[ocrenter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]It nice to see solar becoming mainstream.
It’s become somewhat is a status symbol. Soon we’ll think: what? You don’t have solar?

http://www.treehugger.com/bikes/bike-lane-down-center-korean-highway-covered-solar-panels.html%5B/quote%5D

It makes so much financial sense it is just crazy not to do it.

My ROI stands at less than 5 years and with an EV I got zero gas bill to go with that. Annual saving of $5000 combined.

[ocrenter]

[quote=svelte][quote=ocrenter]Install date: 12/2014
5250 watt system with microinverters
$15.6k prior to fed tax rebate[/quote]

That’s a pretty good deal.

I’m going with twice the size for twice the price plus a couple grand.

Glad to have the decision behind me. The research ate up way, way more time than I had anticipated.

I decided to go power optimizers instead of micro inverters. I know its the new holy war as to which is better…I like the power optimizer concept better personally.[/quote]

Congrats.

Actually, my mistake, turns out my system is with power optimizers underneath each panels. I thought those were microinverters.

[ocrenter]

[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.

[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?

[ocrenter]

Went with the fake stuff 5 years ago, 1300 sqft at $6.5/sqft for about $8500.

ROI in less than 4 years given reduction in monthly water cost and no need for gardener.

Grass holds up really well, still looks new. Some maintenance is needed especially with weeds around the edges after raining season and raking of leaves around spring time.

[ocrenter]

Install date: 12/2014
5250 watt system with microinverters
$15.6k prior to fed tax rebate

[ocrenter]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Hmmmm Donuts LOL..

I am of the school that having a little fat is good, but to be honest one time I got really serious and lost a lot of weight, I felt great, I was taking the stairs three and four rungs a stride.

I need to get on that mind set again.
But as My friend says, I am storing up for when TSHTF and there no food LOL.[/quote]

Again, depends who you are. Northern European ancestry and you can likely get up to BMI of 30 and still be ok.

Asians with BMI of 25 are already in trouble.

[ocrenter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]I just refreshed my BMI knowledge on Wikipedia.

25 is overweight.

The overweight threshold is 22.9 in Hong Kong and Singapore, big cities where people walk a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index%5B/quote%5D

22.9 or under is normal in HK and Singapore because Asians put their weight directly to the center, leading to metabolic disease much earlier than other racial group.

If an Asian guy has a fat face, chances are he’s got fatty liver, diabetes, gout, cholesterol problems and hypertension.

[ocrenter]

These couple of threads on solarpaneltalk.com have been the most helpful:

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?15809-Sanity-check-for-a-new-system-(San-Diego)

http://www.solarpaneltalk.com/showthread.php?18109-6Kw-going-in-soon-in-Aliso-Viejo

The SD related thread metioned this eletric rate analyzer in figuring out how much you need:

https://energycenter.org/california-solar-initiative/homeowners/electric-rate-analyzer

The OC related thread above shows that OC folks are averaging at less than $3.5/watt pre-rebate. With a lot of folks actually getting $3.1/watt pre-rebate. Most of the OC homeowners had large over 5000 watt systems.

I originally was going to go with a 3825 watt system, and got a quote for $14000, for a pre-rebate price of $3.68/watt. I then upped my system to 4335 watt for just $600 more. But ultimately with an extra panel at just $200, I’m going to settle with 4845 watt system for $15000, which will get me a pre-rebate cost of $3.1/watt. Very much in line with what OC homeowners are reporting on the forum.

[ocrenter]

[quote=skerzz]I am getting a 7.7K system installed by Sullivan Solar Power (based in San Diego County) as I type this post. Everything has worked out excellent thus far and it should be a good return on investment (I purchased the system outright) with a break even point of 6.5 -7 years. If you are interested in getting a quote from Sullivan send me a private message…. Sullivan will give you and I both a $500 referral bonus (check/cash , not a reduction in contract price) once you install the system. Sullivan provides a system production guarantee for 10 years (with web based production monitoring), 10 year system insall warranty, and 20-year warranty on the inverter (I hear they typically go bad at 10 years). Sullivan wasn’t the cheapest quote I got (they were close), but they were very professional/knowledgeable and have excellent reviews — plus they are a local San Diego County based company and an Ernst & Young EOY semi-finalist http://www.ey.com/US/en/About-us/Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year/SD_Semifinalists%5B/quote%5D

I just signed the contract with another solar company just yesterday! argh!

Did the calculation and we will be looking at break even at exactly 6.5 years. Totally agree it makes sense to purchase outright. Why pay interest on a lease for 20 years when break even is at less than 7 years?!!

[ocrenter]

[quote=moneymaker]I paid $25,000 for a 6.2KW system, labor was $6200, tax credit will be $7500. System was turned on in May and have already generated 5.81 MWH. I’m happy, now just need to add it to my homeowners policy.[/quote]

It is absolutely crazy how fast the prices have dropped over the last 2 years.

I was quoted $22k on a 3.8 kw system exactly 2 years ago. After rebate it would have still been $15k, with breakeven at about 10 years.

Just got a quote of $14k on the same 3.8 kw system now. After rebate will be looking at just a little under $10k with breakeven at about 6.5 years.

Will be purchasing out right, just makes a lot more sense to me.

[ocrenter]

[quote=olegy]http://transworldsolar.com/
Instelled 6K system about a year ago.
Just a hint – if total cost of a standard installation exceeds $4/W – you are getting ripped off. No matter what they say about premium panels, etc.[/quote]

is that $4/watt prior to tax rebate or after tax rebate?

[ocrenter]

[quote=UCGal][quote=flu]What I don’t understand is I read the water restrictions and nowhere did it say that car washing must be done only if you can recapture the “gray water”. I guess it’s different for auto detailing businesses..

But even if they recapture the water (which I don’t think is too difficult), I don’t understand what they would do with it.. Does the city expect each individual detailer to be able to own the equipment to recycle the water and reuse it? That technology I don’t think exists for a mobile auto detailer nor is it affordable for a small time auto detailer..[/quote]

The commercial car wash places do recycle the water onsite. I had a conversation with the owner of the south clairemont car wash, across from Keihls. They had to put that in during the drought in the 90’s.[/quote]

Another good reason not to wash your own car.

[ocrenter]

[quote=Rich Toscano][quote=paramount]And moonbeams major concern is a useless “high-speed” train.[/quote]

And that, folks, is a textbook example of a political threadjack. (Of the kind that is not welcome, per: http://piggington.com/threadjackers_will_be_persecuted_maybe_even_prosecuted )[/quote]

LOL, yes, perfect example Rich, absolutely perfect!

[ocrenter]

[quote=FlyerInHi]OCr, yes you’re right.

Yes I think it’s for the Facebook crowd. You save a kitchen and share it “hey honey, don’t you just love it.” There’s no point really because you can’t transport it to ideal house.

I would love more realtor data info such as liens and mortgage amounts on the house and the dates the loans were taken out.

I’m with njtosd, not crazy about unified login.[/quote]

The key on these sites is to generate traffic and repeated traffic. Redfin and zillow will not be used after someone makes their purchase. But this I can see people continuing to use even if they are not in the market for a house and merely just looking for remodeling and decorating ideas.

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