you use and what company is installing it?[/quote]
Korean made Amerisolar 250 watt panels x 21. Solaredge inverter.
Went with Milholland electric, they are the subcontractors for Sungevity. I think LG panels were couple of grands higher than my price. PM me if interested. They do provide me with $250 referral fee, not as much as what others have mentioned, but their prices are already pretty low.
April 8, 2015 at 9:32 AM #784532Del Sur 14
Participant3.54 kw
13,400
June 2014April 9, 2015 at 9:48 AM #784550bearishgurl
ParticipantI got my SDGE bill this morning in my e-mail and was shocked to learn that it was <.30>! I downloaded the bill to find out that, apparently, my energy usage was below the baseline in the last billing cycle simultaneous to receiving the “CA Climate Credit.”
http://www.energyupgradeca.org/en/see-whats-new-and-fun/faqs/residential-climate-credit-faq
I was home every day during the billing cycle (did not take any trips). I work out of my home and leave the surge protectors in my office on 24/7, with 8 items attached to them. Normally, my bill is $44 – $55 month, depending on time of year.
This is for a 4 bdrm/2 bath SFR of approx 2200 sf (although very well insulated with double-paned windows). I have never closed any vents while running the furnace.
Why the h@ll would I consider paying for solar? Seems like a huge expense that a homeowner may not recover any or all of at the time of resale.
In addition, I’ve gotten three “Home Energy Reports” from SDG&E since December telling me that I am doing GREAT due to using just 2/3 of the energy of my “most efficient neighbors” (which are the “top 20% of all neighbors”).
Yes, I will admit that I am now a “one-person” household (with occasional houseguests). But so are a good portion of my neighbors. Another good portion of them are two-person households. Even when I had kid(s) living with me, my SDGE bill was never over $90 in the dead of winter and $50-$55 month in the summer.
Why not consider R-30 insulation and double-paned “Low E” windows instead of solar? The Pella Encompass (“Low-E”) windows really enhance the look of a house (have a slight green tint).
http://www.pella.com/windows/product-lines/encompass-by-pella.aspx
If your house has a crawlspace, you can insulate directly under your floor, as well.
Would thicker insulation and new windows be cheaper than spending a small fortune for solar? Methinks you could recover most of the cost of “Low-E” windows upon resale due to their aesthetics alone. Not so sure about solar. Solar panels on the roof are ugly as sin. Your buyer must be looking for that and also willing to pay for it.
It just seems to me that some homeowners on this and other threads here have “boxed themselves in” to a particular property in trying mightily to recoup the cost of solar. In those ensuing years, anything could happen to one or more wage-earners in the household causing them to have to relocate, or, at the very least, the household would benefit greatly from moving over 20 miles away. Of course, this theory only applies to those homeowners with a mortgage who are wage-earners. Just my .02.
April 9, 2015 at 11:08 AM #784552FlyerInHi
GuestBG, some people like to run the AC all the time. I also like to have lights on for esthetics inside the house. The house just looks better with the lights on.
You may think that solar panels look ugly as sin. But popular opinion has shifted. People think that solar panels look high-tech. They lend a cool factor to the home. Not sure if that “look” will last though.
I personally prefer a modern house with clean lines and solar panels. Adapting solar panels to a Tuscan/Mediterranean house is ugly. They should have dispensed with the stucco covered foam architectural elements to begin with!I agree with you that insulation should be first priority. A well-insulated house is also a quieter house.
I live in a condo… but I’m considering solar for a house in Las Vegas. One thing I fear about solar is the maintenance aspect. It’s just more things to for the homeowner to take care of, as if there isn’t enough already. But some people like to wash cars and take of things around the house.
April 9, 2015 at 11:36 AM #784554Participant[quote=FlyerInHi]BG, some people like to run the AC all the time. I also like to have lights on for esthetics inside the house. The house just looks better with the lights on.
You may think that solar panels look ugly as sin. But popular opinion has shifted. People think that solar panels look high-tech. They lend a cool factor to the home. Not sure if that “look” will last though.
I personally prefer a modern house with clean lines and solar panels. Adapting solar panels to a Tuscan/Mediterranean house is ugly. They should have dispensed with the stucco covered foam architectural elements to begin with!I agree with you that insulation should be first priority. A well-insulated house is also a quieter house.
I live in a condo… but I’m considering solar for a house in Las Vegas.[/quote]
Those people who feel they have to run AC all the time live in too hot a climate (like yourself, FIH :)). We’ve got a lot of “Mediterraean” in combination with “Mid-Century” house styles going on around here with Spanish-style and Craftsman sprinkled in the mix (which tend to be the oldest houses). Our few examples of “back east” house styles don’t have the “syrofoam-pillar facade,” like you see in newer construction, lol. Our Mediterraneans often have wrought-iron railing, block wall decor and gates, incl remote-controlled driveway gates. Also many “Mediterranean” homes have one or more archways. Perched atop an authentic “s-tile” clay roof, those solar panels look ridiculous, IMO. Especially facing the front of the house.
You’re right in that it definitely costs more to live in “lizardland” (that includes LV, FIH)! Not only is your utility cost jacked up beyond recognition 8-10 months per year but if one or more wage-earning homeowners are commuting long distances to work every day from “lizardland,” their gas expense alone no doubt costs $200 or more extra per month for each vehicle in the household making a daily commute.
There’s a lot to be said for living 0-7 miles or so from the ocean in coastal CA’s most “temperate zone.” For a SFR dweller, living near the coast is just a much less stressful (and cheaper, overall) life. Size and age of home be damned.
Living in a crowded multifamily unit in a beach community with a tiny, useless garage or no garage and/or lacking in available street parking … not so much (ex: Mission Beach SD).
April 9, 2015 at 11:44 AM #784555Clifford
ParticipantAN,
Did you lease or buy ?
If you bought, what was the price before & after rebates ?
Also, how many kWhr do you use per month ?April 9, 2015 at 12:09 PM #784556an
Participant[quote=Clifford]AN,
Did you lease or buy ?
If you bought, what was the price before & after rebates ?
Also, how many kWhr do you use per month ?[/quote]
I bought. It’s a 3.8kWh system. before rebate was ~$16k and after rebate was ~$11k. I couldn’t go bigger even if I wanted to. The roof on the good side for solar is not big enough.April 9, 2015 at 12:38 PM #784557ParticipantI’m new at this, so excuse the novice questions:
3.8kWh x 4hours of sun/day x 30 days = 456 kWh/month
1. Do you use about 450 kWh/month ?
2. If you end up using less than what your system produces, what is the rate that SDG&E pay you ?
3. How long does it take before you’ll recoup your investment ?April 9, 2015 at 2:07 PM #784560Participant[quote=Clifford]I’m new at this, so excuse the novice questions:
3.8kWh x 4hours of sun/day x 30 days = 456 kWh/month
1. Do you use about 450 kWh/month ?
2. If you end up using less than what your system produces, what is the rate that SDG&E pay you ?
3. How long does it take before you’ll recoup your investment ?[/quote]Most of the time, I use more than what my system produce. It has kept me in Tier 1/2 most of the time though. It does a better job keeping me in Tier 1 during the Summer and worse during the Winter. Especially months where there’s a lot of cloudy days. I have net metering so, so months where I over produce, it’ll stay as a kWh credit to offset my future over usage. I’ve been averaging about $150/month saving each month. So, for $11k investment, it should pay for itself in ~6 years. SDG&E pay you back in wholesale price (which is lower than $0.17/kWh you’re paying for Tier 1), so it’s not a good ROI to get a system that over produce.April 9, 2015 at 2:40 PM #784561Participant>> SDG&E pay you back in wholesale price
>> (which is lower than $0.17/kWh you’re paying for Tier 1),
>> so it’s not a good ROI to get a system that over produce.When you have net metering, how does SDG&E determines that your system is over producing ? Because, you could be over producing one month & then under producing another month.
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