Question about grid-tied residential solar system pricing...

[Naptown]

OK I am an enphase fan but do not work for them
Advantages to the new 215 and others except for the warranty which is longer on the 215

Monitoring is far superior
Harvest is greater as many system derate factors are reduced.
even the old inverters carried a 15 year warranty
No module mismatch ( This can make a huge difference if say 12 years from now there is a hail damaged module and a matched one is no longer availble as they are out of production Just plug any 60 cell module in to replace the damaged one)
vastly reduced DC losses
compatibility with almost any 60 cell module ( see mismatch above)
No more easter egg hunt to find the trouble in the event of a component failure The monitoring will point out where to look.
And finally they are more expensive but remember to add in the replacement cost of a string inverter at one perhaps twice within the 25 year lifespan and they come out less costly in the long run.

[NABCEP Russ]

the new m215 will have free lifetime monitoring. They also increase warranty to 25 years. Good move on Enphase part.

Do you know about Apparent MGi ? They claim to harvest more solar than other microinverter or central inverter.

Yes, glad to see they made the jump to free monitoring and the extended warranty. At this point, I can't really see using anything else on a <10kW system.

[philjamar]

SunPower comment

Friends don't let friends buy overpriced Sunpower panels. However in your case, you're getting a 6.9k system WITH microinverters for less than $5.40 a watt. Let me tell you that is a pretty damn good price ASSUMING that the installer is offering that price as a turnkey system, that means down the road they won't stop and go "OOPS, crap, I didn't include the cost of racking in the price."


For 230's with micros, that price seems almost TOO good to be true. I'd do my due diligence in verifying the installer's credentials, understanding exactly what that $36k price covers, what the warranty is, what roof penetrations they are going to do, what mounting equipment they use....etc. If everything sounds good, then its a nice deal you got.

This can easily be done with SunPower Serengeti. Serengeti is SunPower's answer to all the other low end panels out there.

Get three quotes, if anything you will learn more from your local solar integrators about solar because they live it on a daily basis. Write your questions down and throw them out if they don't answer them.

Find the one you like best and make him explain why his quote is better than the rest. He may discount if it means he will win the job depending on his workload and the final margin in the deal.

[KRenn]

This can easily be done with SunPower Serengeti. Serengeti is SunPower's answer to all the other low end panels out there.

Get three quotes, if anything you will learn more from your local solar integrators about solar because they live it on a daily basis. Write your questions down and throw them out if they don't answer them.

Find the one you like best and make him explain why his quote is better than the rest. He may discount if it means he will win the job depending on his workload and the final margin in the deal.

Serengeti is a generic Chinese panel that they're trying to pawn off as a premium brand which is a joke. For that price range I can get better quality American-made panels such as Schott and Sharp. No thanks, if I'm going to buy a generic, run-of-the-mill Chinese panel, I'll buy one from EcoSolargy and save a bundle.

[Sunking]

American-made panels such as Schott and Sharp.

Schott is German company, and Sharp is Japan. They are good panels, but not US companies. Schott makes parabolic reflectors in NM, but all solar PV panels are made in Germany. There are hardly any US made solar PV panels as most of the manufactures have gone bankrupt and/or moved operations to China like Evergreen. Wished that was not true, but the USA cannot compete anymore.

[KRenn]

Not exactly.

Schott is German company, and Sharp is Japan. They are good panels, but not US companies. Schott makes parabolic reflectors in NM, but all solar PV panels are made in Germany. There are hardly any US made solar PV panels as most of the manufactures have gone bankrupt and/or moved operations to China like Evergreen. Wished that was not true, but the USA cannot compete anymore.

Not sure where you get your information but that was incorrect. Sharp is a Japanese company that produces panels in the USA, in Tennessee. Schott is a German company that produces parabolic reflectors at their facility in Albuquerque, as well as their 220-240 watt multicrystalline panels, which is why both are ARRA approved.


CentroSolar and Schuco are German companies who happen to produce panels in America, at a GE facility in Delaware. Solarworld is a German company that produces all their panels here in the US, at facilities in Oregon, California and Washington.


Solon is a German company which produces panels made in Tucson.



Here are some links to clear up some of your misconceptions.

http://www.schottsolar.com/us/products/buy-america/

http://www.sharpusa.com/SolarElectricity/BuyAmerican.aspx

http://www.greentechmedia.com/industry/read/schuco-usa-delivers-u.s.-made-arra-compliant-pv-modules-15409/

While it seems American companies aren't willing to pick up the slack, foreign
companies are and have been producing panels domestically for quite some time.


All of these are in the same price range as the overrated/overpriced Sunpower Chinese-produced Serengeti's.




As far as inverters, Power-One, PVP and SMA are all produced within the USA as well.

[Naptown]

Not sure where you get your information but that was incorrect. Sharp is a Japanese company that produces panels in the USA, in Tennessee. Schott is a German company that produces parabolic reflectors at their facility in Albuquerque, as well as their 220-240 watt multicrystalline panels, which is why both are ARRA approved.


CentroSolar and Schuco are German companies who happen to produce panels in America, at a GE facility in Delaware. Solarworld is a German company that produces all their panels here in the US, at facilities in Oregon, California and Washington.


Solon is a German company which produces panels made in Tucson.



Here are some links to clear up some of your misconceptions.

http://www.schottsolar.com/us/products/buy-america/

http://www.sharpusa.com/SolarElectricity/BuyAmerican.aspx

http://www.greentechmedia.com/industry/read/schuco-usa-delivers-u.s.-made-arra-compliant-pv-modules-15409/

While it seems American companies aren't willing to pick up the slack, foreign
companies are and have been producing panels domestically for quite some time.


All of these are in the same price range as the overrated/overpriced Sunpower Chinese-produced Serengeti's.




As far as inverters, Power-One, PVP and SMA are all produced within the USA as well.

Almost all of the companies you mention are actually foreign corporations who have manufacturing facilities here. This does not make them an American corporation.
Ford has manufacturing plants all over the world but is still an American company