New Member wanting to put in SunPower System..is this a good deal?

[Volusiano]

I think you should get your SolarWorld quote down lower by switching the Enphase micro-inverters to string inverter and that would give you the best bang for the bucks as long as 8kw is all the size you need. Otherwise you'd end up paying a premium for the Sunpower panels with the other 3 quotes to save on roof space, but end up having extra 9 or 10 panel space on your roof to spare anyway, which defeats the purpose of paying a premium for the Sunpower panels for roof space in the first place.

[KRK]

SunPower in San Diego

So here are my recent proposals. I'm planning on mounting on the front of the house since I have pool solar on the back.

Reputable Company
18 SunPower Panels NE-327 All Black
Size 5.89
Production monthly/annual = 883/10,595
SunPower Inverter SPR-5000
$21,887

Reputable Company
21 SunPower Panels 327 NE-Wht (Not as attractive)
Size 6.86
Production 10,020 annually
Inverter PowerOne PUI-6000
$21,630

Reputable Company
21 SunPower Panels NE-327 Wht (Not as attractive)
Size 6.86
Production 10,020 annually
Inverter Same
$21,470

Been around about 4 years
30 SolarWorld SW 265 MonoBlack (This would cover just about every square inch of the roof)
Size 7.95 kW
Production is just under 11,000 annually
Enphase M215 Micro-Inverters
$20,200


What you guys think?

[advan24r]

[QUOTE=J.P.M.;93782]

As long as you're happy - it's a good deal. Most folks will support your right to do what you want, including burning $100 bills on your front lawn. Just don't expect a lot of agreement that it's a good idea. same thing here. Opinions vary.

1.) I think you can also pay cash for other panels, not just Sunpower.
2.) I agree that you do get what you pay for (or less). You probably get what you pay for with a Mercedes as well, but you can probably find a vehicle fit for daily purposes for a lot less money. You can buy gold plated cutlery but I'm not sure it's a good use of resources for a lot of folks. As I wrote, you're buying an appliance, not a lifestyle. Sunpower is good stuff. No question. Part of what you pay for amounts to bragging rights.
3.) I'm not sure the implication of not getting your money's worth with something besides Sunpower is correct, fair or leads to a better decision.
4.) Unless your crystal ball is better than mine, it may be less than accurate to think that non Sunpower panels will not have a long service life. In any case, I'd suggest it's possible that everything we think is new and spiffy now, including 345 Watt Sunpower panels will be archaic and obsolete before your 15-20 yr. time frame comes to pass, making them (and us) all working dinosaurs.
5.) $4.50 BEFORE tax credits and rebates may be a tough nut to crack on a 3kW Sunpower system, but I'm certain it can be done on a 5 kW sys., at least in SO.CA. Under $4.00 before tax credits and rebates for Sunpower would be great. However, I know of only a few systems in CA that sold for less, and they were larger. Check the CSI database.
6.) One way to deal with the space issue is to consider conservation efforts before solar. Any system after conservation will be smaller and the solar/conservation mix will be likely as cost effective in trems of overall bang for the buck.

Get informed, read, ask questions for which you already know the answers. question everything everyone says - even me. Good luck. There are a couple of recent posters that could be poster children for what can happen to the uninformed. They make for sobering,reflective thought and reading.

Very well said. I got an updated quote on another Sunpower system (all priced AFTER incentives), but the only downfall is that I would have to seperate the panels into 2 different arrays. Looks like it is slowly dropping after taking more time on shopping around. If I had more room on my roof, I would have tried to make it a larger system to take me off the grid but then again, price is a major factor since I don't want to pay over $18k BEFORE incentives. Are there any other panels that produce this many wattage other than Sunpower though and has the efficiency and quality as them? Also, CSI database..it's been exhausted for PG&E. I know in S.Cal especially San Diego there's still some left over.

8 Sunpower X21 345 Panels @ $3.81/DCWatt
9 Sunpower X21 335 Panels @ $3.78/DCWatt

[J.P.M.]

[QUOTE=advan24r;93727]

The reason why I am going with Sunpower is because I plan to do a CASH purchase. I figured you get what you pay for vs. the other chinese made brands (i.e. Canadian Solar, Trina). In addition, other factors that I thought about was the length of time I plan on staying at my house (atleast another 15-20 years when my kids are old enough to attend college), the limited amount of roof space and that the efficiency of these panels will continue to last through then. I really thought AFTER rebates, getting it under $4 per watt was actually good, and now you've got me thinking it's actually high?! From researching on this forum, it seems that getting a Sunpower system under $4 /watt was considered good?!

As long as you're happy - it's a good deal. Most folks will support your right to do what you want, including burning $100 bills on your front lawn. Just don't expect a lot of agreement that it's a good idea. same thing here. Opinions vary.

1.) I think you can also pay cash for other panels, not just Sunpower.
2.) I agree that you do get what you pay for (or less). You probably get what you pay for with a Mercedes as well, but you can probably find a vehicle fit for daily purposes for a lot less money. You can buy gold plated cutlery but I'm not sure it's a good use of resources for a lot of folks. As I wrote, you're buying an appliance, not a lifestyle. Sunpower is good stuff. No question. Part of what you pay for amounts to bragging rights.
3.) I'm not sure the implication of not getting your money's worth with something besides Sunpower is correct, fair or leads to a better decision.
4.) Unless your crystal ball is better than mine, it may be less than accurate to think that non Sunpower panels will not have a long service life. In any case, I'd suggest it's possible that everything we think is new and spiffy now, including 345 Watt Sunpower panels will be archaic and obsolete before your 15-20 yr. time frame comes to pass, making them (and us) all working dinosaurs.
5.) $4.50 BEFORE tax credits and rebates may be a tough nut to crack on a 3kW Sunpower system, but I'm certain it can be done on a 5 kW sys., at least in SO.CA. Under $4.00 before tax credits and rebates for Sunpower would be great. However, I know of only a few systems in CA that sold for less, and they were larger. Check the CSI database.
6.) One way to deal with the space issue is to consider conservation efforts before solar. Any system after conservation will be smaller and the solar/conservation mix will be likely as cost effective in trems of overall bang for the buck.

Get informed, read, ask questions for which you already know the answers. question everything everyone says - even me. Good luck. There are a couple of recent posters that could be poster children for what can happen to the uninformed. They make for sobering,reflective thought and reading.

[Volusiano]

Usually Sunpower is the choice when space is limited and you're looking for higher output per space available. With a smaller system like that, is space a concern?

I concur here. You only need to pay premium to go with Sunpower if you don't have enough roof space to fit the system size you want on it. But if you have plenty of roof space, you have a lot more options to go with less expensive brands that are just as effective except that they require a larger footprint.

So decide on what system size you want/need, and whether you want to expand in the future or not, then see what your usable roof space is, then that will help you determine whether you need to pay a premium for Sunpower or whether you have more affordable options available. There's no sense in paying a lot more for Sunpower and you end up with plenty of roof space to spare.

[GridGrants]

I am in Northern California (Bay Area). This is for a 2.75-3.015 kw system.

Usually Sunpower is the choice when space is limited and you're looking for higher output per space available. With a smaller system like that, is space a concern? You're up there in SolarWorld country. They make a nice panel for a little under a buck a watt wholesale. Good quality and good warranty from someone who has been around a long time.

A microinverter system would allow you to add on later without changing inverters. That is something to consider if you think you eventually want to go bigger.

Never heard a bad thing about Sunpower and I think that is a decent Sunpower quote for the size of the system, but you can definitely get a lower price on other manufacturers with high quality panels.

[joegovette]

I had my Sunpower 6.72 kW system install completed in October of this year for $4.61 before rebates and $2.47 after rebates. We get another 10% from NM so 40% with the 30% from the feds. I also got $2000 off for working at Intel. I bought E19 320W panels instead of the latest and greatest X21's. Ask your Sunpower dealer if they have any E19's or E20's that you could get a reduced price for them. You never know unless you try. There are better deals out there for Sunpower panels just takes some creativity to find them . Good luck!

[advan24r]

[QUOTE=J.P.M.;93726]

I am in Northern California (Bay Area). There's only about 3 authorized Sunpower dealers here. I've received 2 quotations out of the 3 and the pricing seems very similar.

Getting a Sunpower system under $4/DC watt...about $3.92-$3.96 AFTER REBATES to be exact, is it a good deal for a Sunpower system? This is for a 2.75-3.015 kw system. The panels being used are X21 335 or I can go with 345 (w/a tremendous longer lead time)[/QUOTE

You can go w/ anything you want. Sunpower's great stuff. However, $5.63 +/- a bit before tax credit/any CSI rebate seems a bit high. Small system size probably is influencing price to some degree. I'd suggest you could knock about $1.00-$1.50 off the pre tax credit price/Watt and get comparable yearly output with something other than Sunpower and accomplish the required task. I'd suggest not closing the door on other possibilities/panels. There are a lot of options. You're buying an appliance. not a lifestyle. I'd suggest good systems can be had for ~ $3.75+/Watt before tax credits/rebate, maybe a bit more given the relatively small size system you're after. I'd get informed and look around.

The reason why I am going with Sunpower is because I plan to do a CASH purchase. I figured you get what you pay for vs. the other chinese made brands (i.e. Canadian Solar, Trina). In addition, other factors that I thought about was the length of time I plan on staying at my house (atleast another 15-20 years when my kids are old enough to attend college), the limited amount of roof space and that the efficiency of these panels will continue to last through then. I really thought AFTER rebates, getting it under $4 per watt was actually good, and now you've got me thinking it's actually high?! From researching on this forum, it seems that getting a Sunpower system under $4 /watt was considered good?!

[J.P.M.]

[QUOTE=advan24r;93721]I am in Northern California (Bay Area). There's only about 3 authorized Sunpower dealers here. I've received 2 quotations out of the 3 and the pricing seems very similar.

Getting a Sunpower system under $4/DC watt...about $3.92-$3.96 AFTER REBATES to be exact, is it a good deal for a Sunpower system? This is for a 2.75-3.015 kw system. The panels being used are X21 335 or I can go with 345 (w/a tremendous longer lead time)[/QUOTE

You can go w/ anything you want. Sunpower's great stuff. However, $5.63 +/- a bit before tax credit/any CSI rebate seems a bit high. Small system size probably is influencing price to some degree. I'd suggest you could knock about $1.00-$1.50 off the pre tax credit price/Watt and get comparable yearly output with something other than Sunpower and accomplish the required task. I'd suggest not closing the door on other possibilities/panels. There are a lot of options. You're buying an appliance. not a lifestyle. I'd suggest good systems can be had for ~ $3.75+/Watt before tax credits/rebate, maybe a bit more given the relatively small size system you're after. I'd get informed and look around.

[advan24r]

I am in Northern California (Bay Area). There's only about 3 authorized Sunpower dealers here. I've received 2 quotations out of the 3 and the pricing seems very similar.

Getting a Sunpower system under $4/DC watt...about $3.92-$3.96 AFTER REBATES to be exact, is it a good deal for a Sunpower system? This is for a 2.75-3.015 kw system. The panels being used are X21 335 or I can go with 345 (w/a tremendous longer lead time)