NJ Solar Costs. Good Quote?

[ghstlght]

Just rec'ved a quote for a 10.44kw system. After tax credit it would cost $22,600 to purchase. Is that a good price? Not sure how to do the calculations that I am reading about. The panels are Centro 290s. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

[entgegnen]

In one sense, a watt is a watt. So that being said, I think your state/local incentives may make it more attractive than mine.

In Southern CA, I am paying 3.38/w before tax rebates... and 2.37 after the federal tax incentives... in your case, you are paying 2.16/watt after (federal, state, local?) incentives... so that is cheaper than I am paying... I think the lowest quote I got was somewhere around 2.3/watt after federal tax incentives... but again, where I live in Southern CA, there are no localized or state incentives.

When you say you are going with Centro290s... I take that to mean you are going with the "CM60 290" which has an efficiency of 17.8%. By comparison, I went with the LG320n1c-g4 which has a module efficiency of 19.5... and some of the Sunpower and Panasonic versions even go into the low 20s!

So, the question you may want to look is not at just your price per watt... but your relative price per panel. Could you get a Centro panel cheaper elsewhere? (Are you over paying for the latest model, or worse yet, over paying for last years version?) Is there a similar 60-cell panel with an efficiency of at least 17.5% that you could get for even less? For example, the LG300N1K-g4 might be cheaper "per panel/module" and still provide better performance (18.3% efficiency & 300 watts).

I know one quote I received was from a guy looking to clear out a panel that was 2-years old. Nothing wrong with that, in and of itself - but should I over pay for a 2-year old panel? Should I pay the same for an older less efficient panel that I might pay for a newer version?

I hope this gives you some useful ideas on how to investigate your quote and how to make things as "apples to apples" as possible.

[PistolPete]

I would not trust the Centro panels, not a brand I would be trusting to be in business for the long haul.


It is your call at the end of the day but efficiency isn't the end all for a lot of people, it is the cost of the power produced, the most efficient panels don't always fit the bill.

[kommong2]

Just rec'ved a quote for a 10.44kw system. After tax credit it would cost $22,600 to purchase. Is that a good price? Not sure how to do the calculations that I am reading about. The panels are Centro 290s. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

I just had a good LG300 and enphase system installed here in NJ and waiting for utility company to replace meter. If you need more info about my system then let me know.