Feedback on system in Austin, TX

[mike_s99]

Hi all:

First off, thanks to all the forum posters, your posts have really helped educate me on my solar system selection process.

So I have two competing quotes for a system, the costs are within a hundred dollars.

Company 1:
40 LG260W (LG206S1k-A3) panels with SolarEdge-10000A Inverter and SolarEdge P300 Optimizers
Sunmodo Racking system and SolarEdge Monitoring system
10.4KWDC
Cost approx $3.10 per Watt


Company 2
40 LG275W, System Size 11kWDC
Two String Inverters (6000W and 4000W) Dual MPPT Inverter and SMA Module
eGauge monitoring service
Cost approx $3 per watt

I like both companies from an interaction experience and ratings from several sites.

So it seems like the real question is which system is a better value for money.
From a technology point, I like the optimizer approach. But I really do not have any shade issues except some transient ones from say a pipe's shadow on the roof during some part of the day. Hence the string inverter approach should work for me.
From output perspective and cost per Watt perspective, the 275W seems like a better one. It is a larger system for my $$s. I would think that the optimizer would give me higher efficiency in conversion as compared to string however given that the system 1 is smaller as compared to system 2 should nullify that advantage
Aesthetically the 260W is black on black and hence may look better than the 275W


To me it looks like a toss up at this point. Any thoughts from the community on which option seems better?
And do the prices seems like a reasonable one for Austin ?

Thanks

Mike

[thejq]

If you like SolarEdge, why not ask company #2 to give you a quote on the exact setup you want. I suspect that with 2 SMAs, the price is probably similar to a single SolarEdge inverter + optimizers.

[sensij]

It might help if you can share a little bit more about your solar system selection process. What is your annual usage, and what is the price of the electricity from the power company that you are replacing? Are you going solar for financial savings, or for non-economic reasons?

If your Poco is Austin Energy, rates look like they are less than the US average.

The reason I'm asking is because even though the size of the two systems is different, if the value of the difference in energy generated is low, it becomes easier to base the decision on aesthetics or technology than it does on capacity alone.

Are the prices you listed pre-incentive? It looks like Austin Energy has a nice $1.10 / W rebate, although the lack of net metering definitely hurts.

[mike_s99]

It might help if you can share a little bit more about your solar system selection process. What is your annual usage, and what is the price of the electricity from the power company that you are replacing? Are you going solar for financial savings, or for non-economic reasons?

If your Poco is Austin Energy, rates look like they are less than the US average.

The reason I'm asking is because even though the size of the two systems is different, if the value of the difference in energy generated is low, it becomes easier to base the decision on aesthetics or technology than it does on capacity alone.

Are the prices you listed pre-incentive? It looks like Austin Energy has a nice $1.10 / W rebate, although the lack of net metering definitely hurts.

Total power consumption for year is around 15000kwh, Average price is around $0.12/kwh

Poco is Austin Energy, Their credits are 10.7 cents per kWh and they reset at the end of the year
And yes the prices are pre-incentive. The incentive is $1.10 per W

[nomadh]

I may be in a similar pickle soon. The big decision for me would be the SE power optimization management and shade mitigation vs sunnyboy would give me 2 sockets of 1500watts each in a grid down position during the daytime. If you didn't care about the offgrid emergency power then I'd go solaredge. But then if you don't care about a grid down situation in the next 10 years..... you should.

[inetdog]

I may be in a similar pickle soon. The big decision for me would be the SE power optimization management and shade mitigation vs sunnyboy would give me 2 sockets of 1500watts each in a grid down position during the daytime. If you didn't care about the offgrid emergency power then I'd go solaredge. But then if you don't care about a grid down situation in the next 10 years..... you should.

On the other hand, if you are worried about a cascading failure across the interties, Texas is the place to be in the US. Their interties are all DC, eliminating any synchronization issues and the state produces pretty much all the power it needs internally.